Rules

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Overview

Rules are automation tools that help you automatically categorize and organize your financial transactions during bank report import. When a transaction matches a rule’s condition, the rule automatically applies predefined settings to that transaction. Rules are applied on page 3 of the Import Wizard when importing bank reports.

What Rules Do

Rules help you save time by automatically:

• Assigning categories to transactions
• Setting locations for transactions
• Assigning transactions to payees or projects
• Organizing your financial data consistently

Instead of manually categorizing each transaction, you can create rules that handle repetitive categorization automatically.

Rule Fields

When creating or editing a rule, you’ll configure the following fields:

Description

A friendly name for your rule (e.g., “Grocery Store Purchases”, “Monthly Salary”).

Condition

The matching criteria used to identify which transactions this rule applies to. Three condition types are available:

• Contains - Matches transactions whose description contains specific text (e.g., “COFFEE” matches “STARBUCKS COFFEE”)
• Match - Exact match of the entire transaction description
• MCC - Matches transactions based on Merchant Category Code (a standardized code assigned by card networks)

Category

The transaction category that will be automatically assigned when the rule matches.

Location

The location/branch that will be assigned to matching transactions (optional).

Payee

The payee/merchant associated with matching transactions (optional).

Project

The project this rule should be assigned to (optional).

Active Status

A toggle to enable or disable the rule:

• Active (checked) - The rule will be applied to matching transactions
• Inactive (unchecked) - The rule will be ignored

How to Create a Rule

Step 1: Open the Rules Section

Navigate to the Rules section in your application. This section allows you to manage rules that will be applied during bank report imports.

Step 2: Add a New Rule

Click the “Add” or “+” button to create a new rule.

Step 3: Configure the Rule

A dialog box will appear with the following default values:

• Description: “Description here” (edit this to something meaningful)
• Condition: “Description contains”
• Active: ✓ (enabled by default)

Step 4: Enter Rule Details

1. Update Description - Replace with a descriptive name for your rule
2. Set Condition - Choose the condition type:
   • Contains - For partial text matching in descriptions
   • Match - For exact description matching
   • MCC - For merchant category code matching
3. Specify Match Criteria - Enter the text, pattern, or MCC code to match
4. Select Category - Choose the category to apply to matched transactions
5. Optional Fields - Fill in Location, Payee, or Project as needed
6. Enable/Disable - Check the “Active” checkbox to enable the rule

Step 5: Save the Rule

Click “OK” or “Save” to create the rule.

Example Rules

Here are some practical examples of rules you might create:

Example 1: Coffee Shop Category

• Description: Coffee Shop Purchases
• Condition: Description contains “COFFEE”
• Category: Dining & Entertainment
• Active: ✓

Example 2: Salary Income

• Description: Monthly Salary
• Condition: Description contains “ACME CORP PAYROLL”
• Category: Income
• Active: ✓

Example 3: Gym Membership

• Description: Monthly Gym Fee
• Condition: Description contains “24 HOUR FITNESS”
• Category: Health & Fitness
• Location: Downtown Branch
• Active: ✓

Tips & Best Practices

1. Be Specific: Use descriptive rule names so you can easily identify their purpose later.

2. Use Clear Conditions: Make your condition text specific enough to avoid unintended matches, but general enough to catch all relevant transactions.

3. Organization: Group similar rules together by creating them in sequence.

4. Testing: After creating a rule, verify it’s working correctly by checking that transactions are categorized as expected.

5. Inactive Rules: You can disable rules temporarily by unchecking the “Active” status instead of deleting them.

6. Update as Needed: Review and update your rules periodically as your spending patterns or merchant names change.

Troubleshooting

Rule Not Matching Transactions

• Check the condition text matches actual transaction descriptions
• Verify the rule is marked as “Active”
• Try more general condition text

Rule Matching Wrong Transactions

• Make the condition more specific
• Use longer or more unique text in your condition

Can’t Find a Rule

• Rules are listed sorted by creation date (newest may appear at bottom)
• Scroll through the complete list
• Check if the rule is disabled (not active)

Notes

• Rules are applied during the bank report import process on page 3 of the Import Wizard
• Rules automatically update transactions as they are imported
• You can have multiple rules active simultaneously
• Rules are matched based on their conditions against transaction descriptions during import
• To apply rules to transactions, import a bank report using the Import Wizard

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For additional help or questions about rules, contact your system administrator or refer to the main application documentation.