QuickBooks Online seems to try to match a downloaded transaction before it applies a rule. Can I get it to apply rules first?

Thank you for choosing QuickBooks for your business, @SammyB.

I can share some insights about the matching process of downloaded transactions on the Banking page.

QuickBooks Online automatically detects transactions that have matching information with the entries first. The Category or Match column shows the suggested records found.

The good news is you can apply a bank rule that automatically add to your books before the system will try to find a match. I'm happy to show you the steps:

1. Click Banking.
2. Choose the Rules tab.
3. Click New rule.
4. Enter the information.
5. Put a check mark on the Automatically add to my books box.
6. Click Save.

For more details, you can refer to this article: How to set and use banking rules for downloaded transactions.

Drop me a comment below if there's anything else you need. I'd be happy to provide further assistance. 

But doesn't that add the downloaded transaction to my banking register?  I never want to do that.  Let me explain further:

I have 4 sources of batch deposits, so I have a rule that assigns each them to a Payee of TBD xxx and an account of Bank Charges & Fees.  When I see one of these, I locate those transactions from another web page, add the QBO entry, go to the register, tic off the correct payments, check that the total matches the TBD line, delete the TBD line, Save & Close.

Works beautifully & fast unless the total happens to match a payment, then QBO thinks it knows better and wants to match.  I can tell from the Bank text that QBO is an idiot & switch it to add, but I wish that it would do the rule first & save me a couple of clicks.  Thanks!

Hello there, SammyB.

Just like what my colleague shared, our system analyzes the bank transactions against the existing transactions in your file, following any bank rules you've set up. Once you've set up a bank rule, our system will categorize the downloaded transactions. The transactions will be added automatically to your register once the Automatically add to my books option is turned on. 

Though, in your case, our system is detecting the transactions first before the bank rules. I would suggest contacting QuickBooks Online Customer Care to have this investigated. Here's how you can contact them:

1. Navigate to: https://help.quickbooks.intuit.com/en_US/contact.
2. Choose QuickBooks Online.
3. On the Contact Us page, click Running your business in QuickBooks, then choose Banking.
4. Click the Get Phone Number button. 

You can always reach out to us if you have other concerns. Have a good one! 

I am also having this issue.  What was the resolution?  Is QBO able to apply a rule before searching for a match?  In this case, I am uploading .csv files.  

Hey there, @merissa.

Thanks for reaching out. I've checked my resources and it looks like our Product Development team is aware of an issue with Bank Rules when importing a CSV file and are working to resolve it. I recommend reaching out to our QuickBooks Online Support Team so that you can be added to the list of affected users and receive email updates when the issue has been resolved. Getting in touch is super easy and only takes a few clicks. Check it out:

1. Sign in to your QuickBooks Online company.
2. Click Help (?) at the top right.
3. Hit Contact Us to connect with a live support agent.

That's it! If you'd like to learn more about Bank Rules and how they work in QuickBooks Online, I recommend checking out: How to set and use banking rules for downloaded transactions

Hit the Reply button below if you'd like to ask any other questions, we'll be here to help. Have a good one!