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Rules

Bank rules are automation tools that save time by automatically categorizing recurring bank and credit card transactions. When a new transaction enters your bank feed, Arbo checks it against your active rules and assigns the correct category, vendor, and tags — no manual review of every coffee run or monthly subscription.

  1. Open the left navigation sidebar.
  2. Under Accounting, select Rules.

Creating a new rule​

  1. Click Create Rule in the top right corner.
  2. Name your rule — something descriptive like "Monthly AWS Hosting" or "Starbucks Coffee".
  3. Set the conditions (the "If") — select the bank account(s) the rule applies to, then define the criteria, e.g. Bank Text → Contains → "AWS". You can add multiple conditions (e.g., bank text contains "AWS" AND amount is greater than $50).
  4. Set the actions (the "Then") — choose the Transaction Type (Expense, Deposit, Transfer), select the Category (Chart of Accounts), assign the Vendor/Payee, and add any Tags for reporting.
  5. Configure Auto-Add (optional) — Enabled: Arbo categorizes and posts the transaction directly to your ledger without review. Disabled: Arbo suggests the category on the Transactions screen for you to confirm.
  6. Click Save Rule.

Managing existing rules​

On the Rules dashboard, click the three-dot menu next to a rule:

  • Edit — update the name, conditions, or actions.
  • Copy / Duplicate — clone an existing rule, useful for creating a similar rule for a different vendor.
  • Disable / Pause — temporarily stop the rule without deleting it; re-enable anytime.
  • Delete — permanently remove the rule.

Important notes & best practices​

  1. Rules apply to unreviewed transactions — changing, disabling, or deleting a rule does not affect transactions already categorized and posted to your ledger.
  2. Priority order — rules are read top to bottom. If a transaction matches two rules, the higher one on the list wins. Drag and drop rules to change priority.
  3. Correcting mistakes — if a rule categorizes incorrectly, go to Transactions, Undo the categorization, edit your rule, and the system re-evaluates based on the updated logic.
  4. Instant refresh — a newly created rule is applied immediately to your currently unreviewed transactions in the bank feed.