Rules and AI

Wesley offers three ways to accelerate categorization: a reusable Bookkeeping Guide, repeatable Auto-Coding Rules, and a one-time Guide Wesley request. They complement review; they do not replace responsibility for the accounting result.

Where to find each tool

• Select a client, open Client Settings, then choose Bookkeeping Guide for standing instructions and transaction Ref defaults.
• Open Banking and choose the Rules shortcut to reach Auto-Coding Rules.
• Open a Banking account and choose Categorize Faster to guide an AI categorization run.
• Use Filter with AI in the transaction feed to describe a filter in natural language.

Before you begin

• Read access can view the Bookkeeping Guide; write access is required to change instructions, run categorization, create rules, or post results.
• Clean up the chart of accounts and payees and tags first.
• Review a representative sample of transactions before automating a pattern.
• A closed period can prevent a rule or AI result from posting a transaction.
• Use narrow, testable instructions. Do not include credentials, bank login details, or unrelated sensitive information.

Write the Bookkeeping Guide

The Bookkeeping Guide tells Wesley how this client normally earns revenue, incurs expenses, treats important vendors, uses accounts, and handles client-specific exceptions.

1. Open Client Settings and select Bookkeeping Guide below Client Information.
2. Write clear, concise standing instructions.
3. Separate general policy from exceptions and name the relevant account or vendor precisely.
4. Save the guide.
5. Review later suggestions against the guide and update ambiguous guidance when the business changes.

These instructions persist for the client. A guide change can influence later suggestions; it does not retroactively rewrite already-posted transactions.

Use Transaction Ref defaults on the same page to define values such as EFT for ACH payments, DEP for deposits, and DEB for other withdrawals. Wesley fills only empty pending Refs after type enrichment, preserves existing values, and carries the Ref into the journal entry.

Use Categorize Faster

1. Open an account with uncategorized transactions and choose Categorize Faster. If none are pending, the button indicates No Uncategorized Txns.
2. In Guide Wesley, describe the current batch goal by text or voice. Voice input supports Auto detect, Korean, and English.
3. Review the request before the run begins. Edit it if the instruction is unclear or incomplete.
4. Inspect the proposed accounts and transaction outcomes.
5. Accept only results supported by the source and client policy; correct the rest.

The Guide Wesley instruction applies only to the current batch. It does not replace the client's Bookkeeping Guide.

Understand AI modes

The client can operate in one of three modes:

• Self-Driving: AI categorizes every transaction except items flagged for check review; the team reviews finished work. Transaction automation can activate safe generated rules and apply them immediately.
• Collab: AI categorizes routine repeat transactions; the team handles the rest. This is the default mode. Safe generated rules from transaction automation are saved under Rules > Pending for review and do not run until activated.
• Off: AI provides suggestions only; the team categorizes every transaction.

The mode changes how work is prepared, not the reviewer's duty to verify it.

Create an Auto-Coding Rule

1. Open Banking > Rules > Pending and create a rule.
2. Add conditions for Merchant name, Description, Amount, Spent/Received, Account, or Transaction scope.
3. For text, choose contains, equals, starts with, or ends with. For amounts, choose greater than or equal, less than or equal, equal, or between.
4. Choose Match all (AND) or Match any (OR). Negate a condition only when the resulting scope remains easy to understand.
5. Limit the scope to all outgoing, checking, credit-card, or a specific account as appropriate.
6. Set the Post to account and, when needed, a payee and tags.
7. Review the preview of matching Uncategorized transactions and remove suggested matches that do not belong.
8. Choose Save as Pending to store without future automation, or Apply & Activate and confirm Activate rule & post all.

The final posting count can differ from the preview when transactions have already been processed or cannot be posted. Review the results before continuing.

Manage active rules

Active rules run in their displayed application order. When two rules could match, priority matters; keep the more specific rule ahead of the general one.

Use Save & Apply after editing an active rule. To stop a rule, choose:

• Pause only to stop future application while preserving its existing postings.
• Pause & Revert to pause and return eligible transactions posted by that rule to Uncategorized.

Deleting a rule cannot be undone and does not revert prior postings. Use Pause & Revert first if that is the intended accounting result. Transactions that were changed, reconciled, or closed may remain posted, so review the results and correct skipped items manually.

Result and side effects

• Saving the Bookkeeping Guide changes future AI suggestions for the client.
• Running Categorize Faster can propose accounts and transaction decisions for the selected batch.
• Save as Pending stores a rule without applying future automation.
• Apply & Activate can immediately post all eligible preview matches and then apply to future matching rows.
• Pausing stops future rule use; reverting can unpost eligible rule-created transactions.

Correct or undo automation

Pause a rule first if it is producing incorrect results. Correct the rule conditions and order, then review affected transactions. Use Pause & Revert only when returning eligible rule postings to Uncategorized is appropriate; manually correct skipped items.

For an individual AI or rule result, edit or unpost the transaction using the normal Transaction Review controls. Deleting a rule or rewriting the Bookkeeping Guide does not automatically correct historical ledger entries.

Troubleshooting

The preview is too broad. Add account, direction, amount, or exact merchant conditions and switch from Match any to Match all where appropriate.

A rule did not post every preview row. Check current status, rule order, closed periods, required coding, and the final skipped or failed counts.

The wrong rule wins. Reorder active rules so that the narrow rule is evaluated before the broad one.

Pause & Revert left some rows posted. Those rows may have been edited, reconciled, closed, or otherwise become ineligible. Review them individually.

AI has no rows to process. Clear the feed filters and verify the account's Uncategorized count. If the button shows No Uncategorized Txns, add or fetch source activity first.

After categorization, proceed to Reconciliation.