Tired of categorising the same transactions over and over again? Transaction rules can help with that!
When you create a rule, Ember automatically applies your chosen category and VAT rate (if applicable) to future transactions with the same currency, description, and money direction.
What are transaction rules?
Transaction rules help you automate your bookkeeping by categorising and reviewing your recurring transactions.
For example:
If you regularly pay Figma for your design software, you can set up a rule to automatically categorise those transactions as Software & Subscriptions with the correct VAT rate. That means less work for you each month!
A rules is applied when an exact match is found based on:
Transaction description
Money direction (incoming / outgoing)
Currency
Please note that we currently only support exact matching – the rule will only be applied if transactions match those conditions. So in the example above, if your Figma subscriptions come in with a different description every month the setup rule will not apply in this case. But stay tuned, we’ll be introducing more flexibility around conditions in the future!
How do I create a rule?
You can create a rule while reviewing your transactions. First, navigate to Transactions.
You can either create a rule from a transaction group, or from a single transaction. The steps are exactly the same. Once you’re happy with the details for a transaction group / a single transaction click Mark as reviewed.
When you’re creating your first rule, you will see a modal similar to this one with the details relevant to your transaction(s):
Description
Currency
Direction
Select Yes, create a rule and hit Confirm.
Next time, you’ll be prompted by a pop-up instead where you can select Create rule.
That’s it! We’ll apply this rule to all new transactions that match the same conditions going forward.
What happens when a rule matches a transaction?
When a transaction matches one of your rules, it’s automatically reviewed — meaning it won’t appear in your To review tab, and you don’t need to take any action.
You can still view those transactions at any time:
Use the filter on the Transactions page to show Auto-reviewed transactions
Or go to Transaction rules page in Settings and click View transactions from any rule to see all the transactions it’s been applied to.
How do I manage my rules?
Head to the Transaction rules page in Settings to view a list of your existing rules.
From here, you can:
Pause a rule – if you don’t want it to apply for now - by toggling the rule from active to inactive and vice versa to enable a paused rule
Delete a rule – if you no longer need it - by clicking Remove rule from the rule menu
View transactions a rule has been applied to - by clicking View transactions from any rule
✏️ Right now, you can’t edit a rule or create one from scratch. We’re working on that for a future update!
FAQs
Can I use partial matches in a rule (e.g. description contains Figma)?
Not yet — rules only work on exact matches for now. We're planning to expand this in the future!
Do rules apply to past transactions?
No — rules will only apply to new transactions going forward. You can use bulk categorisation to review similar past transactions - see here for more.
Can I override a rule if it applies incorrectly?
Yes! You can always manually change the category or details for a transaction, even if a rule was applied.
Can I set up multiple conditions in a rule?
Not yet — we're planning to expand this in the future!