A matching rule has two parts: criteria (the conditions that trigger the rule) and an action (what to do when conditions are met). Criteria can include the transaction description containing a specific word or phrase, the transaction amount being equal to or within a range, or the payee name matching a contact. Actions can include categorising to a specific expense account, matching to a specific vendor, or creating a new expense record automatically.
Typical matching rules set up by Indian businesses in Zoho Books include: GST payments (description contains “GST” or “CBIC”) categorised to GST Payable, TDS challans (description contains “OLTAS” or “TDS”) categorised to TDS Payable, salary transfers (description contains “SALARY” or employee name) categorised to Salaries Expense, and platform fee deductions from Razorpay or Paytm settlements categorised to Payment Gateway Charges.
When multiple matching rules could apply to a single transaction, Zoho Books applies them in priority order. The first matching rule wins. Review your rules periodically to ensure they are still accurate, particularly after account renaming, vendor changes, or GST payment structure changes. You can test a rule against historical transactions before activating it to confirm it will match the intended entries.
A matching rule in Zoho Books is a user-defined automation that automatically categorises bank feed transactions based on criteria such as transaction description, amount, or vendor name, eliminating manual categorisation for predictable recurring transactions.
Go to Banking, select the account, click Settings, and choose Matching Rules. Click New Rule, define the criteria and the categorisation action. The rule applies automatically to all future matching transactions.
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