The AI can only be as clear as the list you give it. The same rows sort better against a list where every category means one thing and the close neighbours say where the line runs. These habits help most.
One idea per category #
- Avoid overlaps. “Travel” and “Transport”, or “Office supplies” and “Office equipment”, will split rows between them. Merge them, or say in the descriptions where the line runs: “Office supplies: paper, toner, pens” and “Office equipment: desks, chairs, printers, computers”.
- Name the category the way the rows talk. “Software and subscriptions” gives the AI more to go on for ADOBE *CREATIVE CLOUD than “IT opex”.
- Keep numbers out of the name. Use the account name as the category name and copy the account number next to each row as its own column. The number adds nothing for the AI, and you get the name and the number in separate cells.
Use descriptions for the hard cases #
- A description is a few words of what belongs in the category, such as “Restaurants, client meals, food delivery”. Examples of real payees or words from your rows work well.
- You do not need one on every category. Add them where the name alone is ambiguous, or where a category keeps catching the wrong rows.
- Keep them short. Names and descriptions together can use up to 6,000 characters, and a short, specific description helps more than a long one.
Ask a clear question #
The question tells the AI what the rows are and what it is choosing. “Which P&L account should this bank transaction be booked to?” works better than no question for bank lines, because it says both. Keep it to one sentence; it can be up to 300 characters.
Keep Other on, and listen to it #
With Allow Other when nothing fits on, a row that fits none of your categories says so instead of landing in the least bad one. Many Other answers usually mean a category is missing: look at those rows, add the category, and run again with Redo all (or fill in a few rows by hand). See Why did a row get Other?
What categories cannot do #
- Rules on amounts or dates. “Over 1,000 is capital equipment” or “older than 90 days” need a formula. AI Categorizer reads the text of the ticked columns, not numbers.
- Several answers per row. Each row gets exactly one category. If you need an account and a cost center, run twice with two lists.
Test on a slice first #
Before a big run, sort 50 to 100 typical rows, check the Review and Other rows, and adjust the list. The free credits are there for exactly that. When the list is right, sort the rest: rows that already have a result are skipped, so nothing is paid twice.