Bank reconciliation matching rules

A matching rule is a filter that decides which posted ledger lines the Bank Reconciliation workspace may suggest for a bank statement line, and whether it may confirm the best one without asking. You set rules up per bank account before you start reconciling. Every time someone opens an unmatched statement line in the workspace, the rules run, and the survivors appear as suggestions or are matched automatically.

Overview

Each rule names one test a candidate ledger line must pass: the amount, the date, the reference, or the direction of the money. Amount and date tests also have a tolerance. A bank account usually has several rules. They run in order of their Sequence, and each rule only looks at the candidates the previous rule left. A suggestion therefore has to pass every rule. A rule with Auto Match switched on can also confirm a clear winner on the spot.

If a bank account has no rules, the workspace uses a built-in policy instead (see How xMatix handles it).

When to use it

• Your statements carry the payment reference that your journals carry in their narration, and you want suggestions to require it.
• Bank charges or card settlements arrive a few days after the book entry, and you need a wider or narrower date window than the default five days.
• You want amounts to match exactly. The built-in policy allows a difference of up to 100.
• You trust a combination of tests enough to let the workspace confirm matches by itself.

How xMatix handles it

Which rules apply. When a statement line is opened, xMatix collects the active rules for that line's bank account. If the account has at least one rule of its own, only those rules run. Rules that belong to no bank account are used only for accounts that have none of their own. Inactive rules and deleted rules are skipped.

Order. Rules run from the lowest Sequence to the highest. Rules with no Sequence run last.

The candidates. The first rule starts from every journal line on the bank account's linked GL account whose journal is posted (or is part of a reversed pair). Lines already used in a match for that bank account are not candidates, and neither are reversed pairs that cancel each other out.

The tests. Each criterion is a pass-or-fail test, not a weighting:

Ranking. The candidates that pass a rule are ranked by a score. A candidate starts at 100, loses 10 points for every day between the two dates, and gains 25 points when the reference overlaps. The workspace labels a score of 125 or more Exact, 100 to 124 Best, and anything lower Possible.

Auto-match. After a rule with Auto Match on has run, xMatix checks its survivors. If there is only one, or the top candidate scores strictly higher than the second, xMatix confirms that match at once. It records the match as automatic, changes the statement line to Matched, and does not run the remaining rules. If two candidates tie on the top score, nothing is confirmed and the next rule runs.

Failure. If a rule leaves no candidates, the statement line gets no suggestions at all, even if a later rule would have passed something.

The built-in policy. With no applicable rule, the workspace behaves as one rule with Amount (tolerance 100), Date (5 days), Reference and TransactionType all required, and auto-match off.

When it runs. Rules run only when someone opens an unmatched statement line in the workspace. No background job applies them, so changing a rule has no effect on lines that are already matched.

Prerequisites

• The bank account exists, is active and is linked to a GL account of type Bank. See Banking.
• You can open Banking → Bank Reconciliation and have access to Reconciliation Matching Rule (see Permissions).

Procedure

Step 1 — Open the bank account's rules

Open the Banking app and select Bank Reconciliation. Select the bank account card at the top of the workspace, then select the Matching rules tab. The tab lists the account's own rules and any rules that belong to no account, in Sequence order. It shows each rule's Name, Order, Match type, Match on, Auto-match, Amount tolerance, Date tolerance, Status (Active or Inactive) and Created date. If no bank account is selected, the tab asks you to select one.

Step 2 — Create a rule

Select New rule. Fill in the form:

1. Name (required): a name that says what the rule tests, for example "Same direction".
2. Sequence: the rule's position in the cascade. Use gaps such as 10, 20, 30 so you can insert a rule later.
3. Matching Type: leave it at OneToOne.
4. Matching Criteria: pick one of Amount, Date, Reference or TransactionType. It starts as Reference.
5. Amount Tolerance: used only when the criterion is Amount. Enter 0 for an exact match.
6. Date Tolerance: used only when the criterion is Date, in whole days.

Save. The rule belongs to the bank account you selected in Step 1, is active, and has Auto Match off. It appears in the tab at once.

Step 3 — Add one rule per test

A rule tests one criterion, so build a cascade of several rules for a combined test. For example, use one rule for Amount, a second for Date and a third for TransactionType. A candidate has to pass all three. Put the rule that removes the most candidates first; the result is the same, but it is easier to read.

Step 4 — Switch on auto-match

Select the rule's name in the tab to open its record page. In the Rule Information section, tick Auto Match. Turn it on only on the last rule of the cascade. Auto-match confirms the winner as soon as its own rule has run, so auto-match on an early rule confirms matches that the later rules never checked.

Step 5 — Change, pause or delete a rule

On the rule's record page you can change the fields in place, or select Edit to change them in a dialog. To pause a rule without losing it, switch off Is Active in the Rule Information section. The tab then shows it as Inactive and it is skipped. To remove it for good, select Delete and confirm.

Step 6 — Check the result

Go back to the Bank transactions tab and open an unmatched statement line. Check that the suggestions are the ones you expect. If the panel shows nothing, see Common problems.

Fields

The New and Edit form:

Also on the record page:

The rule's bank account is not on any form. It is set from the account you had selected when you created the rule, and you cannot move a rule to another account. To use the same rule for another account, create it again from that account's tab.

Business rules

• Validation on save. A rule without a Matching Type is refused with "Matching Type is required.", and a rule without a criterion is refused with "At least one Matching Criteria must be selected." Both fields have defaults, so you see these only if you clear them.
• Own rules win. As soon as a bank account has one rule of its own, rules that belong to no account stop applying to it, even though the tab still lists them.
• Every rule must pass. The cascade narrows the candidates rule by rule. If one rule leaves nothing, the line gets no suggestions.
• Auto-match stops the cascade. The first auto-match rule with a clear winner confirms it, and later rules do not run.
• Ties are never auto-matched. If the top two candidates have the same score, they are offered for you to choose.
• No retroactive effect. Rules are read when a statement line is opened. Matches already confirmed stay as they are.
• Matches cannot be undone from the workspace. This applies to automatic matches too. See Bank reconciliation.

Example

A finance administrator sets up the Operating Current Account. The bank prints the payment reference on every line, and the team posts receipts with that reference in the journal line narration. The bank sometimes posts a day or two after the books.

The administrator opens Banking → Bank Reconciliation, selects the Operating Current Account card, and opens Matching rules. They create three rules:

They open "Reference present" and tick Auto Match.

A statement line shows a deposit of 18,450.00 on 14 March with reference RCPT-2291. In the books there are two posted receipts for 18,450.00: one dated 13 March with narration "RCPT-2291 Lakeview Traders" and one dated 12 March with narration "RCPT-2288". Both pass the amount and date rules. Only the first passes the reference rule, so it is the single survivor and is confirmed automatically. The statement line changes to Matched.

A second deposit of 6,000.00 has no reference. Both candidates for it fail the reference rule, so the panel shows no suggestion and the line stays Unmatched for manual work.

Training

Practice exercise

In a sandbox, pick a bank account with an imported statement and some posted receipts.

1. Open the account's Matching rules tab and create an Amount rule (Sequence 10, Amount Tolerance 0) and a Date rule (Sequence 20, Date Tolerance 2).
2. On the Bank transactions tab, open an unmatched deposit that has a posted receipt of the same amount within two days. Expected result: the receipt is suggested, and nothing is confirmed.
3. Open the Date rule, tick Auto Match, and open another such deposit. Expected result: if only one receipt passes, it is matched at once and the line shows Matched.
4. Switch off Is Active on both rules. Expected result: the tab shows them as Inactive, and the workspace goes back to rules that belong to no account or, if there are none, to the built-in policy.

Quick reference

• Rules live on Banking → Bank Reconciliation → Matching rules, per bank account.
• One criterion per rule; stack rules for combined tests.
• Lowest Sequence runs first; every rule must pass.
• An account's own rules replace rules that belong to no account.
• Empty Amount Tolerance means 100; empty Date Tolerance means 5 days.
• Put Auto Match on the last rule only.
• Ties are never confirmed automatically.
• Rules run when a statement line is opened, not in the background.
• Use Is Active to pause a rule.

Permissions

Access is set per entity in Setup → Access Control → Profiles → Entity Permissions, for Reconciliation Matching Rule. The built-in SystemAdmin and StandardUser profiles have full access. A user needs read access to see the tab's rows, create access for New rule, edit access to change a rule, and delete access for Delete. Matching reads the rules for everyone who works in the workspace, whatever their own access to the rules, so a user who cannot see the rules is still bound by them. See Security profiles.

Configuration

• Rule set per bank account. All configuration is in the rules themselves, as described above. There are no separate settings for matching.
• Defaults. The built-in policy and the empty-tolerance values (100 and 5 days) are fixed in the product and cannot be changed in settings. Enter a tolerance on every Amount or Date rule so you are not relying on them.
• No menu entry. Reconciliation Matching Rule is not on any app menu. Rules are managed from the workspace's Matching rules tab, and each rule's name opens its record page.
• Forms. The New and Edit dialog and the record page are ordinary layouts, so you can adjust them in Setup → Design Studio. See Design a form layout. For example, you could add Auto Match to the New form.

Common problems

A payment I know is in the books is not suggested

The rules run as a cascade, and one of them removed it. Open the rules in Sequence order and test the payment against each one: is the amount within the tolerance, the date within the window, is the reference in the journal line's narration (not only on the journal header), and does the money move the same way? Also check that the journal is posted and the line is not already matched.

No suggestions appear for any line

A rule early in the cascade is too strict, often a Reference rule when your statements or narrations do not carry the reference. Switch it off with Is Active and try again.

The workspace matched the wrong entry by itself

An auto-match rule confirmed a winner before a stricter rule could run, or its tests are too loose. Move Auto Match to the last rule, or tighten the tolerances. A confirmed match cannot be undone from the workspace, so correct it through your approved correction process.

Nothing is ever matched automatically

Check that a rule with Auto Match on is active and belongs to the account. Its survivors must have a clear winner; two candidates with the same score are never confirmed. Lines that are already Matched are not processed again.

My rule that applies to all accounts does nothing

The bank account has at least one rule of its own, so rules that belong to no account are ignored for it. Create the rule on the account's own tab.

Saving fails with "At least one Matching Criteria must be selected."

The Matching Criteria box is empty. Pick a criterion and save again. "Matching Type is required." means the Matching Type box is empty; pick OneToOne.

Common questions

Can one rule test both amount and date?

Not from the standard forms. Matching Criteria takes one value per rule. Create one rule for the amount and another for the date. Because a candidate must pass every rule in the cascade, two single-criterion rules give the same result as one rule that tests both. The only difference is auto-match, which fires after the rule it is on. That is why you put it on the last rule.

What does Matching Type change?

Nothing about the outcome today. The workspace always pairs one statement line with one ledger line, whatever you choose. The field is required, so leave it at OneToOne.

Is there a document number criterion?

No. A document number test (the statement reference against the journal's number) exists in the product, but it is switched off in the list of values, so you can only choose Amount, Date, Reference or TransactionType. Use Reference for references that appear in the journal line's narration.

What happens if I delete all the rules for an account?

The account falls back to rules that belong to no account, if there are any. Otherwise it falls back to the built-in policy: amount within 100, date within five days, overlapping reference and the same direction, with no auto-match. Existing matches are not affected.

Related topics

• Bank reconciliation: working the workspace, confirming matches and closing at zero
• Bank statements and statement lines
• Banking
• Reconciliation Matching Rule entity reference
• Security profiles
• Bank Reconciliation — entity reference