Guide · AI and automation
Bank rules in QuickBooks Online and Xero for firms with many clients
Bank rules code routine transactions for you, but across many clients they can also drift, clash and miscode. This guide covers how rules work in QuickBooks Online and Xero, how to copy a rule set between QuickBooks Online clients, and a simple routine to keep every client's rules in order.
What makes a good rule
It matches one kind of transaction.
Rent, a subscription or a loan payment that is always coded the same way.
It's specific enough.
Match on the payee or bank text, and add a second condition when one payee covers different kinds of spending.
It's in the right order.
Both products apply rules in a set order, so the most specific rules go first.
Someone reviews it.
Rules miscode quietly when a bank changes its text or a client changes what they buy.
Bank rules in QuickBooks Online
Create a rule
Go to All apps, then Accounting, then Rules, and select New rule. Name it, choose Money in or Money out, and pick one account or all bank accounts. Set conditions on the description, the bank text or the amount, then choose the transaction type, category, payee and any tags, and select Save.
Order and review
Drag rules into priority order: the rule with the highest priority is applied first. Rules apply to transactions waiting for review, and a RULE badge shows which ones a rule categorized.
Be careful with auto-post
Auto-post adds matching transactions to the books without review. Intuit suggests starting with simple, consistent transactions such as rent. Keep everything else on review.
Copy rules to another client
From the Rules page in one client's company, open the New rule menu and select Export rules. Then sign in to the other company, select Import rules from the same menu, choose the exported Excel file and pick the rules to bring in. This is the quickest way to give similar clients the same starting rule set.
When a rule doesn't fire
Check whether the rule uses the bank text or the description. The bank text is what the bank sends; the description is a simplified version. Turn on Show full bank description in the bank transactions settings to see the bank text.
Bank rules in Xero
Create a rule
In the Accounting menu, select Bank rules, select Create rule and choose a spend money, receive money or transfer money rule. Enter the conditions, fill in how matching lines should be coded, and select Save. You can also create a rule from a statement line while reconciling or cash coding. Creating rules needs the administrator role, or the standard role with access to bank accounts.
Order matters
Xero applies rules in the order they appear on the Bank rules screen. Put the most restrictive rules at the top, so a general rule for a payee doesn't catch lines a more specific rule should handle.
Conditions are letters and numbers only
Rule conditions can't contain punctuation. If a payee name has a hyphen, set the rule to match all conditions and split the name into two conditions, one for each part.
When a rule stops working
Check whether the bank or payee changed how the statement line comes through, whether a fixed amount in the rule has changed, and whether a new rule now sits above it.
A routine for many clients
Start each client from a standard set.
Keep a starting rule set per client type and copy it in during onboarding where your software allows.
Name rules the same way everywhere.
A consistent naming pattern makes rules easy to find and review.
Review rules once a quarter.
Look for rules that no longer fire, rules that catch too much, and rules that clash.
Keep auto-post narrow.
Use it only for transactions that never vary.
Common mistakes
One broad rule per payee.
A store that sells both supplies and equipment needs more than one rule.
Rules in the wrong order.
A general rule above a specific one quietly wins.
Auto-posting too much.
Mistakes go straight into the books and surface at the close.
Never reviewing.
Banks change their text, and rules stop matching without warning.
Questions
Can I share one set of rules across all my clients?
In QuickBooks Online you can export rules from one company and import them into another. Review them for each client, because clients code the same payee differently.
Should I use auto-post?
Only for simple, consistent transactions you'd never change, and review what it posted at each close.
How often should rules be reviewed?
Once a quarter is a reasonable starting point, plus whenever a client's bank feed changes.
Want feeds and rules set up for your clients?
The Bank feeds and automated receipt capture Fix Pack connects bank feeds and configures rules for your clients, and sets up receipt capture with a simple client routine.
See how much time manual coding takes your firm.
The free Snapshot takes about 3 minutes and works from your own answers.