How to recode transactions in MYOB

Recoding here means moving a bank transaction from one category to another once it has been matched. Start by working out how the current category got there, because that decides the fix. On the Bank transactions page, a black sparkle marks an automatic match, a lightning symbol marks a match made by a bank rule, and a purple sparkle marks a category MYOB is suggesting. Hover over the icon to see what the transaction is matched to, or which rule was applied.

Settle on the right category before you begin. If you're not sure which one a transaction belongs in, check with your accountant. When the wrong category came from a bank rule, MYOB's advice is to unmatch the transaction and then look at the rule itself, so allow time for that too.

1. Go to Banking and choose Bank transactions.
2. Click the Matched filter. Set a date range as well if the transaction is hard to find.
3. Click the dropdown arrow next to the transaction to open its details.
4. On the Select categories tab, click Unmatch, then confirm with Unmatch in the message that appears. MYOB deletes the record it created for the old category.
5. Now match it to the correct category by clicking in its Match column and choosing the category.
6. If the amount belongs in more than one category, click Select multiple categories instead, pick each category and how the amount is divided, then click Save.
7. If a bank rule made the original match, hover over its lightning symbol, click into the rule to see its details, and edit it if it's catching transactions it shouldn't.

The bank transaction is matched again, this time to the new category, and MYOB creates a fresh record for it: spend money for a withdrawal, receive money for a deposit. The record that held the old category was deleted when you unmatched.

MYOB Business also learns from the change. When a similar transaction comes through, the category you chose is offered as a suggestion, labelled History in the Method column. Rules come first, though. Where a Spend money transaction or Receive money transaction rule applies, no category suggestion appears, so a category set by one of those rules is changed in the rule.

A recode can be redone. If the new category turns out to be wrong as well, the same steps unmatch the transaction and let you match it once more.

A PAPI_ModelBindingError message can appear when you categorise transactions. One cause MYOB names is a bank feed with no MYOB category connected to it. Go to the Banking menu, open the Banking hub and look for a message asking you to add a category. Click Add a category and choose from the Linked category list, which only offers categories set up as a bank account or credit card.

If you use AccountRight on the desktop, a recorded transaction is changed in its original transaction window: open it, change the account, and click OK. MYOB's desktop notes list the limits. The Transactions CAN'T be Changed; They Must be reversed option on the Security tab of the Preferences window has to be off, and a changeable transaction shows a blue zoom arrow. A transaction in a locked period needs the period unlocked first. Refund cheques, Transfer Money transactions and bank deposits can only be deleted or reversed, and no transaction can be switched to another type, such as Spend Money to Pay Bills.

On a desktop Pay Bills or Receive Payments transaction, only the Account, Date, Memo and transaction ID fields can be edited. The account can be changed there, but the amount can't.