Create a bank rule

  1. Overview
  2. Reconciling Transactions
  3. Bank rules
  4. Create a bank rule

ⓘ This article is for small businesses who use Xero  

Overview

  • Create a spend money, receive money, or transfer money bank rule to help you reconcile regular cash transactions.

  • Order your bank rules so they apply in the correct order.

What you need to know
  • You can create a bank rule when you’re reconciling, cash coding or from the bank rules screen.
  • If you set up a bank rule when you’re reconciling or cash coding, Xero suggests details you might want to include from the statement line. Xero also sets the type of bank rule based on the type of statement line, and selects the bank account the rule applies to as the bank account you’re currently reconciling.
  • After you create a new bank rule, check the order of your bank rules. Xero applies bank rules in the order they appear on the bank rules screen. Your most restrictive rules should be at the top of the list.
  • Bank rule conditions and titles can only contain letters and numbers. They can't include punctuation or special characters.

ⓘ Tip
Before you create a bank rule, make sure you understand how bank rules work.

Create a bank rule

During bank reconciliation

  1. For the relevant bank statement line, click Options, then select Create bank rule.

    Click Options, then select Create bank rule

  2. Enter the conditions the bank statement line must meet, then complete the remaining fields to tell Xero what to do with a transaction that meets those conditions.

  3. Click Save, then OK on the bank reconciliation screen to apply the rule.

  4. After you've finished reconciling, order your bank rules so that Xero checks rules with more specific criteria first.

From the bank rules screen

  1. In the Accounting menu, select Bank accounts.

  2. Click Bank Rules.

  3. Click Create rule, then select the type of rule you want to create.

  4. Enter the conditions the bank statement line must meet, then complete the remaining fields to tell Xero what to do with a transaction that meets those conditions. 

  5. Click Save.

  6. Order your bank rules so that Xero checks rules with more specific criteria first.

While cash coding

  1. Click the arrow next to any relevant bank statement line, then select Create bank rule.

    The Cash coding tab showing the Create bank rule link.

  2. Enter the conditions the bank statement line must meet, then complete the remaining fields to tell Xero what to do with a transaction that meets those conditions.

  3. Click Save. Xero will update the relevant fields for all statement lines that match the conditions of the new rule.

  4. After you've finished reconciling, order your bank rules so that Xero checks rules with more specific criteria first. 

ⓘ Tip

If you have multicurrency in your plan, you can also set up a rule to transfer foreign currency.
Order new bank rules

Xero applies bank rules in the order that they're listed in the Bank rules screen. To ensure that the most appropriate rule is applied to a transaction, a rule that's more restrictive and contains specific criteria should come before a less restrictive rule with fewer requirements.

Check our About bank rules article to find out what a more or less restrictive rule looks like.

To order a bank rule:

  1. In the Accounting menu, select Bank accounts.
  2. Click Bank Rules.
  3. Select the Spend money rules, Receive money rules, or Transfer rules tab to find the rules you want to reorder.
  4. Click and drag the reorder icon to move rules into the new order. To move two or more rules at the same time, select the checkbox next to each rule.

    Click and drag the six dots icon to drag the rules into the correct position.

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