Creating bank statement posting rules
Editing the posting rule
Copying posting rules from another company
Bank statements are automatically received into Heeros accounting when they are retrieved in machine-readable format from the bank via the Web Services channel. Statements can be manually posted directly in the accounting, but it is also possible to build automatic posting rules (known as tito rules) to enhance statement processing in Heeros accounting. Tito is an abbreviation for statement as a voucher (tiliote tositteena). Specified posting rules can be executed in the program either manually by the user or the program can be configured to post the statement automatically when the statement arrives in the accounting.
Bank statement rules can be created either on a company-specific basis or they can be used in the same way as VAT codes from the model company. In this case, it is necessary to define in the settings (General – Accounting Settings) from which company the bank statement rules are used. Using bank statement rules from the model company is best suited for situations where each company uses the same chart of accounts and the same accounting objects.
You can also simplify the establishment actions by copying the posting rules from another company and modifying them as needed to suit the company's own requirements.
This article describes how to enhance the accounting of bank statements by creating automation rules. You can read more about the handling of bank statements in accounting here.
Creating bank statement posting rules
Bank statement rules are established in the Specifications – TITO view.
The creation of the bank statement rule is a two-step process.
- Define the factors based on which the program identifies the desired bank statement events from the bank statements.
- Define how the events identified in phase one are posted to the general ledger.
Creating a new posting rule starts with the New button (in image number 1).
Bank account - If you want this rule to apply only to the bank statements of a specific bank account, select the relevant Bank account. Available for selection are the bank accounts that have been established for that company (Settings – Bank Accounts). If the rule applies to all bank accounts of the company, there is no need to select a bank account.
Order of processing- If multiple posting rules are established with the same bank account and the same code (posting description code), the program must be informed in what order it will process similar rules. The rule with the smaller order number will be processed first, for example, 1, 2, and 3.
Bank group - If this rule is to apply to all accounts of a specific bank group, select Bank Group. Bank Group information is also defined for a bank account if necessary (Settings – Bank Accounts).
Name - A descriptive name that will be given to the rule, visible only in the program settings. This is a required piece of information.
Entry code - The bank statement displays the posting description code, for example, 702 (Invoice payment service) or 710 (Entry), which is a standardized piece of information defined by banks to describe similar types of transactions on bank statements. The code is mandatory information for the rule. If the rule provides only the posting description code, the program will post all transactions on all accounts with that code on the bank statement in the same manner.
Entry description - In addition to the posting explanation code, banks define a standardized posting explanation for all bank statement transactions, which varies slightly depending on the bank. The posting explanation is not mandatory under tito rules; it is only defined if you want to distinguish between transactions coming with the same code.
Additionally, other clarifying information can be provided, such as Payer/Payee, Name extension, Creditor bank account number, Text and Reference number, in which case the specific accounting rule can apply to a well-defined transaction in the bank statement.
Entry booking level – Bank statements can include main events or summary events as well as their detailed events. For example, regarding purchase invoices, a bank statement may show that a total of 10 purchase invoices have been paid, with the total paid amount visible as well as amount details broken down by recipient/invoice.
- The selection All always books primarily according to the lowest level on the bank statement. If a transaction does not have sub-transactions/details, the program will make the postings according to the higher level.
- The selection Top records only higher-level transactions from the bank statement.
- The selection Bottom records only sub-transactions/details from the bank statement.
* -mark - When creating rules, it is good to utilize the *-mark, i.e., wildcard, for example, *salary*. This way, the program's rules can state that there can be other information before and after the word salary on the bank statement. Similarly, *PAYMENT” hits the words “Service Fees” or "Payment", but Payment* does not hit the word “Service Fee”.
The joker character can be used in the following fields: booking description, text, name specification, payer/payee, and reference number. By utilizing this character, it will also be possible to create rules regarding credit card numbers in the future. For example, a rule made in the Text field *2345*678* applies to all sequences of numbers appearing in the bank statement text, where the given numbers appear in the middle, and there can be other numbers in between.
Once the necessary rules are defined, they are confirmed by clicking the Save button. After this, you will move on to making postings for the rules.
The actual posting instructions are given after the establishment of the tito rule, in the lower part of the screen, with the New button.
TITO rule - The rule number is chosen for the rule to which accounting assignments are to be made.
Account - Specify which accounting account the transaction will be allocated to.
% - Define what percentage of the bank statement transaction is posted to the accounting item defined in the previous field. If necessary, a cost unit (Costp) and other accounting objects (AO 1, etc.) can also be specified along with the percentage that indicates what portion is recorded for the respective accounting object and account. If the entire bank statement transaction is to be recorded only to that account, the percentage should be set to 100.
If the event is to be accounted for, for example, half to cost unit 1 and half to cost unit 2, two different accounting assignment rules are created for the rule (in this example number 32). The first one is given a percentage of 50 and cost unit 1, and saved in between, after which a new accounting assignment rule (also for number 32) is created and a percentage of 50 is assigned, but with cost unit 2.
Invoice ledger payment - field is not in use.
Description – Define the export description of the accounting entry formed based on the bank statement rule. You can enter free text in the field and utilize the following formulas:
%TN = Bank statement number
%SM = Recipient/Payer
%KK = Posting code
%KS = Posting description
%VN = Reference number
%VV = Free message
Editing the posting rule
Editing rules is done by selecting the row to be edited by checking it and then clicking the Edit button at the top of the screen. The program will open the selected rule in the editing mode.
Alternatively, bank statement rules can also be modified directly through the main view by selecting the Edit button (pencil icon) from the action buttons on the right side of the row. In this case, the program will open the rule for editing in list view. This option can be utilized, for example, if you want to conveniently change the processing order of the rules.
Main user, in the list view, it is also easy to duplicate or copy Tito rules. This is done by selecting the copy button, after which the copied row becomes the last new row, and it is easy to start editing it. For example, if other information in the rule remains the same, but the reference number changes, making a new rule by copying and just editing the reference number is an easy way to create a new rule. Copying does not copy the accounting information, so it must be copied or created separately for the rule.
Deletion occurs either by clicking the Delete button on the row or by selecting the row to be deleted and clicking the Delete button at the top of the screen. Removing the title definition will also delete the associated accounting assignments.
Copying posting rules from another company
During the establishment of a company, account statement settings can be selected to be copied from a sample company. In addition, accounting rules can be copied from another accounting company in the Settings - TITO view.
Go to the company where you want to copy the accounting settings. The copying is initiated by the Copy button in the view.
Select a company from which the definitions are to be copied. When copying, the program will always replace any existing title definitions. After copying, the definitions can still be modified.