How to use the Rules tab
The Rules tab replaces the old Renamings tab with one simple table. Each rule reads one transaction field, checks if it contains your text, and sets a field to a new value.
Rules let you:
- rename payees
- assign categories (expense/income account names) based on payee or memo
- rename categories
- rename investment actions and security names
- set MT940 transaction codes from the memo
How a rule works
- A rule has four parts: If Field, Contains, Set Field, To Value.
- When the "If Field" contains the "Contains" text, the "Set Field" is set to the "To Value".
- Matching is partial and ignores case:
bookstorematches "BOOKSTORE INVOICE #123". - No asterisks or special characters are needed — every match is a partial match.
- The "Set Field" gets the whole "To Value" — the rule replaces the field's value, it does not edit part of it.
- Leave "Contains" empty to match transactions where the "If Field" is empty — for example, set a default Category when there is none.
- Rules run from top to bottom, and later rules see the results of earlier ones — a rule that renames a payee can be followed by a rule that assigns a category based on the new name.
Adding a rule
- Open the Rules tab.
- Click the empty row at the bottom of the table and enter the rule; a new empty row appears below it for the next rule.
- Pick If Field and Set Field from the drop-down list: Name, Memo, Category, Doc/Check #, TransCode, Investment Action, Security Name, Security ID.
- Type the text to look for into Contains.
- Type the value to assign into To Value.
- Rules are saved automatically as you edit.
- Reload your file to apply changed rules to already loaded transactions.
Examples
- Clean up a payee: If Field Name, Contains
bookstore, Set Field Name, To ValueBookstore— "Bookstore invoice", "Bookstore1", "Bookstore3" all become "Bookstore". - Use exact vendor names for IIF: If Field Name, Contains
gas company, Set Field Name, To ValueGas Company Inc.— QuickBooks then matches the existing vendor instead of creating a new one. - Assign a category from the payee: If Field Name, Contains
Hydro, Set Field Category, To ValueOffice— IIF files need a category (expense or income account) on each transaction. - Assign a category from the memo: If Field Memo, Contains
payroll, Set Field Category, To ValuePayroll Expenses. - Rename a category from the source file: If Field Category, Contains
Payroll, Set Field Category, To ValuePayroll Expenses. - Set an MT940 transaction code: If Field Memo, Contains
TRANSFER, Set Field TransCode, To ValueNTRF.
Editing, reordering, deleting
- Edit any cell directly in the table.
- Use the Up and Down buttons to move the selected rule — order matters, rules apply top to bottom.
- Use the Delete button to remove the selected rule.
Coming from the Renamings tab
- Your existing renamings are converted into rules automatically the first time this version starts — payee renamings, payee-to-category, category renamings, investment actions, security names and MT940 transcodes all become rows in the Rules table.
- Asterisks from old renaming patterns are dropped during the conversion:
*BOOKSTORE*simply becomesBOOKSTORE, because every rule match is already partial. - The old renamings data stays saved in your profile, so an older app version can still use it if you ever downgrade.
Notes
- Rules are shared across all converters — edit them once and every output format uses them.
- Not every field applies to every format (for example, TransCode is only written to MT940 files); rules for fields a format does not use are simply ignored there.
- Rules only change the converted output — your source file is never modified.
Rule profiles (advanced use)
- Rules are stored in profiles, so you can keep several independent sets of rules.
- Select a profile from the drop-down list on the Rules tab to switch the active set.
- Use the Save as... button to copy the current rules into a new profile and continue editing there.
- Keep a profile per client, per accounting app, or per bank — and switch between them with one click.
Learn More
- IIF - What Is IIF File Format and How to Open it?
- QuickBooks - How to import transactions into Quickbooks