How to Use Bank Reconciliation Rules in Naqood

Bank reconciliation rules help you automatically match recurring bank transactions in Naqood. They are useful for things that show up again and again on your bank statement, such as bank fees, card charges, payroll fees, payment processor fees, loan repayments, subscriptions, and interest. Instead of matching the same type of transaction manually every month, you can create a rule once. When new bank transactions are imported or synced, Naqood checks your rules and creates a match draft automatically. You still stay in control. A rule creates the suggested match, and you can review it before reconciling.

Throughout this guide, Match to uses the exact names from Naqood’s default chart of accounts (the accounts created for a new organization), with account codes in parentheses. If you have renamed or replaced accounts, pick the equivalent in your own chart.

What Bank Reconciliation Rules Do

A bank reconciliation rule says: If a bank transaction looks like this, match it to this account. For example: If the description is exactly Monthly BANK FEE, and the amount is between -100 and 0, match it to Bank fees (3675). Or: If the description contains Stripe fee, match it to Bank fees (3675) (Naqood’s default chart does not have a separate “payment processing” expense; Bank fees is intended for bank charges and payment-processing-type fees; see below). Rules are applied when bank transactions are imported into Naqood, whether you upload a bank statement or use bank sync.

When to Use Rules

Rules work best for transactions that are predictable. Good examples include:

Bank fees with the same description every month
Payment processor fees from Stripe, Tap, PayTabs, or Amazon Payment Services
Card terminal charges
Payroll processing fees
Monthly software subscriptions
Loan interest or bank charges
Recurring transfers that should be categorized the same way each time

Avoid using rules for transactions that need judgment each time, such as mixed supplier payments, partial invoice payments, or one-off expenses where the correct account changes.

Step 1 - Open Bank Reconciliation

Go to Bank Reconciliation in Naqood. At the top of the page, click Rules. This opens the bank reconciliation rules dialog. On the left, you can see your existing rules. On the right, you can create a new rule or edit an existing one.

Step 2 - Name the Rule

Give the rule a clear name. Good rule names are simple and practical:

Monthly bank fees
Stripe processing fees
Wio card charges
Payroll transfer fee
Loan interest

The name is only for you and your team. It helps you understand why a transaction was matched.

Step 3 - Choose How the Description Should Match

The most important part of a rule is the bank transaction description. Naqood gives you two match types.

Is Exactly

Use Is exactly when the bank description is always the same.

Example:

Monthly BANK FEE

This is the safest option because it only matches the full description. Use this when your bank uses consistent text for a recurring charge.

Contains Text

Use Contains text when only part of the description is predictable.

Example:

Stripe

This can match descriptions like:

STRIPE PAYOUT FEE 12345
Stripe processing charge
Payment fee Stripe AE

This is useful when banks add references, dates, or IDs to the description.

Step 4 - Add Amount Filters

Amount filters are optional, but they make rules safer. Naqood uses the signed bank amount:

Money out is negative
Money in is positive

For example, a bank fee of AED 42 is usually imported as:

-42

If you want a rule to match outgoing bank fees up to AED 100, use:

Minimum amount: -100
Maximum amount: 0

This matches amounts like -10, -42, and -99. It does not match 42, because that is money coming in.

Step 5 - Choose a Bank Account or Currency

You can leave bank account and currency blank if the rule should apply everywhere. Use a bank account filter when the same description could mean different things in different accounts. Use a currency filter if your business has multi-currency bank accounts and the rule should only apply to one currency. For example:

Only apply Wio bank fee rules to your Wio AED account
Only apply USD subscription rules to your USD bank account
Only apply payment processor fee rules to the account where payouts arrive

Step 6 - Choose the Account to Match To

Finally, choose the accounting account where this transaction should be posted. Typical mappings on the default chart of accounts include:

Bank fees (3675): routine bank charges, transfer fees, many card/terminal debits, and payment-processing fees (the default account description explicitly covers payment processing costs).
Software (3630): software licenses and SaaS subscriptions billed as software.
Bank interest paid (4410): interest on bank loans and overdrafts.
Loan costs paid (4450): loan arrangement fees and similar loan-related costs.
Credit charges & interest (4460): credit card interest and related finance charges.

When the rule matches a bank transaction, Naqood creates a journal entry match draft using that account.

Step 7 - Save the Rule

Click Create Rule. From now on, Naqood will check this rule when new bank transactions are imported or synced. Existing transactions are not automatically changed. If you already imported older transactions, you can still match them manually.

Example Rule: Monthly Bank Fee

Use this for a recurring monthly bank charge.

Rule name: Monthly bank fees

Description match type: Is exactly

Description: Monthly BANK FEE

Minimum amount: -100

Maximum amount: 0

Match to: Bank fees (3675)

This matches outgoing bank fee transactions where the exact description is Monthly BANK FEE and the amount is between -100 and 0.

Example Rule: Payment Processor Fees

Use this when your payment processor adds references to the bank description.

Rule name: Stripe processing fees

Description match type: Contains text

Description: STRIPE

Minimum amount: -500

Maximum amount: 0

Match to: Bank fees (3675)

This matches outgoing Stripe fee lines even if the bank description includes extra IDs or references.

Best Practices

Start with Is exactly when possible. It is the safest match type. Add amount filters for recurring fees. This prevents a rule from matching a much larger transaction by mistake. Use Contains text only when the bank description changes from transaction to transaction. Review matched transactions before reconciling, especially after creating a new rule. Keep rule names clear so your team understands why a match was suggested.

What Happens When a Rule Matches

When a new bank transaction matches a rule, Naqood creates a match draft automatically. You can then review the transaction in bank reconciliation and reconcile it when everything looks correct. This keeps bank reconciliation faster without removing your control over the final accounting entry.

Summary

Bank reconciliation rules are a simple way to automate repetitive matching in Naqood. Use them for recurring bank statement lines with predictable descriptions and amounts. Start with exact description matches, add signed amount filters, choose the correct account from your chart (on the default setup, Bank fees (3675) and Software (3630) cover many common cases), and let Naqood prepare the match draft when new transactions are imported.