Overview

Every Bank Transaction downloaded or imported through Bank Direct Connect (BDC) runs through the same match and add logic, whether it came from an Aggregation Provider or a Financial File Import. Use this article to understand exactly how BDC decides whether to automatically match a transaction, automatically add it as a new source record, or leave it for you to process manually.

In this article:

• Before You Begin
• How BDC Processes a Transaction
• Why a Transaction Might Need Manual Review
• Related Articles

Before You Begin

This article assumes Enable Global Automated Match, Enable Global Automated Add, and Pre-populate Account Info are all selected in Bank Settings, and that at least one Bank Rule is configured. If you have not set these up yet, see Bank Direct Connect - Bank Settings and Bank Direct Connect - Bank Rules first.

Note: File imports and Aggregator imports (Plaid and Yodlee) are processed identically. Both run through the exact logic described below.

How BDC Processes a Transaction

"Initial import" means the first time BDC brings a given transaction in, not the first import you ever ran in your org. If a transaction is not matched or added on that first pass, it moves to the Unmatched Bank Transactions tab and must be matched or added manually from there. BDC does not retry Auto Match or Auto Add on that transaction automatically after the initial import, though Bank Rules continue to run and populate fields on it each time the Bank Transactions screen refreshes.

Processing sequence for each transaction:

1. Match check: BDC looks for a source record (an existing Cash Receipt, Cash Disbursement, or Journal Entry Line) with the same Ledger and GL Account as the transaction, and an exact Amount match. If BDC finds one, it compares the transaction date to the source record's date. When the dates fall within the day range set in the Cash-in Default Matching Setting or Cash-out Default Matching Setting, BDC flags the source record as a match.
2. Auto Match: If BDC flags exactly one source record as a match, Enable Global Automated Match matches the transaction to it automatically. If BDC flags more than one source record, it does not automatically match the transaction, and the transaction stays on the Unmatched Bank Transactions tab for manual review.
3. If a match is found, processing stops for that transaction and the next transaction begins at step 1.
4. If no match is found, the add process begins at step 5.
5. Bank Rules: Depending on whether the transaction is Cash-In or Cash-Out, the corresponding Cash In Rules or Cash Out Rules run in ascending priority order (the lowest Priority number runs first). For each rule, if the rule's Financial Institution Account field does not include this transaction's bank account, BDC skips the rule. Otherwise, BDC evaluates the rule's condition: no match moves to the next rule, and a match applies the rule's Action and stops evaluating further rules for that transaction. See Bank Direct Connect - Bank Rules for how Conditions, Actions, and Priority are configured.
6. Auto Add: Pre-populate Account Info then fills in any Account, GL Account, or GL Variables that a Bank Rule did not already set, by comparing the transaction's Description to the Account Name or File Import Match Name on Account records with Accounting Active selected. Once a Bank Rule, Pre-populate Account Info, or both have populated the required fields for the source record type, Enable Global Automated Add creates the source record automatically.
7. The next transaction begins processing at step 1.

Warning: The match check in step 1 does not consider Payee or Description, only Ledger, GL Account, Amount, and date. If your accounts have multiple unrelated source records that happen to share the same Ledger, GL Account, and Amount within your date tolerance (for example, recurring rent or payroll of the same amount), Auto Match could link a transaction to the wrong one without flagging it for review. Periodically spot check Auto Match results on accounts like these.

Important: Enable Global Automated Match and Enable Global Automated Add only apply during the initial import of a transaction. If Enable Global Automated Add and the auto-post setting are both active, a Cash Receipt created here posts to the General Ledger immediately, with no manual review.

Why a Transaction Might Need Manual Review

A transaction lands on the Unmatched Bank Transactions tab instead of being processed automatically when:

• No Bank Rule assigned a GL Account.
• Account is still missing after Bank Rules and Pre-populate Account Info have both run.
• Step 1 flagged more than one possible match.

Process these from the Unmatched Bank Transactions tab. See Bank Direct Connect - Unmatched Bank Transactions for how to review and complete them manually.

Related Articles

• Bank Direct Connect - Overview
• Bank Direct Connect - Bank Settings
• Bank Direct Connect - Bank Rules
• Bank Direct Connect - Unmatched Bank Transactions

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