This guide walks you through creating a rule to automatically categorise and tag your transactions.
Accessing Rules
Open Tracking > Rules from the main navigation to open the Rules page.
Creating a New Rule
- Click the New Rule button in the top right.
- Enter a Rule Name (e.g. "Groceries from Woolworths").
- Toggle on Merchant contains and/or Description contains, and enter the text to match.
- If you enabled both, choose Both must match or Either can match.
- Optionally enable Only for specific accounts and click the accounts to include.
- Toggle on the actions you want: Rename merchant, Set category (then choose Expenses only, Income only or Both), Add tags.
- Optionally tick Apply this rule to existing transactions.
- Click Create Rule.
- Tap the + button in the top right.
- Enter a Rule Name.
- Under Conditions, fill in Merchant Contains and/or Description Contains. If you fill in both, pick Both (AND) or Either (OR) from the Match picker.
- Under Actions, choose a category from Set Category (then pick Expenses Only, Income Only or Both under Apply To) and/or enter a Rename Merchant To value.
- Under Tags, tap any tags you want the rule to add.
- Under Applies To, turn on Limit to specific accounts to restrict the rule, then tap the accounts to include.
- Optionally turn on Apply to existing transactions.
- Tap Save.
One Condition, One Action
A rule needs at least one condition and at least one action before it can be saved, otherwise it could never do anything.
Understanding Conditions
A rule needs at least one condition to work.
Merchant contains
Matches transactions where the merchant name includes specific text.
- Enter keywords like "Woolworths" or "UBER"
- Matching is case-insensitive ("uber" matches "UBER *EATS")
Description contains
Matches transactions where the description includes specific text.
- Useful for bank descriptions that contain reference codes
- Also case-insensitive
Using both conditions
When you use both conditions, choose how they combine:
- Both must match - Transaction must contain both the merchant AND description text
- Either can match - Transaction matches if it contains the merchant OR description text
Limiting to specific accounts
You can restrict a rule to certain accounts. This is useful when:
- You have business and personal accounts with similar transactions
- A merchant appears in multiple accounts but should be categorised differently
If a rule isn't limited to specific accounts, it applies to all of them.
Understanding Actions
With conditions in place, set one or more actions.
Rename merchant
Clean up messy bank descriptions by renaming the merchant to something readable.
Before: UBER *EATS SYDNEY AU
After: Uber Eats
Set category
Automatically assign a category when the rule matches. You also choose which transaction types the category applies to:
- Expenses only - Only apply to expense transactions
- Income only - Only apply to income transactions
- Both - Apply regardless of transaction type
Income vs Expense Categories
If you select an expense category but want it to apply when the merchant appears in income transactions too, choose "Both".
Add tags
Automatically add one or more tags to matching transactions. Tags appear as coloured pills on your transactions for easy identification.
Apply to Existing Transactions
When creating a new rule, turn on the apply-to-existing option to update all transactions that match your conditions when you save the rule.
Use With Care
This will update all matching transactions across your entire history. Review your conditions carefully before enabling.
Running a Rule Later
If you want to apply a rule to existing transactions after it's been created, open the rule and use the Run now button (Run this rule now on iPhone). See Managing Rules for details.
Once saved, the rule immediately starts applying to new transactions.