Transaction Rules

Automations (also called Rules) let you automatically update transactions based on conditions you define. Instead of manually categorizing the same types of transactions over and over or renaming transactions, you can create rules that do it for you.

How it works

1. Create a rule with conditions that match certain transactions
2. Define actions to apply when conditions are met
3. Rules run automatically on new transactions, or you can run them manually on existing ones

tip

You likely don't need automations for setting categories if you've turned on auto categorization. Skwad will automatically categorize and learn from your category changes overtime.

Rules maybe helpful for situations where the similar transactions need to be categorized differently. For example: a gym subscription vs a one-time class you gifted to a friend.

Creating a rule

Navigate to Automations from the settings page to create your first rule.

1. Click Create your first rule (or the + button if you already have rules)
2. Give your rule a name (e.g., "Categorize Amazon purchases")
3. Add conditions to match transactions
4. Add actions to apply when matched
5. Click Save

Start from a preset

On a blank Create rule, a Start from strip sits above the name with common jobs (Recategorize, Change account, Rename payee, Add tag, Delete matching, Assign merchant, Flip sign). Click one to fill in the matching condition and action, then complete the empty pickers. The strip only appears on blank creates — it does not show when editing an existing rule or when creating a rule from a transaction.

Cloning a rule

Expand a rule and click Clone to open a draft named Copy of … with the same conditions and actions already filled in. Nothing is saved until you click Create rule, so you can tweak the copy first.

Conditions

Conditions determine which transactions your rule applies to. You can combine multiple conditions with AND/OR logic.

Available condition fields

Field	Operators	Example
Payee	contains, starts with, exact match, not equal, not contains	Payee contains "AMAZON"
Merchant	equals, not equal	Merchant is "Amazon"
Category	equals, not equal	Category is "Uncategorized"
Account	equals, not equal	Account is "Chase Checking"
Amount	equals, greater than, less than, etc.	Amount greater than 100
Date	before, after, on, on or before, on or after	Date after Jan 1, 2024

Combining conditions

• Use AND when all conditions must match
• Use OR when any condition should match
• Feel free to nest conditions

Example: Match Amazon transactions over $50:

Payee contains "AMAZON"
AND Amount greater than 50

Example: Match Netflix or Spotify:

Payee contains "NETFLIX"
OR Payee contains "SPOTIFY"

Actions

Actions define what happens when a transaction matches your conditions. You can chain multiple actions together.

Available actions

Action	Description
Update payee	Set the payee to a specific value
Replace payee text	Replace part of the payee (e.g., remove "PURCHASE" suffix)
Update merchant	Set the merchant
Update category	Set the category
Update account	Move to a different account
Update memo	Set the memo field
Add tag	Add a tag/list to the transaction
Remove tag	Remove a tag/list from the transaction
Multiply line item amounts	Multiply each line item's amount by a factor (use -1 to flip signs)
Delete	Archive the transaction

tip

Flipping signs on imported transactions? See Flipping transaction signs for a step-by-step example using the Multiply line item amounts action.

Action behavior

Each action can be set to:

• Continue - Keep evaluating more rules after this one
• Stop - Stop evaluating rules after this action

info

Rules are evaluated in order from top to bottom. Use the drag handle to reorder rules. The first matching rule with "Stop" behavior will prevent subsequent rules from running.

Viewing matching transactions

Before applying a rule, you can see how many transactions match its conditions:

1. Click on a rule to expand it
2. View the match count (e.g. "12 matches") showing how many transactions currently match

Clicking the match count opens the Apply rule dialog, where you can choose View items to inspect exactly which transactions match before making any changes.

Running rules

Automatic execution

Rules run automatically on new transactions about 1 minute after they're processed.

tip

Toggle the Enabled switch on a rule to control whether it runs.

Manual execution

To apply a rule to existing transactions:

1. Expand the rule and click its match count
2. In the Apply rule dialog, review the number of matching items
3. Click Apply rule to run it on all matched transactions (or View items first to inspect them)

Manual runs are useful when:

• You create a new rule and want to apply it to past transactions
• You've imported transactions that need bulk updates
• You want to re-run a rule after fixing conditions

Viewing execution history

The Execution History panel shows all rule runs:

• Status: Pending, Running, Completed, or Failed
• Rule name: Which rule was executed
• Transactions: How many were processed
• Duration: How long the execution took
• Type: Manual (you triggered it) or Automatic (system triggered)

Filtering history

Use the dropdown to filter by:

• All - Show all executions
• Manual - Show only manually triggered runs
• Automatic - Show only system-triggered runs

info

Execution history updates in real-time. You'll see progress as rules process transactions.

Finding and paging rules

Once you have a lot of rules, the list is searchable and paged:

• Search by name or description using the box above the list — results filter as you type. Clear the box (the X) to see everything again.
• The list shows 20 rules per page. Use Previous / Next below the list to move between pages. Your search and page are kept in the URL, so you can bookmark or share a filtered view.

Rule ordering

Rules are evaluated in order from top to bottom. Reorder them from the left of each collapsed row:

• Drag the handle to move a rule within the current page.
• Use Move to top / Move to bottom to jump a rule to the very start or end of the whole list — handy when the rule you want is on another page. You stay on the current page, and the rule slots into place.

info

Reordering works against your full, unfiltered list, so drag and the move buttons are disabled while a search is active. Clear the search to reorder.

Why order matters:

• If a rule with "Stop" behavior matches, later rules won't run
• More specific rules should come before general ones
• Put cleanup rules (like removing text from payees) before categorization rules

Best practices

1. Start specific, then broaden - Create specific rules first, then add broader catch-all rules
2. Use "Stop" wisely - Only use "Stop" when you don't want other rules to apply
3. Test with filters first - Use the transaction filter to verify your conditions before creating a rule
4. Check match counts - Always verify the match count before running rules manually
5. Keep names descriptive - Use clear names like "Categorize Amazon as Shopping" not "Rule 1"

Troubleshooting

My rule isn't matching transactions I expect

Check that:

• The transaction status is "Processed" (pending transactions aren't matched)
• Your condition operators are correct (e.g., "contains" vs "exact match")
• The rule is enabled

My rule matched too many transactions

If you accidentally ran a rule on wrong transactions:

1. Use the transactions filter to find affected records
2. Use bulk edit to revert changes
3. Update your rule conditions to be more specific
4. Consider adding an Account or Date condition to narrow matches

Why didn't my new transaction get processed automatically?

Automatic rule execution has a 1-minute delay. If your transaction is very new:

1. Wait a few minutes for processing
2. Check the execution history for any errors
3. Verify your rule is enabled

My execution shows "Failed" status

Common causes:

• Referenced category, merchant, or account was deleted

Try running the rule again. If it continues to fail, check that all referenced items (categories, accounts, tags) still exist.

Can I undo a rule execution?

There's no automatic undo. However:

1. Use the transactions filter to find affected transactions
2. Use bulk edit to manually revert changes
3. For future, check match counts before running rules