This guide walks you through creating a rule, from start to finish. It takes a few minutes, and you can test the rule before it does anything.
Before you start
Have one customer in mind, and know how they usually pay. For example, "ACME always quotes the invoice number, and their bank takes a small fee".
If the rule will book bank fees, FX differences or write-offs, check that your bank account's GL accounts are mapped first. See Handle differences with adjustments.
Create a rule
Go to Reconciliation, open a bank account, click the gear icon and choose Reconciliation rules. Click New matching rule. The rule builder opens on the right.
Name the rule so your team knows what it does, for example ACME: invoice number in reference. This is the only field you must fill in.
Add a description (optional) to explain what the rule is for. It shows under the name in the rules list.
Choose the bank accounts the rule should watch, under Source bank accounts. The account you came from is already selected. Leave it empty to watch all accounts.
Each bank sends slightly different payment details. Pick a single bank account if you want to use details that only that bank sends.
Tell the rule which payments to look for, under Conditions. Click Add condition, then choose what to check and what to look for, for example Counterparty name contains ACME. See Set up rule conditions.
Tell the rule how to find the invoices, under Match to. Choose a Match strategy, and under Match against choose Any customer or Specific customers. See Choose a match strategy.
Decide what to do if the amount is slightly off (optional). Click Add adjustment if, for example, the customer's bank usually takes a small fee. Without an adjustment, a payment that's even a penny out is left for you to check. See Handle differences with adjustments.
Set how the rule behaves, under Rule setting:
Priority: which rule goes first if two rules could handle the same payment. Lower numbers go first. New rules go to the end of the list. See Order your rules with priority.
Minimum amount / Maximum amount (optional): only handle payments in this range.
Active: switch the rule on.
Auto-apply: post matches to NetSuite without anyone checking them. We recommend leaving this off until you trust the rule.
Raise a task when this rule sends a line to review: get a task whenever the rule finds invoices but needs you to finish the match. See What happens when a rule matches.
Test the rule. Click Test rule to see which of your payments it would pick up, before you save anything. See Test a rule and apply it to past transactions.
Click Save rule. You'll see Rule created.
Don't forget the match strategy. You can save a rule without one, but it will never match anything.
Change or switch off a rule
To change a rule, click it in the list, make your changes and click Save rule. You'll see Rule updated.
To pause a rule, click Active in the Status column so it shows Inactive. The rule keeps all its settings, and you can switch it back on at any time.
If you see a message when saving
Yellow warnings don't stop you saving. They point out something worth a second look, such as two adjustments that overlap, or another rule that might handle the same customers first. Read more in Handle differences with adjustments and Order your rules with priority.
Amount range errors stop you saving until you fix them:
Minimum amount must be a number of 0 or more.
Maximum amount must be a number greater than 0.
Maximum amount must be greater than the minimum.