Rules by Account lets you set a default asset, homeowner, category, and accounting field for every transaction that comes through a specific bank account, credit card, or journal entry account, so those transactions are mapped automatically.
Setting Up Rules by Account
Step 1: Open Rules by Account
Go to Rules in the left-hand menu, select the On Transactions tab, then click By Account.
This shows every account connected to Clearing: bank accounts, credit cards, and any transaction journal entry accounts you created to use in Clearing.
Step 2: Set the Defaults for an Account
For each bank account, credit card, or journal entry account, you can designate any of the following:
Asset: the property the account's transactions belong to.
Homeowner: the owner the transactions belong to.
Category: the category applied to every transaction in the account.
Accounting field: who the transaction is allocated to, such as the owner or management. See How to Use Clearing's Trust Accounting Field for what each option does.
Step 3: Check Your Transactions
The rule applies to transactions from that account as they come in. Review the Transactions page to confirm they are landing with the asset, homeowner, category, and accounting field you expect.
Tip: If you need to go further than account-level defaults, such as setting different values by merchant or amount, use Custom Rules on Transactions.
Common Examples
A Credit Card for One Property
If you use a separate card for each property, set the card's rule to the property's asset and homeowner, with the accounting field set to the owner. Every purchase on that card is then categorized to that asset and homeowner automatically.
An Operating Account Connected for Expenses
Clearing recommends connecting your trust account and managing your operating account outside of Clearing. If you do connect your operating account to bring in expenses, you can set the accounting field for the whole account to Exclude, so nothing is allocated by default, and then update only the expenses you want to include.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Rules by Account and Rules by Merchant?
What is the difference between Rules by Account and Rules by Merchant?
Rules by Account applies to everything that comes through a specific account, no matter who the merchant is. Rules by Merchant applies to a specific merchant, no matter which account the payment came from. See How to Create & Manage Rules by Merchant in Clearing for details.
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