Rules

Automate transaction processing with intelligent rules

Overview

Rules are powerful automation tools that process transactions based on conditions you define. They automatically categorize, tag, modify, or act on transactions, saving time and ensuring consistency across your financial records.

What Are Rules?

A rule has two parts:

Triggers

Conditions to match

• Description contains “Starbucks”
• Amount is greater than $100
• Source account is “Checking”

Actions

What to do when matched

• Set category to “Coffee”
• Add tag “#daily-expense”
• Set budget to “Food & Drink”

Example: Coffee shop rule

Triggers:

• Description contains “Starbucks” OR “Peet’s Coffee” OR “Blue Bottle”

Actions:

• Set category to “Coffee Shops”
• Set budget to “Food & Drink Budget”
• Add tag “#caffeine”

Result: Every coffee shop transaction automatically gets categorized and tagged.

Creating a Rule

1. Navigate to Rules

   Go to Rules in the main navigation.

2. Create New Rule

   Click Create New Rule.

3. Name Your Rule

   Choose a descriptive name (“Categorize Grocery Stores”).

4. Add Triggers

   Define when the rule should activate:

   • Click Add Trigger
   • Select trigger type
   • Enter trigger value
   • Add more triggers as needed
5. Set Trigger Logic

   Choose how triggers combine:

   • All triggers (AND): All conditions must match
   • Any trigger (OR): At least one condition must match
6. Add Actions

   Define what happens when triggered:

   • Click Add Action
   • Select action type
   • Enter action value
   • Add more actions as needed
7. Configure Options

   • Active: Enable/disable the rule
   • Strict: Require all actions to succeed
   • Stop processing: Don’t run more rules after this one
8. Save

   Click Save to activate your rule.

Rule Triggers

Triggers define when a rule activates:

Description Triggers

Description is/contains/starts with/ends with

Match based on transaction description:

• Is exactly: Description is “Netflix Subscription”
• Contains: Description contains “Whole Foods”
• Starts with: Description starts with “AMZN”
• Ends with: Description ends with “Store #1234”

Amount Triggers

Amount is/more than/less than

Match based on transaction amount:

• Is exactly: Amount is $50.00
• More than: Amount > $100
• Less than: Amount < $10
• Between: Amount between $50 and$100

Account Triggers

Source/Destination account

Match based on accounts involved:

• Source account is: From “Checking Account”
• Destination account is: To “Savings Account”
• Any account is: Either source or destination matches

Category Triggers

Category is/is not

Match based on existing category:

• Category is: Category is “Groceries”
• Category is not: Category is not “Uncategorized”
• Has no category: Transaction has no category

Budget Triggers

Budget is/is not

Match based on existing budget:

• Budget is: Budget is “Food Budget”
• Budget is not: Budget is not “Emergency”
• Has no budget: Transaction has no budget

Tag Triggers

Has tag/doesn't have tag

Match based on tags:

• Has tag: Has tag “#vacation”
• Doesn’t have tag: Doesn’t have tag “#reimbursed”
• Has any tag: Has at least one tag

Transaction Type Triggers

Type is

Match transaction type:

• Is withdrawal: Expenses
• Is deposit: Income
• Is transfer: Between your accounts

Date Triggers

Date is/before/after

Match based on transaction date:

• Date is: Specific date
• Before: Before certain date
• After: After certain date

Rule Actions

Actions define what the rule does:

Set Category

Assign a category to the transaction:

• Set category to “Groceries”
• Set category to “Transportation”

Set Budget

Assign a budget to the transaction:

• Set budget to “Food Budget”
• Set budget to “Monthly Expenses”

Add/Remove Tags

Manage transaction tags:

• Add tag “#work-expense”
• Add tag “#reimbursable”
• Remove tag “#pending”

Change Description

Modify the transaction description:

• Prepend text: Add text to the beginning
• Append text: Add text to the end
• Set description: Replace entirely

Change Amount

Modify the transaction amount:

• Set amount to specific value
• Multiply amount by percentage
• Add/subtract from amount

Link to Bill

Connect transaction to a bill:

• Link to bill “Rent”
• Link to bill “Netflix”

Add Notes

Append notes to transactions:

• Add note with context
• Flag for review

Delete Transaction

Use with extreme caution! This permanently deletes matching transactions.

Trigger Logic: AND vs. OR

All Triggers (AND)

Every condition must be true:

Rule: “Large Restaurant Expenses”

• Trigger 1: Description contains “Restaurant”
• Trigger 2: Amount > $50
• Logic: All triggers

Matches: Only restaurant transactions over $50

Any Trigger (OR)

At least one condition must be true:

Rule: “Coffee Shops”

• Trigger 1: Description contains “Starbucks”
• Trigger 2: Description contains “Peet’s”
• Trigger 3: Description contains “Blue Bottle”
• Logic: Any trigger

Matches: Transactions from any of these coffee shops

Rule Groups

Organize related rules into groups:

Creating a Rule Group

1. Navigate to Rule Groups

   Go to Rules > Rule Groups.

2. Create New Group

   Click Create New Rule Group.

3. Name the Group

   Enter a descriptive name (“Shopping Rules”).

4. Set Order

   Position where this group runs in the sequence.

5. Save

   Create the group.

Why Use Groups?

• Organization: Group related rules together
• Execution Order: Control which rules run first
• Bulk Management: Enable/disable entire groups
• Clarity: Easier to understand rule structure

Example: Group structure

Group 1: Transaction Cleanup (Order: 1)

• Fix merchant names
• Remove unnecessary text
• Standardize descriptions

Group 2: Categorization (Order: 2)

• Assign categories by merchant
• Categorize by amount
• Default categories

Group 3: Budgets and Tags (Order: 3)

• Assign budgets
• Add project tags
• Flag special transactions

Rule Execution

When Rules Run

Rules execute:

• On new transactions: Automatically when created
• On transaction edits: When you modify transactions
• Manual execution: When you trigger rules manually
• On import: When importing transaction files

Execution Order

1. Rule groups execute in order (Group 1, then Group 2, etc.)
2. Within each group, rules execute in order
3. Each rule’s actions execute in sequence
4. If “stop processing” is set, execution halts

Stop Processing

Prevent subsequent rules from running:

When to use stop processing

Enable “stop processing” when:

• This rule definitively handles the transaction
• Further rules would conflict or overwrite
• You want to prevent rule cascades

Example: If a transaction matches “Paycheck” rule, don’t run generic “deposit” rules after.

Running Rules Manually

Apply rules to existing transactions:

1. Navigate to Rules

   Go to Rules page.

2. Select Rule or Group

   Choose which rules to execute.

3. Click Execute

   Click Run Rules or Execute.

4. Select Date Range

   Choose which transactions to process.

5. Confirm

   Review and confirm execution.

Manual rule execution can modify many transactions at once. Review your rules before running them on large date ranges.

Common Rule Examples

Auto-Categorize Groceries

Triggers:

• Description contains “Whole Foods” OR
• Description contains “Safeway” OR
• Description contains “Trader Joe’s”

Actions:

• Set category to “Groceries”
• Set budget to “Food Budget”

Flag Large Expenses

Triggers:

• Amount > $500
• Transaction type is withdrawal

Actions:

• Add tag “#large-expense”
• Add tag “#review”

Paycheck Processing

Triggers:

• Description contains “Employer Name”
• Transaction type is deposit
• Amount between $2,000 and$5,000

Actions:

• Set category to “Salary”
• Add tag “#income”
• Add note “Paycheck received”
• Stop processing

Shared Expense Tracking

Triggers:

• Description contains “shared” OR
• Description contains “split”

Actions:

• Add tag “#shared-expense”
• Add tag “#reimbursable”
• Set category to “Shared Costs”

Subscription Management

Triggers:

• Description contains “Subscription” OR
• Description contains “Netflix” OR
• Description contains “Spotify” OR
• Description contains “Adobe”

Actions:

• Set category to “Subscriptions”
• Set budget to “Monthly Subscriptions”
• Add tag “#recurring”

Best Practices

Start Simple

Begin with basic rules:

• One trigger, one action
• Common transactions (groceries, gas)
• Test before expanding
• Add complexity gradually

Test Before Deploying

Verify rules work correctly:

• Create test transactions
• Run rule manually on small date range
• Check results before applying widely
• Adjust and retest

Use Descriptive Names

Name rules clearly:

• Good: “Categorize Whole Foods as Groceries”
• Poor: “Rule 1”
• Include what triggers and what happens

Organize with Groups

Structure rules logically:

• Group by purpose (categorization, tagging, cleanup)
• Order groups by importance
• Keep related rules together

Review and Maintain

Keep rules current:

• Monthly: Check if rules are still accurate
• Quarterly: Remove unused rules
• When changing habits: Update rule logic
• After imports: Verify rules worked correctly

Don't Over-Automate

Balance automation with control:

• Not every transaction needs rules
• Some manual categorization is fine
• Too many rules = hard to maintain
• Focus on repetitive patterns

Strict Mode

Strict mode requires all actions to succeed:

When to enable strict mode

Use strict mode when:

• All actions are critical
• Partial execution would be incorrect
• You want all-or-nothing behavior

Example: A rule that sets category AND budget should use strict mode. If the budget doesn’t exist, you want the rule to fail rather than apply only the category.

Advanced Rule Techniques

Cascading Rules

Use rule order for multi-step processing:

1. Rule 1: Clean up merchant names
2. Rule 2: Categorize by cleaned names
3. Rule 3: Assign budgets by category

Exception Rules

Create specific rules before general ones:

1. Specific: “Whole Foods over $200 → Set to Bulk Shopping”
2. General: “Whole Foods → Set to Groceries”

Place specific rules first with “stop processing” enabled.

Negative Matching

Use “is not” triggers for exclusions:

Triggers:

• Category is not “Groceries”
• Category is not “Transportation”
• Budget is not set

Actions:

• Add tag “#needs-review”

Multi-Step Processing

Chain rules together:

1. Rule: Add tag “#to-categorize” to uncategorized
2. Rule: Categorize transactions with “#to-categorize”
3. Rule: Remove “#to-categorize” after categorizing

Troubleshooting

Rule not triggering

Check:

• Rule is marked as Active
• Trigger logic (AND vs OR) is correct
• Trigger values match exactly
• Rule group is active
• Rule order allows it to execute

Action not applying

Verify:

• Action values are valid (category/budget/tag exists)
• Strict mode isn’t causing rule to fail
• No conflicting rules override the action
• Transaction type supports the action

Too many transactions affected

If rules match too broadly:

• Add more specific triggers
• Use AND logic instead of OR
• Add exception triggers (is not, doesn’t have)
• Test on smaller date ranges first

Rules conflict with each other

When rules interfere:

• Reorder rules (specific before general)
• Use “stop processing” on definitive rules
• Review rule groups and execution order
• Consolidate overlapping rules

Integration with Other Features

With Transactions

Rules automatically process transactions:

• Apply on creation
• Apply on edit
• Apply on import

With Categories and Tags

Automate organization:

• Auto-assign categories
• Auto-apply tags
• Maintain consistency

With Budgets

Streamline budget tracking:

• Auto-assign budgets by merchant
• Budget by transaction pattern
• Ensure all expenses are budgeted

With Recurring Transactions

Enhance recurring transactions:

• Apply rules to auto-created transactions
• Add additional categorization
• Supplement recurring transaction templates

Related Features

• Transactions - What rules process
• Categories & Tags - Common rule actions
• Budgets - Rules can assign budgets
• Bills - Rules can link to bills