Categorize once, and let rules do the rest

What it does

Bank statements aren’t written for people. “SQ *BLUE BOTTLE 0423” and “AMZN Mktp US*2K4L19” are hard to read and tedious to categorize by hand every month, and that chore is one of the main reasons people stop tracking their money.

Rules take it over. A rule looks for transactions that match something you choose and then tidies them up: a readable payee name, the right category, a memo, a tag. Set them up once and most of your regular spending categorizes itself.

How it works in Kemback

Open Rules to see and write your rules. Each rule has two halves.

When:

• Payee contains, starts with or is exactly some text. Matching ignores capital letters and extra spaces.
• Amount within a range, if you want one. Spending is negative, so -20.00 to 0.00 means purchases up to $20.
• Account: any account, or just one.

Then:

• Rename payee to a clean name, like “Blue Bottle Coffee”.
• Category: the category to set, or leave as is.
• Memo: text to add.
• Tags: one or more, like #coffee #treats.

Each rule appears under Your rules as a sentence you can read back: “When payee contains blue bottle: rename to Blue Bottle Coffee, categorize as Dining out, tag #coffee”. The up and down buttons move a rule earlier or later in the list.

The quick way: say yes when Kemback offers

You rarely need the form. When you change a transaction’s category in an account’s register or the review inbox, Kemback offers a rule, such as: always categorize payees containing “SQ *BLUE BOTTLE” as Dining out? It drops the part of the payee that changes each time (store numbers, reference codes), so next month’s coffee matches too. From a register, it also tells you how many other uncategorized transactions the new rule fits, and can categorize them in one go.

When rules run, and what they change

Rules run automatically on new transactions: file imports (including a switch from Quicken, Mint, YNAB or Monarch), bills you enter from the Bills page, and bank sync when it arrives with the Plus plan. On the way in they fill only what the source left empty, such as a missing category or a blank memo; payee renames and tags always apply. Transfers and split transactions are never touched.

They run in priority order, top first. For the payee, category and memo, the first matching rule that sets it wins, so put specific rules (Costco under $150 is Groceries) above general ones (any other Costco is Shopping). Tags add up across every rule that matches.

Applying rules to your history

After a big import, hundreds of old transactions may be uncategorized. Apply to existing transactions handles them safely:

• Preview uncategorized looks only at transactions with no category yet.
• Preview all, including recategorizing looks at everything, for when you’ve changed your mind, say moving coffee from Dining out to a new Coffee category.

Either shows a table of exactly what would change, with renamed payees shown against their old names. Nothing changes until you confirm. If a rule caught more than you meant (“shell” also matching “Shellfish Shack”), fix the rule and preview again.

Rules and the review inbox

New transactions from imports and bills wait in the Review inbox until a member confirms them. There you can confirm a transaction, recategorize it or turn it into a rule in one action. On the web there are keyboard shortcuts, and in a phone’s browser you can swipe: right to confirm, left to recategorize. With a few dozen rules in place, most of a day’s review is confirming what rules already got right.

Where it runs

Rules and the review inbox work in any browser at kemback.com and in the iPhone app, which is in beta. They’re on the Free plan. Rules are included when you export everything, so the work is never lost.

For worked examples, read rules that categorize transactions automatically.

Questions

Do I have to write rules from scratch?

Rarely. When you change a transaction's category in a register or the review inbox, Kemback offers a rule for that payee. Choose Create rule, or No thanks for a one-off.

Will a rule change transactions I already have?

Only if you ask. Apply to existing transactions shows a preview of every change first, and nothing changes until you confirm.

Can a rule break a transfer or a split?

No. Rules never touch transfers or split transactions, so a card payment or a split you made on purpose stays as it is.

What if two rules match the same transaction?

Rules run from the top of the list down. For the payee, category and memo, the first matching rule that sets it wins. Tags add up, so every matching rule can add its own.

Does Kemback use AI to categorize?

No. Rules are yours and do exactly what they say, so you can always read why a transaction was categorized the way it was.