{"id":15236,"date":"2020-12-10T20:32:40","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T20:32:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/synder.com\/help\/?p=15236"},"modified":"2026-08-12T13:53:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T13:53:28","slug":"how-rules-work-in-synder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/synder.com\/help\/how-rules-work-in-synder\/","title":{"rendered":"How Smart Rules Work in Synder"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Overview:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. What can you do with rules?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. What you can build rules around<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. How do Rules work?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Smart Rules in Xero: what\u2019s different<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Troubleshooting issues with Smart Rules<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Smart Rules Add-on: Pricing<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \nSupported integrations:<\/strong> Smart Rules work with QuickBooks Online<\/strong>, QuickBooks Desktop<\/strong> and Xero<\/strong> in Per-Transaction mode.

    The way you build a rule is the same on all three: pick a trigger<\/strong>, add conditions<\/strong>, choose an action<\/strong>. What differs is which entities you can build rules around<\/strong> and which actions are available<\/strong>. On QuickBooks Desktop and Xero you also need to load your accounting data first<\/strong>, or the dropdowns come up empty.

    This guide uses Invoice<\/strong> for the main example, because it is the one entity available on every platform.

    See also:     Smart Rules for QuickBooks Desktop<\/a> | Smart Rules for Xero<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

    What can you do with rules?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    By using Smart Rules you can fill in data that is missing<\/strong> after synchronization, correct data that was recorded incorrectly<\/strong>, or trigger an action<\/strong> such as sending a notification email (thank you emails, reminders) or a text message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Rules work with whatever tools your accounting system provides \u2014 categorization, tax treatment, payment details and more. In QuickBooks Online<\/strong> that means classes, locations, categories and payment methods. In Xero<\/strong> it means tracking categories, and you can have up to two<\/strong> applied at the same time. The principle is identical either way: match a transaction on its details, then write the value you want into your books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Why is data missing?<\/strong> Because systems like Stripe and your accounting platform are built for different jobs. Stripe does not carry your QuickBooks tax rates, classes or locations, but you want them in your books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Missing data filling example:<\/strong> invoices synced from Stripe arrive without the right tax treatment \u2014 they land as Nontaxable<\/strong>, with no sales tax calculated. You want every invoice with a line amount of 150 or more to be marked as taxable<\/strong> instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Once the invoice is synchronized to your accounting software, the rule updates it and applies the tax treatment you selected in Synder<\/a>. Here is the same invoice before and after the rule runs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    <\/div><\/div>
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    <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    What you can build rules around<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The entities available as triggers depend on your accounting platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    QuickBooks Online (11):<\/strong> Customer, Deposit, Expense, Invoice, Journal Entry, Payment, Product or Service, Refund Receipt, Sales Receipt, Transfer, Vendor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    QuickBooks Desktop (4):<\/strong> Check, Credit Memo, Invoice, Sales Receipt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Xero (10):<\/strong> Bill, Bill Payment, Contact, Invoice, Invoice Payment, Item, Purchase Credit Note, Purchase Credit Note Payment, Sales Credit Note, Sales Credit Note Payment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Note:<\/strong> Invoice<\/strong> is the only entity available on all three platforms, which is why this guide uses it for the main example. If you work in Xero, be aware there is no Sales Receipt \u2014 use Invoice instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How do Rules work?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Rules work on the basis of if-then conditions<\/strong>, so you can build flows that make Synder adapt to your needs. The process has two phases:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Synchronization<\/strong> of a transaction from your payment processor or e-commerce platform into your accounting system.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Update<\/strong> of the created transaction, based on the information inside it. This happens almost instantly, according to the conditions in your flow.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Below is an example of how to create a rule that applies a tax rate to invoices. You can use the same principle to build any flow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1.<\/strong> Go to the Smart rules<\/strong> tab in the left menu \u2192 Rules<\/strong> \u2192 click Create rule<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"Synder<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      2.<\/strong> As the trigger that starts the flow, select Invoice<\/strong> \u2192 Created<\/strong>. Once you sync a transaction via Synder, the created invoice will trigger the rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Condition<\/strong> lets you narrow the rule to specific invoices. You can skip straight to Action<\/strong> if you want the flow applied to every synchronized invoice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"Synder<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      3.<\/strong> Now build your if-then logic. From the Select field<\/strong> dropdown choose Line: Amount<\/strong> \u2192 Greater or equals<\/strong> \u2192 150<\/strong> \u2192 click Yes<\/strong>. This means that if the line amount of a transaction is 150 or more, the action in the next step is applied to the invoice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"Synder<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      4.<\/strong> You can keep adding conditions, but for this flow select Actions<\/strong>. Choose the QuickBooks action to apply to Invoice<\/strong> \u2192 Update current<\/strong> \u2192 Set QuickBooks entity data<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Update current<\/strong> updates the whole synchronized invoice that triggered the flow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"Synder<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      5.<\/strong> Under Update all line items with<\/strong>, set Tax<\/strong> to TAX<\/strong> \u2192 click Submit<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Note:<\/strong> the window has a Transaction Tax code<\/strong> field at the top and a Tax<\/strong> field under Update all line items with<\/strong>. Use the one under Update all line items with<\/strong> to set the tax treatment on the invoice lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Note:<\/strong> Update current<\/strong> applies your selection to every line<\/strong> on the invoice. If your invoice has several lines, they will all receive the same tax treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"Synder<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      6.<\/strong> Click Save & Close Rule<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"Synder<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      7.<\/strong> Go to the Platform transactions<\/strong> tab and sync a few transactions to check the result. You can also rollback<\/a> and resync historical transactions if you want them recorded according to the rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"Synder<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      8.<\/strong> Once a transaction meeting your criteria is synced, check whether the rule was applied under the Sync log<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"Synder<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Alternatively, go to Smart rules<\/strong> \u2192 Executions<\/strong> to check whether the rule was triggered and applied. Use the Show sync info<\/strong> link to open the log of the updated transaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"Synder<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      9.<\/strong> Check the results on the QuickBooks side to confirm the tax rate was applied automatically. The invoice now shows Taxable (9.5%)<\/strong> and sales tax of $31.35<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"QuickBooks<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Smart Rules in Xero: what’s different<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Smart Rules work in Xero the same way they work in QuickBooks — trigger, condition, action. Three things differ:<\/p>\n\n\n\n