What is the Rules module for?
Rules watches the text, party, or amount on a cash transaction and decides which category it is filed under. This stops you from typing the same answer over and over. Every category is wired to a real account, so a rule chooses which account your money is reported under in your Profit and Loss.
How do I write a new rule?
- Press New rule.
- Pick the Field: Details, Party, or Amount.
- Pick the Match: contains, is exactly, starts with, equals, or is between.
- Type the Text, or the Min (RM) and Max (RM) for an amount band.
- Read the Matches count. If it is too high, make the text longer.
- Pick the Category. Only money out categories are offered.
- Add a Tag if you want a second label.
- Set the Priority. Lower numbers are checked first.
- Press Save.
How do rules file new entries?
- Go to Cash In & Out and press Add transaction.
- Type the Details, for example the payee from the bank line.
- Watch the Category field. If a Details rule matches, the app fills it in. Party and Amount rules never fill in this form; they only act on Apply to existing.
- Check the category. You can change it by hand, which stops the rule for this entry.
- Fill in the rest of the form and press Save.
How do I apply rules to old transactions?
- Press Apply to existing at the top right.
- Read the confirmation and press OK.
- Read the green message showing how many transactions were recategorised.
- Go to Cash In & Out and check those rows immediately to catch broad rules.
- Remember the sweep also looks at money in rows, so a loose Details rule can file a customer receipt under an expense account. Rows in a closed financial year are skipped.
How do I check if a rule is working?
- Read the Matches column on the rules list.
- Open Cash In & Out and look at rows under the rule's category.
- Open Activity from the avatar menu to see rule changes and sweeps.
- If a rule is wrong, switch it off using the toggle in the Active column.
- Fix wrongly filed rows in Cash In & Out by hand or using Categorise.
What this does to your books
Saving a rule posts nothing. When a rule pre-fills a new entry, the posting is the ordinary cash book posting when you press Save. Applying to existing moves amounts between accounts without changing the cash total. Rows in a closed financial year are skipped.