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Xero Bank Rules Spec for Onboarding a New Bookkeeping Client (Spend, Receive, and Transfer Rules)

Turn a few months of a client's bank statement lines into a Xero bank rules spec: rule type, Any or All conditions, contact, account and tax rate allocations, rule order, and the lines that should never get a rule.

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October 5, 2026

Prompt

Act as a Xero-certified bookkeeper who sets up bank rules when onboarding small business clients. You write rules that are specific enough not to misfire, you know a rule only proposes a coding in the Reconcile tab and still needs OK, and you leave irregular items for human review.

Inputs:
- Recurring bank statement lines (date, payee or description, reference, amount, money in or out): [StatementLines]
- Client chart of accounts codes and names in Xero: [ChartOfAccounts]
- Tax region and the Xero tax rates in use (for example GST on Expenses, BAS Excluded): [TaxRates]
- Tracking categories and options, if any: [Tracking]
- Bank accounts connected in Xero (names as they appear): [BankAccounts]
- Client context (industry, payment processor, owner drawings habits): [ClientContext]
- Output format: [Format]

Generate:
1. Pattern scan of StatementLines. Group lines by payee text and say which are fixed amount, variable amount, mixed purpose, or transfers between BankAccounts.
2. Rule spec table, one row per rule: rule title, rule type (Spend money, Receive money, or Transfer), Any or All, each condition as field plus operator plus value (Payee, Description, or Reference with contains, equals, or starts with; Amount where it truly distinguishes), contact to set, allocation lines with account code from ChartOfAccounts, tax rate from TaxRates, Fixed or Percent, tracking option, reference to set, and Run this rule on which bank account.
3. Processor payouts. If ClientContext includes a card processor that pays out net of fees, recommend a clearing account approach instead of a percent split guess, and show the rule that codes payouts to the clearing account.
4. Rule order. List the order the rules should sit in the Bank rules list, with more specific rules above broad ones, and why.
5. Lines that get no rule (owner purchases on the business card, one-off refunds, anything mixed) with what the bookkeeper should do instead.
6. Client questions to send before turning rules on.

Constraints:
- Use only account codes and tax rates from ChartOfAccounts and TaxRates; write NOT IN CHART if a needed account is missing.
- Never use a condition so broad that it would catch an unrelated payee (for example contains 'AMZ' alone).
- This is setup guidance, not tax advice; flag any tax rate choice the accountant should confirm.
- No em dashes.

Instructions

Replace every [bracket] with your details before running. Works on ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.

Generated Output

This image was generated using the prompt above.

Xero Bank Rules Spec for Onboarding a New Bookkeeping Client (Spend, Receive, and Transfer Rules) - Result

Examples

Example Input

StatementLines: 'SQUARE AU PAYOUT' in, varies 1,800 to 3,400, most weekdays; 'BIDFRESH FOODS' out, varies weekly; 'LANDLORD PTY RENT CORNER ST' out 4,200.00 monthly ref CORNERST; 'TELSTRA' out 89.00 monthly; 'TRANSFER TO SAVINGS 0042' out 500.00 weekly; 'BUNNINGS' out, irregular; 'ATO PAYMENT' out quarterly
ChartOfAccounts: 200 Sales; 310 Cost of Goods Sold; 404 Bank Fees; 469 Rent; 489 Telephone & Internet; 473 Repairs and Maintenance; 610 Square Clearing; 820 GST
TaxRates: Australia; GST on Income, GST on Expenses, GST Free Expenses, BAS Excluded
Tracking: none
BankAccounts: Business Everyday, Business Savings
ClientContext: cafe, Square takes fees before payout, owner sometimes uses business card at Bunnings for home items
Format: table, then notes

Example Output

1. Pattern scan
- SQUARE AU PAYOUT: money in, variable, daily. Net of Square fees, so it is not equal to sales.
- BIDFRESH FOODS: money out, variable, weekly supplier. Single purpose.
- LANDLORD PTY RENT CORNER ST: fixed 4,200.00 monthly with reference CORNERST.
- TELSTRA: fixed 89.00 monthly.
- TRANSFER TO SAVINGS 0042: transfer between Business Everyday and Business Savings.
- BUNNINGS: mixed purpose (business repairs and owner home items).
- ATO PAYMENT: quarterly, depends on the BAS, not a simple expense.

2. Rule spec
| Title | Type | Match | Conditions | Contact | Allocation | Run on |
| Square payouts to clearing | Receive money | All | Payee contains SQUARE AU PAYOUT | Square | 100% 610 Square Clearing, BAS Excluded | Business Everyday |
| Bidfresh supplier | Spend money | All | Payee contains BIDFRESH | Bidfresh Foods | 100% 310 Cost of Goods Sold, GST Free Expenses (confirm: fresh food is often GST free, some lines may not be) | Business Everyday |
| Corner St rent | Spend money | All | Payee contains LANDLORD PTY; Reference equals CORNERST | Landlord Pty | Fixed 4,200.00 to 469 Rent, GST on Expenses | Business Everyday |
| Telstra | Spend money | All | Payee contains TELSTRA; Amount equals 89.00 | Telstra | 100% 489 Telephone & Internet, GST on Expenses | Business Everyday |
| Weekly savings transfer | Transfer | All | Description contains TRANSFER TO SAVINGS 0042 | n/a | Transfer to Business Savings | Business Everyday |

Why the Telstra rule has an amount condition: if a different Telstra bill (a new phone) appears, it falls out of the rule and gets reviewed instead of auto-suggested.

3. Square payouts
Do not split payouts by a guessed percent between Sales and Bank Fees. Instead, record Square sales and fees in Xero from Square's sales summary (by an integration or a daily journal) against 610 Square Clearing, and the payout rule moves the net amount out of clearing. When clearing nets to zero each period, sales and fees are both complete. This keeps GST on Income on the gross sales rather than the payout.

4. Rule order
1) Corner St rent (reference match, most specific)
2) Telstra (amount bound)
3) Weekly savings transfer
4) Square payouts to clearing
5) Bidfresh supplier
Specific rules sit on top so that if a payee ever matches two rules, the narrow one is suggested first.

5. No rule
- BUNNINGS: mixed purpose. Code each line from the receipt; private items go to owner drawings (NOT IN CHART, ask the accountant which equity account to use).
- ATO PAYMENT: reconcile against the BAS liability (820 GST and any PAYG accounts) once lodged; amounts change every quarter.

6. Client questions
- Is Square already connected to Xero, or do sales summaries need to be entered daily?
- Does Bidfresh ever invoice taxable items such as cleaning supplies?
- Which equity account does your accountant use for owner drawings?
- Is the savings transfer always 500.00, or does it change?

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