Bank Rules¶
Bank rules speed up reconciling by recognising recurring transactions and pre-filling how you code them.
If the same payment turns up every month, such as rent or bank fees, a rule saves you re-entering the account, tag and GST each time.
Rules only suggest, they never reconcile¶
A rule never reconciles a line on its own. When a line matches a rule, FairBooks pre-fills the Create panel with your chosen details and shows a banner noting the line was prefilled by that rule. You still review each line and confirm it. Nothing is coded to your books until you do.
Creating a rule¶
- Open Bank Accounts and click Rules, then click Add Rule
- Fill in the details below
- Click Add Rule to save
What the rule matches¶
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Rule name | A name you will recognise, for example "Monthly rent" |
| Applies to | Money out (spend) or money in (receive) |
| Match | Whether all conditions must match, or any one of them |
| Conditions | One or more tests on the line's text |
Each condition checks a field (Description, Payee, Reference, or any field) against text you type, using contains or equals. Add as many conditions as you need.
What the rule pre-fills¶
Under Then prefill, set what should be filled into the Create panel when the rule matches:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Tag | An optional label for the transaction |
| Account | The account from your chart of accounts to code the line to |
| GST treatment | GST inclusive (10%) or GST free |
| Description | Optional text to use instead of the bank's description |
| Priority | Used to decide which rule wins when more than one matches |
| Active | Turn the rule on or off without deleting it |
Tip
In the description, use the placeholder {description} to fold in the line's own bank description. For example, "Rent, {description}" keeps the original detail alongside your own wording.
Which rule applies¶
When a line could match more than one rule, the highest-priority active rule wins. Inactive rules are ignored. This lets you keep a general rule and add more specific, higher-priority ones on top.
While you reconcile¶
When a matching rule is found, the Create panel opens already filled in and a banner tells you which rule did it. Check the account, GST and amount, then confirm. Because rules only pre-fill the Create panel, they never match against existing invoices or bills, and they never reconcile a line for you.