How to match transactions in MYOB

Matching needs bank transactions to work on, so check your bank feed is active. MYOB emails you when a new feed is ready, and the Banking hub shows the status of your bank feed applications. An account without a feed can bring its transactions in by importing a bank statement instead.

Next, see which automatic matching options are on by clicking the three dots on the right of the Bank transactions page. Match transactions to invoices and bills records customer and supplier payments against open invoices and bills. Suggest categories using AI offers a category for an unmatched transaction based on what you chose for a similar one before. Match using bank rules is there for AccountRight browser users only, because MYOB Business applies rules by default, and changing it also changes the matching preference in AccountRight on the desktop.

It also helps to know why MYOB leaves some transactions for you. There's no automatic match when the amounts differ, for example through rounding or an edited record, when the date, contact, invoice or bill number or description isn't close enough, or when more than one record could fit. A transfer only matches when a deposit and a withdrawal of the same amount fall within seven days of each other, in different accounts, with matching keywords in their descriptions.

1. From the Banking menu, choose Bank transactions.
2. Click the Not matched filter, and change the date filters if a transaction you expect isn't showing.
3. Expand a transaction to see its details and matching options.
4. If MYOB shows suggested records or a suggested category, marked with a purple sparkle, check them. Hit the tick to accept a suggested category, or choose the right record from the suggestions and click Save.
5. With no suitable suggestion, open the Match to existing record tab and search using the Show, Contact and Search fields. Expand the results to see reference numbers and descriptions.
6. Select the record that matches. If the bank amount is made up of several records, select each of them.
7. Check the Out of balance shows zero. For a rounding difference, click Add adjustment and record a transaction for the difference.
8. Click Save.
9. If nothing in MYOB matches, click in the Match column and choose a category instead. MYOB creates the record for you.
10. Finally, click the Matched filter and check the automatic matches. Hover over a black sparkle to see what a transaction was matched to, and click Unmatch on any that are wrong.

A matched transaction leaves the Not matched list and shows under the Matched filter. What sits behind it depends on the match. A category match creates a new spend money or receive money record. When MYOB automatically matches a payment to an open invoice or bill, it records the payment against that invoice or bill and closes it.

A match can be taken back. Unmatch returns the transaction to unmatched, so you can choose another record or category; the how-to on recoding transactions covers moving a category match. A wrong match made by a rule, marked with a lightning symbol, is unmatched the same way, and then the rule itself needs a look.

In AccountRight on the desktop, matches in the Bank Feeds window are also approved. To take back an approval, select the approved match and click Undo. The button changes to Approve and the unmatch icon appears, which you click to undo the match itself. Approved matches drop out of the window once it's closed, and choosing Approved in the Display Transactions field shows them again.

If MYOB reports an unbalanced transaction when the amounts do balance, MYOB treats this as a known bug. Its workaround is to create the receive money or spend money record yourself, then match the bank transaction to that record.

If you use AccountRight on the desktop, automatic matching looks for the same date and amount and the right transaction type, such as Spend Money. With no automatic match, click Find to locate the AccountRight transaction, edit it if needed and match it, or click New to create one from the Bank Feeds window. To stop automatic matching there, go to Setup menu > Preferences > Banking tab and deselect Auto-allocate bank transactions to outstanding MYOB invoices or bills. Deselecting Auto-approve bank transactions matched to MYOB transactions as well means you approve matches yourself.

MYOB's desktop notes add that the AccountRight account a bank feed is linked to can only be changed when none of its approved matches have been reconciled. If some have, undo the reconciliation first, then unapprove those matches.