QuickBooks Tip for Office Staff: How to Use Bank Rules Without Creating a Mess
If you're part of a small business team helping manage the books, QuickBooks Online bank rules can save you hours each month. But be careful—if not set up correctly, they can cause major accounting headaches.
What Are Bank Rules in QuickBooks?
Bank rules are automation tools that categorize transactions as they come in from bank feeds. For example, if the business pays a recurring vendor—like Staples for office supplies—you can set a rule to automatically assign those charges to the correct category.
How to Set Up a Bank Rule
In QuickBooks, go to Banking > Rules.
Click New Rule.
Name the rule based on the transaction (e.g., “Office Depot - Supplies”).
Set the conditions: description, bank text, or amount.
Choose whether the money is incoming or outgoing.
Select the correct expense category.
Save.
Done right, this eliminates repetitive manual data entry for recurring expenses.
Best Practices for Office Staff
Only set up rules for consistent and predictable expenses (like software subscriptions, rent, utilities).
Review new transactions weekly to ensure the rule is categorizing correctly.
Always verify with your bookkeeper or manager before creating new rules.
Avoid applying rules to income or customer payments, as this can throw off reports.
⚠️ Common Pitfall
One misconfigured rule can miscategorize dozens—or hundreds—of transactions. For example, a rule for “Amazon” that applies to all charges might mix office supplies with personal reimbursements, inventory, or even software purchases.
FAQ
Can I use bank rules for customer payments?
No. These should always be reviewed manually to ensure correct income classification.
Do bank rules make reconciliation unnecessary?
Not at all. Reconciliation is still essential to ensure bank records match what’s in QuickBooks.
How often should I review my bank rules?
At least once a month—or whenever your vendors, charges, or patterns change.
What if a rule is wrong?
You can edit or delete it, but you’ll need to manually fix any miscategorized entries already recorded.
Need help managing your bank rules or cleaning up your QuickBooks?
Book a free call with Dr. Bryan Raya, QuickBooks ProAdvisor:
👉 https://calendly.com/dbr_bookkeeping/book-a-free-call-with-dbr
Let’s start Doing Business Right.
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