A rule tells Finly Money once how to handle a merchant, so you never fix it by hand again. For example: when the merchant contains “Netflix”, set the category to Streaming & Subscriptions and add the tag subscriptions. Rules are included with Grow and up.
From a transaction (quickest)
Open the transaction
On Transactions, click or tap a transaction to open its details.
Choose Create rule
It reads Automate this merchant, past and future. The merchant and its current category are filled in for you.
Say what to match
Under When the merchant, choose contains or is exactly, and edit the words if you like. Tap Only from your account, or Only when it is exactly the amount, to narrow it down.
Choose what happens
Under Then, pick one or more: Set the category, Rename to, Add tags, Ignore, Split it or Mark as recurring.
Apply it
The card at the bottom shows how many existing transactions match, with a few examples. Choose the button that reads like Apply to 12 now, and to new ones.
From the Rules page
Open Rules
Choose Rules at the top of Transactions (on a phone, the rules button beside +), or go to Settings and choose the Rules tab. Then choose New rule; on a phone it's the + button.
Find matching transactions
Start with Merchant name: choose Contains words or Exactly matches and type the name. Use Add a condition for Date (on or after a day), Account or Amount (is exactly, less than, greater than or between). Every condition must match.
Choose what happens
Pick the category under Set category, then use Add an action for Add tags, Rename merchant, Exclude (from budgets or from everything), Split or Mark as recurring.
Check the preview
Your rule at a glance sums up your rule and shows how many transactions match right now, with sample matches as they look before the change.
Create it
Choose Create rule. To name it yourself, choose Give this rule a name (optional); otherwise we name it from your conditions.
What happens when you save
The rule applies right away to every matching transaction you already have, and then to each new one as it arrives, before we try to categorize it. Your lists update in a moment.
Matching tips
- Contains words matches whole words: “gas” finds “Shell Gas Station” but not “Vegas”.
- Exactly matches needs the full merchant name, ignoring capital letters.
- Rules look at the merchant name shown in your list, not the bank's raw description.
- An amount matches charges and refunds alike: $50 matches both −$50 and +$50.
- Setting the category to Uncategorized stops us from guessing a category for those transactions.
- The Business action appears only if you keep business money in Finly Money (Thrive and Thrive Duo).
You can also start a rule from Rename it every time when renaming a merchant, or from the Always file … under …? suggestion that appears each time you change a category. See how rules decide what happens.