The following explains the procedure for how Rules work and how they are applied.
The process can be summarized in three steps:

1. Import bank transactions into the Transactions table.
2. Create the rules.
3. Apply the rules for the automatic completion of transactions.

1. Import bank transactions

When bank transactions are imported, the program inserts a temporary counteraccount [CA]. Typically, the completion of contra accounts must be done manually for each entry.

In the example figure, in the Transactions table, it can be seen that:

• (1) - The cells have the same temporary contra account, related to sales via Twint.
• (2) - The cell has a temporary contra account related to monthly expenses for May.
• (3) - The cell has a temporary contra account related to Swisscom telephone expenses.
• (4) - The cell has a temporary contra account related to insurance costs, policy number 892-948.
• (5) - The cell has a temporary contra account related to insurance costs, policy number 987-650.

2. Creating the Rules

The Rules are used to automatically complete all temporary contra accounts of imported transactions, adding VAT codes, cost centers, links, and more. 

The rules are template transactions that are already complete, found in the Recurring transactions table, where:

• The Description column contains the text (one or more keywords) that the imported transaction must include.
• The Debit Account and Credit Account columns contain the Contra account that will replace the temporary one.

We have created a system that provides different methods for creating the Rules:

• Rules from the Apply Rules dialog
• Rules from the Transactions table
• Rules from the Recurring transactions table

Regardless of the method used, the created Rules are saved in the Recurring Transactions table.

In the example, in the Recurring Transactions table, a Rule has been created for the following transactions:

• (1) - For the "Twint" transactions, the rule replaces the temporary contra account with the "Sales" account. The VAT code has also been added.
• (2) - For the "Interac Electronics" transaction, the rule replaces the temporary contra account with the "Goods" account. The VAT code has also been added.
• (3) - For the "Swisscom" transaction, the rule replaces the temporary contra account with the "Admin" account.
• (4) - For the "Best insurance" transaction with policy number "892-948", the rule replaces the temporary contra account with the "Insurance Health" account.
• (5) - For the "Best insurance" transaction with policy number "987-650", the rule replaces the temporary contra account with the "Insurance Car" account. 

Important: where there is a contract number, a policy number, a customer number, etc., it is recommended to add a "+" in front of the rule. The + allows the rule to search for individual words (or sequences of numbers) regardless of their position within the description of the imported transaction.

3. Applying the Rules for Automatic Completion (Result)

In the Transactions table, the program completes the imported transactions by adding the contra account, VAT code, etc., regardless of the method used for creating the Rules.

In the example, in the Transactions table, the imported transactions have been automatically completed:

• (1) - For the "Twint" transactions, the temporary contra account has been replaced with the "Sales" account and completed with the VAT code.
• (2) - For the "Interac Electronics" transaction, the temporary contra account has been replaced with the "Goods" account and completed with the VAT code.
• (3) - For the "Swisscom" transaction, the temporary contra account has been replaced with the "Admin" account.
• (4) - For the "Best insurance" transaction with policy number "892-948", the temporary contra account has been replaced with the "Insurance Health" account.
• (5) - For the "Best insurance" transaction with policy number "987-650", the temporary contra account has been replaced with the "Insurance Car" account.

Additionally, the program recognizes the transactions with the VAT code and completes all the columns related to VAT (VAT account and amounts).

One of the methods for creating Rules is from the Apply Rules dialog. The main advantages are as follows:

• You can see all imported transactions.
• The imported transactions are divided into incoming and outgoing transactions, with Rules and without Rules.
• For each group of identical transactions, the Rule being applied is shown in bold.
• Rules that are duplicated or in conflict are highlighted.
• You can add new rules and modify or delete existing ones.
• By changing the conditions of a Rule (description, amount, account), you can immediately see the list of transactions that comply with it.
• You can decide which rules to activate and which to deactivate.

Below is the complete procedure for creating Rules from the Apply Rules dialog.

1. Give the command Import into accounting

Before accessing the Apply Rules dialog, you must first import bank, postal, or other transactions as follows:

• Use the command from the Actions menu  > Import into accounting > Transactions
• Select the appropriate format and indicate the path where the file with your bank statement data is located
• In the dialog that opens:
  • Enter the account related to the statement from which you are importing the transactions (bank, postal service, etc.).
  • Specify the start and end dates for the period of the transactions to import.
  • Indicate the temporary contra account if you want it to be different from the default "[CA]".
    You can use any account, and if you write it in square brackets, it will not be accounted for.
  • Activate the Apply Rules option (available only with the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus).
  • Confirm with OK.
     

 2. Dialogue Apply Rules

The program opens the Apply Rules dialog. 

In this dialog, you will find:

• The temporary contra account you entered previously or the default one "[CA]".
• The bank account entered, where all transactions imported from your bank or postal account are recorded.
• The imported transactions from the bank account, divided into:
  • Incoming transactions without rules (Money In without rules).
  • Outgoing transactions without rules (Money Out without rules).
  • Incoming transactions with rules (Money In with rules).
  • Outgoing transactions with rules (Money Out with rules).

3. Create new rules

To create new Rules: 

• Position yourself on one of the transactions for which you want to create a rule.
• Go to the right-hand side until you see  "...".
• Click on Add New Rule.

The Add Rule - Edit Rule dialogue appears.

In this dialog, you need to enter:

• In the Description, the text (keyword) that the program uses to find the matching Rule in the imported transactions.
  Example:
  • Best Insurance Contract 892-948
    applies to lines that contain exactly the specified text.
  • +Best Insurance Contract 892-948
    applies to lines that contain the words "Best Insurance" and "892-948" in any position.
• The contra account, used to replace the temporary contra account.
• Any other information (Cost centers, VAT codes, etc.).

Important: where there is a contract number, a policy number, a customer number, etc., it is recommended to add a "+" in front of the rule. The + allows the rule to search for individual words (or sequences of numbers) regardless of their position within the description of the imported transaction.

The program shows the transactions found based on the entered conditions to which the new rule will be applied. In the example, we have a single transaction.

• Confirm with OK.

4. Confirm Apply Rules

In the Apply Rules dialog, you will see:

• The row of the created Rule ("NEW") where the data of the temporary counteraccount [CA] and the other information entered in the rule are indicated.
• Below are the lines of the transactions to which the rule has been applied.

You can decide when to execute the Apply Rules command:

• You can apply the rules selectively and continue working on the others.
• You can exit the dialog and return later.
• You can cancel the operation of applying the rules and repeat it later.
• The Apply Rules command also saves any changes you made to the rules.

By clicking on the buttons:

• Apply Rules:
  • The program adds the new Rules to the Recurring transactions table.
  • The program completes the transactions in the Transactions table.
  • The dialog remains open so you can add the rules to the other transactions.
• OK
  • Confirms the applied rules and closes the dialog.
     

Undo changes made

Once the dialogue is closed, you will see the completed transactions in the Transactions table.
If you wish, you can undo the changes you have made:

• Menu Edit > Undo edit
• With the Cancel button (green arrow).

To also cancel the import of the data, you need to repeat the Cancel command a second time.

Complete other transactions with Temporary contra account

After importing bank transactions, the aim is to complete all transactions so that there are no more transactions with Temporary contra accounts [CA].

You can manually complete the remaining transactions. This is useful for special cases that do not tend to repeat.

You can create new rules by chosing one of the following methods:

• Rules from the Apply Rules dialog
• Rules from Recurring transactions

Adding information to completed transactions with rules

It is possible to add supplementary information to the Rules through the Recurring Transactions table.

One of the methods provided for creating Rules is from the Transactions table. The main advantages are as follows:

• You work directly in the Transactions table that you already use regularly. You are already familiar with the table.
• You see all the columns.
• You create Rules simply by completing the imported transactions.
  You complete the transactions manually only the first time when creating the Rules. For subsequent imports, the program applies the already created Rules to the new imported transactions.
• Speed in creating Rules.
  Select the rows with completed transactions and, with a single click, create all the rules in the Recurring Transactions table. You only need to modify the description of each rule to ensure a precise match for future transactions.
• You do not need to insert Rules through additional dialogs.
• You do not need to manually enter all the Rule data in the Recurring Transactions table.

Below is the complete procedure for creating Rules from the Transactions table.

Import transactions

In the Transactions table, import transactions from bank, postal, or credit card statements.

Complete the imported transactions

For each imported transaction, enter the counterpart, VAT code, cost center, or other information.

When you import a transaction that needs to be recorded on multiple lines, the program inserts a single entry with the total amount and a temporary counterpart [CA].

Proceed as follows:

• Remove the temporary counterpart account [CA] from the transaction.
• Insert new rows following the transaction. For each row, enter the complete transaction with description, counterpart, amount, any VAT code, and cost center.
  
  

Create Rules

Starting from the completed transactions, you can create Rules:

• Select from the Transactions table the entries to which you want to apply Rules.
• Right-click on a transaction without rules > Create rules from selection.
  Alternatively, go to the Actions menu > Recurring Transactions > Create rules from selection.
  
  

All selected transactions are transferred to the Recurring Transactions table, exactly as they were completed in the Transactions table.

How to complete the Rules

In the Recurring Transactions table, you need to complete the Rules:

• Edit the Description column.
  Modify the text of the description to search for in the transactions from the imported bank statement. Initially, the program automatically uses the description found in the imported transaction.
  Replace this text with one or more keywords so that the program can find matches in the description of the imported transaction (e.g., +Best Insurance).
  See also Condition on Description
• Debit and Credit Account Columns
  The Debit and Credit columns show the counterpart and the imported bank account.
  • First, check whether the indicated counterpart is already the desired one; if not, update it accordingly.
  • The main import account, used to identify matching transactions, must not be marked as a commented account (account enclosed in square brackets).
    If the account matches the bank's main account from which the transactions are imported and is marked as a commented account, the brackets must be removed, otherwise the rule will not be applied correctly.
    This may happen with detailed transactions imported from the statement for which no specific rules exist yet.
  • Alternatively, you can remove the main import account and leave only the counterpart. In this case, the rule will be applied based on the Description column (match with the transaction description) and will be valid for all imported bank accounts.
• For multi-line transactions, edit the Doc column.
  In the first row of the transaction, enter empty square brackets [] in the counterpart column.
  In subsequent rows, enter !RuleSplit in the Doc column (see rows 7,8,9 in the image below).
  
  

The explained procedure only needs to be performed the first time to set up the Rules. For future imports, the Rules found are applied automatically. You only need to complete the new imported transactions without a rule using the same procedure.
To find all imported transactions in the Transactions table that do not have a rule, you can use the Row filter function, entering the text "[CA]".

The rules can be accessed via the command Actions > Recurring Transactions > Transactions table.

• Rule rows are those that contain !Rule or !RuleSplit in the Doc column.
• In rule rows, the columns have a different meaning:
  • Condition Columns
    Contain the values to be compared to determine whether the rule should be applied.
    The condition columns are: Doc, Date, Description, Account Debit/Credit, Amount.
  • Action / Substitution Columns
    Contain the values that will be applied and complete the imported transactions.
    All columns that are not used as condition columns are considered substitution columns.

Condition columns 

Condition columns (or search columns) contain the data used to search for matches in the imported transactions.

• Doc column (required)
  • Must contain !Rule or !RuleSplit
    • !Rule indicates it is a rule.
    • !RuleSplit indicates that the rule above must also create split transactions.
• Description column (required)
  • The Description column must contain the text to be searched in the description of imported transactions.
  • When a description begins with text in square brackets, it is used as the rule name. The rule name is optional and can be used to better identify rules.
• Account column (recommended)
  • In double-entry accounting: use the Debit column (to filter incoming transactions) or the Credit column (to filter outgoing transactions).
  • In income and expense accounting: use the Account column.
  • This is usually the bank account from which the transactions are imported.
• Date column (optional)
  • Limits the application of the rule to a specific period of the transactions.
• Amount column (optional)
  • Limits the application of the rule to a specific amount or range of amounts.
  • In income and expense accounting: use the Income (incoming transactions) or Expense (outgoing transactions) column.

Substitution Columns 

Substitution columns must be filled in with additional information.

• DocLink column
• Contra Account column
  Enter the contra account that replaces the temporary contra account [CA] or the temporary contra selected in the Apply Rules dialog.
  • In double-entry accounting: use the Credit column (for incoming transactions) or the Debit column (for outgoing transactions).
  • In income and expense accounting: use the Category column.
• VAT Code column
  Enter the VAT code to be applied to the imported transaction.
  The program automatically completes all VAT-related columns.
• Cost Centers (CC1, CC2, CC3) columns
  Specify the cost center to assign to the imported transaction.
• Notes column
  Enter any additional information to be included in the imported transaction.
• Other columns
  All columns that are not condition columns, except ExternalReference, are considered substitution columns.
  ExternalReference is a reserved column used by the bank import to identify each transaction and prevent duplicates.

The DocLink column

In this column, it is not possible to insert a specific link to a document because each transaction will have its own document. However, you can add an annotation in square brackets (e.g., "[Doc]") to distinguish the rows that need to be associated with a digital document.

Once the transactions are imported, it may be necessary to link them to accounting documents. To speed up this process, it is recommended to proceed as follows:

• In the DocLink column of the Recurring Transactions table, use text enclosed in square brackets [ ].
• Within the square brackets, enter the text that should be searched for in the name of the supporting document file.
  
  
   
• In the Transactions table, the transactions are imported with the text in square brackets in the Link column.
  
  
   
• In the Transactions table, use the Row Filter function and enter the text "!link![ ]". This will display all the rows in the Link column that contain square brackets where a link to the supporting document needs to be added.
• When editing the Link column in the Transactions table, the program will show, in the auto-completion, the files of supporting documents that have not yet been linked to a transaction and contain the text entered between the square brackets.
  For example, if you enter "[invoice]," the program will display all the unlinked files containing the text "invoice" in the cell.

Quick search and completion of transactions

It is possible that after importing transactions with the Rules, some transactions may need to be manually completed with additional information.

To quickly find the transactions that need to be completed, you can use one of the following methods:

• Using the Notes Column
  To quickly locate the transactions that need to be completed, we recommend adding temporary search texts that can be used to filter the transactions. For example:
  • In the Notes column of the Recurring Transactions table, or in any other column of the Rule row (except for those predefined for the Rule), enter a hashtag, such as #city.
  • In the Row Filter function of the Transactions table, enter the same hashtag. This will display the rows that you need to complete.
• Coloring Rule Rows
  You can color the Rule rows in the Recurring Transactions table. The row color will be transferred to the Transactions table and used to highlight the transactions to which the rule is applied.
  To identify only the colored rows, you can use the Row Filter function by entering the text "!_co!"

Split row transactions

Normally, when you import transactions from a bank statement with the Rule, a single counterpart account is recorded. If the total amount of the counterpart needs to be split across multiple counterpart accounts, you can create a multi-row Rule.

For example:

• You regularly receive a payment of 550 that must be recorded on three different accounts and therefore on three rows:
  • (550) rent collection (no contra-account, as this involves recording the global amount split over three rows)
  • (500) flat rent (contra account rent)
  • (50) extra expenses (contra-account for extra expenses) .

To create a multi-row Rule:

• The first row corresponds to the total amount collected.
  • In the Doc column, enter the text !Rule.
  • In the Description column, enter the text to search for in the imported transactions.
  • In the counterpart column, enter square brackets [].
• In the following rows:
  • In the Doc column, enter the text !RuleSplit.
  • In the Description column, enter the text to search for in the imported transactions.
  • In the counterpart column, enter the counterpart accounts.
  • In all other columns, input the values that should be included in the additional rows. In this example, we have added the tenant’s Cost Center.
    In the following example, you can see the tenant’s Cost Center.

In the example of a multi-row rent transaction, it is assumed that the collected amount is always 550. If the collected amount is different from 550, the transaction will need to be completed manually. 

Modifying rules in the Recurring Transactions Table

All completion Rules saved in the Recurring Transactions table, even if they were created from the Apply Rules dialog, can be modified, deleted, or new ones can be created in anticipation of a future import without a Rule.

Set a different description from the imported one

All imported transactions display the description from the bank statement in the Description column of the Transactions table. Typically, these descriptions are very detailed.

It is not possible to automatically change this description at the time of import.

If you wish to change the imported description, you can use the Notes column in the Recurring Transactions table.  
Note: if the Notes column is already used for your own annotations, it cannot be used to modify the description.

If the Notes column is not being used, proceed as follows:

• Display the Recurring Transactions table.
• Make the Notes column visible by going to the menu Data > Columns set up > check the Notes column.
• In the Notes column, enter the description text that you want to appear in the Transactions table (Description column).
  Repeat this step for each desired transaction.
  
  
   
• Import the transactions
• After importing into the Transactions table, make the Notes column visible (menu Data > Columns setup > check the Notes column)
  The Notes column will display the notes defined in the Recurring Transactions table.
  
  
   
  • For each transaction, copy the content from the Notes column and paste it into the Description column.
    
    

In the Recurring Transactions table, it is not possible to directly add custom columns. 

To use a custom column in the Recurring Transactions table, you need to add the custom column to the Transactions table.

Once the column is added to the Transactions table, it will also be visible in the Recurring Transactions table and can be used to set a different description from the imported one.

Therefore, the insertion procedure is the same as described in the section Set a Different Description from the Imported One - Notes Column.

Create a new year with rules

When you create a new year using the command Actions > Create New Year, the existing Rules in the Recurring Transactions table are automatically carried over to the new year's file.

Accounting with the same rules

If you manage several similar accounting files (for example for clients with similar characteristics), it can be useful to reuse rules that have already been created, avoiding rewriting them every time.

When the accounting files have the same chart of accounts, or at least a compatible structure, you can copy the Recurring transactions from one file to another.

How to copy the rules

• Open the source file (the one that contains the rules to be reused).
• Display the Recurring transactions table using the command
  Actions > Recurring transactions > Recurring transactions table.
• Select the rows you want to copy.
• Use the Copy rows command, Edit > Copy rows.
• Open the destination file and display the Recurring transactions table.
• Paste the rules using the command Edit > Insert copied rows in the Recurring transactions table.

You can also create a dedicated accounting file, used as a rule library.
In this way, when you create a new accounting file, you can easily copy the necessary set of rules and paste it into the destination file.

The rule conditions are criteria that define when a completion rule should be automatically applied to a transaction.

They are set during the creation or editing of a rule in the Apply Rules dialog, or directly in the Recurring Transactions table.

The conditions may refer to the Description, Account, Amount, and Date.

A rule is applied only if all the set conditions are met. If even a single condition is not fulfilled, the rule will not be executed. Empty conditions are ignored.


 

Condition on Description

Enter a word or short phrase as a keyword to identify transactions to be automated, based on the text shown in the Description column of the bank statement.

Banana Accounting automatically compares the description text of each transaction with the one specified in the rule and, if it finds a match, applies the associated rule.

To achieve more effective results, it is advisable to use only a few representative keywords (for example, the supplier or service name), so that the rule matches multiple similar transactions.

The search texts can be entered in several ways:

• Exact word or phrase
  • For example, if you enter "Best Insurance 982-948", the program searches imported transactions that contain exactly "Best Insurance 982-948".
  • If you only enter "Insurance", the program searches imported transactions that contain the word "Insurance".
• All words in any order (+ at the beginning)
  • If you enter "+Best Insurance 892-948", the program searches imported transactions that contain the words "Best", "Insurance", and the number "892-948" in any order.
  • All words must be present in the transaction description, but the order is not relevant.
  • The "+" symbol is not considered in the search.

Important: where there is a contract number, a policy number, a customer number, etc., it is recommended to add a "+" in front of the rule. The + allows the rule to search for individual words (or sequences of numbers) regardless of their position within the description of the imported transaction.

• List of words (using |)
  • If you enter "coffee|restaurant", the program searches imported transactions that contain the word "coffee" or "restaurant".
    This method is useful to identify multiple categories without creating separate searches.
• Uppercase and lowercase
  • The search does not distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters. The entered text will be applied regardless of case.
    All text entered in the Description is displayed in the Description column of the Recurring Transactions table. 

Warning: Do NOT use the entire text from the bank statement as the description, because it is unique for that transaction.

Condition on Account

• Enter the account from which the transactions are imported (bank, post, etc.).
• The program records in Debit or Credit depending on the imported transaction.
• The program automatically posts to Debit or Credit based on the transaction type.
• If the Account field is left empty, the rule applies to all accounts that meet the description condition.

Condition on Amount (or Currency Amount)

• Allows applying a rule only when the transaction has a specific amount.
• Alternatively, if the exact amount is not known, you can define a range of amounts by specifying a minimum, maximum, or a specific interval in which to apply the rule.
  • Available from version 10.2.3 of Banana Accounting Plus (Dev Channel)
  • The condition must:
    • start with the symbol !
    • be enclosed in square brackets [ ]
    • use the unformatted amount, that is, without thousand separators and with a period as decimal separator
      (other formats are not recognized)
    • The operators that can be used are greater >, less <, greater or equal >=, less or equal <=, not equal <>
  • Example: to select transactions with amount greater or equal to CHF 1'000.00:
    [!>=1000.00]

The image shows the Apply Rules dialog where you can select the Amount field and define a number range (in this example, account 1510 Furniture and Fixtures is applied to transactions with the description equal to 'Office supply purchase' and amount greater or equal to CHF 1'000).
Using this filter is useful when assigning different counterpart accounts based on the transaction amount.

Examples of conditions applicable to the Amount column

Condition on Date

Starting from version 10.2.3 of Banana Accounting Plus (Dev Channel) you can apply a rule to transactions that fall within a specific period (for example, only transactions from January).

How to proceed:

• Add a new rule as explained on the page Apply Rules Dialog - Add Rule
• Select the Date field
• Enter the filter condition in the Comment field.
  The condition must:
  • start with the symbol !
  • be enclosed in square brackets [ ]
  • use the date in ISO format YYYY-MM-DD
    (other formats are not recognized)
• Example: to select transactions with dates equal or before April 1st, 2025:
  [!<2025-04-01]
   

The image shows the Apply Rules dialog where you can select the Date field and define a date range (in this example, it is applied to transactions before April 1st, 2025).
Using this filter is helpful when differentiating processes by month, quarter or year — for example, if a specific VAT code applies until a certain date and a different one after that, such as when switching to a new VAT method.

Examples of conditions applicable to the Date column

How to define conditions in the Recurring Transactions table

Conditions can be entered directly in the Recurring Transactions table using the same syntax explained in the previous sections.

Rule weight and conflict resolution

The weight of an autocomplete rule is determined by the number of conditions defined in the rule itself. The greater the number of specified conditions, the greater the weight assigned to the rule.

When multiple rules apply to the same transaction, Banana Accounting selects the rule with the highest weight, considering it more specific. This makes it possible to define generic rules and more detailed rules; in the event of a conflict, the more specific rule is always applied.

For example, the Recurring transactions table may contain the following rules:

If a transaction with the description "Credit Fratelli Bernasconi" is imported into account 1030, both rules apply. However, the second rule has a higher weight because it contains an additional condition on the DebitAcc field. Since it is more specific, it is applied with priority over the first rule.