Before receiving transactions

1. Select Banking, then select Manage bank rules to open the Bank Rules page, showing rules for all accounts.
   
2. Alternatively, select Actions, Manage bank rules in the specific account to open the Bank Rules page for that account.
   
3. If necessary, select an account in the Bank accounts field. Select Create rule.
4. Enter a name for the rule and select whether it applies to Payments (money paid out) or Receipts (money coming in).
5. Select Activate this rule when saving to make the rule active. Deselect this option to deactivate it later.
6. Set the conditions that the bank transaction must meet to match the rule.
7. Set the transaction details to tell Accounting Start how to create a transaction.

 

After receiving transactions

1. On the Incoming Transactions page, select Rules, then New rule.
2. Alternatively, select Create a rule on a transaction. The transaction details will automatically display in the corresponding fields on the New rule window.
   
3. Give the rule a name and specify whether it's used for Payments (money paid out) or Receipts (money coming in).
4. Review and edit the rule if needed, then select Save.

Explanation of fields

 

Field	Description
Conditions
Field	Choose the information to recognize the imported transaction, such as Reference and Date or Reference and Amount.
Value	Set the conditions and the value to match, such as the transaction amount.
Equals	The imported transaction must exactly match the values. Use this for transactions like Pre-Authorized Debits where the amount or reference never changes.
Contains	The imported transaction contains part of the value you set. This is useful for the reference field, where the reference contains the vendor name plus a unique number for the transaction.
Does not contain	Use this for exceptions to a more general rule.
Transaction details
Transaction type	For bank transfers, set this up in one of the bank accounts involved in the transfer. In the other bank account, select Match against the incoming or outgoing transfer to or from the other account. For Money Out and Money In, the Ledger Account and Tax rate are mandatory.
Vendor	The vendor you paid or who paid you.
Method	The payment method of the transaction, such as Credit/Debit Card or Cheque.
Reference	Optionally, enter a reference to use when creating this type of transaction.
Description	Optionally, enter a description to use when creating this type of transaction.
Ledger Account	The ledger account you want to debit or credit with the transaction amount.
Tax Rate	The tax rate that applies when creating this type of transaction.

When you download or import transactions, you apply only one bank rule to each transaction. With a single bank rule, prioritization isn't necessary. With multiple bank rules, prioritize them to ensure correct application order. Your most specific bank rules have the highest priority. For example, a rule with a condition set to a specific amount comes first. Bank rules with non-specific, general conditions have lower priority.

1. Go to the Apply the rule in this order section.
2. From the Priority drop-down list, select First to make this the first rule in the list, giving it top priority.
3. Select Below if this isn't a top priority rule. Choose the bank rule it follows in the order.
4. Select Save.

You’ll apply your new bank rules to transactions the next time you bring transactions in from your bank. If you have pending transactions, select Apply rules to pending transactions for the new transactions to apply them.

You apply your bank rules to incoming transactions automatically and suggest entries to create on the Incoming Bank Transactions page. Select Create All if you're confident that the suggested transactions are correct. Select Review these transactions to check that you correctly applied the rules before creating transactions. The Rule Applied message appears on each transaction where you successfully applied a rule.

 

 

The Imported from statement message shows each transaction imported from a bank statement. 

 

Every month, Wonderland Cakes pays $199 for their utility bill to County Utilities Company via direct debit. The business owner sets up a bank rule since the amount and vendor are always the same. This rule automatically creates the transaction when it comes in from their business account at National Bank. Bank rules work with bank feeds and import statements, ensuring you create the same transaction regardless of how it comes in.

When creating the bank rule, the business owner sets the conditions to:

Field	Values	Description
Reference	Equals	Utilities
Amount	Equals	199.00

Since it's a payment, the business owner sets the transaction details to:

Transaction type	Money Out
Vendor	Utilities
Method	Credit/Debit Card
Reference	Country Utilities Company
Description	Utilities direct debit
Ledger Account	Electricity (7200)
Tax Rate	Rate 5%

What's next?

Manage bank rules