Custom renaming rules

The Create Custom Renaming Rule dialog gives you a bit more control over what constitutes a renaming rule "match" when a payee is downloaded.

At the top of the dialog you'll find the payee name, exactly as it was downloaded by your financial institution. Just below that name is a field containing the different elements of that name.

How renaming rules work

When you download transactions from your financial institution, the payees that you see in Quicken may not look the way you think they should. For example, if you buy breakfast at Anytown Coffeehouse, the transaction might be downloaded as ATC LLC 005 PLEASANTON. This is not ideal; the payee name is not easily recognizable, and it is not consistent with other Anytown Coffeehouses you might visit. Renaming rules can fix this.

Renaming rules tell Quicken to substitute a standardized, easily recognizable payee name when a similar payee is downloaded from your financial institution.

Note: Renaming rules don't change transactions already recorded in your register; they affect only transactions that will be downloaded in the future.

To add a new renaming rule

If necessary, choose Tools menu > Renaming Rules.
Click Add a Rule at the bottom of the Renaming Rules dialog.
In the Change payee to field, enter or edit the name you want to use for the payee. In other words, the name you want to change similar payees to such as Main Square Coffee.
In the Quicken will rename the downloaded payee field enter the original payee name, such as SQ*COFFEE1234SHOP.
To save the rule, click OK.

To add a new Do-Not-Rename rule

If necessary, choose Tools menu > Renaming Rules.
In the Renaming Rules dialog, click the Do-Not-Rename Rules tab.
Click Add a Rule at the bottom of the dialog.
In the drop-down, select If payee contains or If Quicken name is to specify the type of Do-Not-Rename rule to create.
- What's the difference?
  - If payee contains: When you download new transactions, Quicken searches the combined text of the downloaded Payee and Memo fields for the text you enter (in the next step). A match occurs, and the downloaded payee is renamed, if the text you enter appears in the same order, and not as a substring, somewhere within the combined fields. Examples:Parker matches Parker Supplies; Parker does not match ParkerSupplies; Parker Suppliesmatches Parker Supplies Company; Parker Supplies does not match Supplies by Parker Company.
  - If Quicken name is: When you download new transactions, Quicken searches its own database of common merchant names for the text you enter (in the next step). A match occurs, and the downloaded payee is renamed, if the text you enter exactly matches a merchant in the database. The search is performed after all other renaming rules have been run. Examples: Parker Supplies matches Parker Supplies; Parker does not match Parker Supplies, or any other variant such as Supplies by Parker.
  - For more information, see How Quicken suggests categories and payees
In the text box, enter the words to search for. Comparisons are not case-sensitive.
- Example
  If you select Payee contains and enter Anytown coffee as the words to search for, then both Anytown Coffee Pleasanton, and Anytown Coffee 005 will not be renamed. The payees will appear in your register exactly as downloaded.
To save the rule, click OK.

To change the name of an existing renaming rule payee

If necessary, choose Tools menu > Renaming Rules.
In the Renaming Rules dialog, select the rule you want to change.
Click the Edit icon (the pencil).
Enter the new name in the Change payee to field. All future downloaded transactions will use this payee name when the renaming rule is executed.

To add a new "rename if" statement to an existing renaming rule

If necessary, choose Tools menu > Renaming Rules.
In the Renaming Rules dialog, select the name of the rule to which you want to add a new "rename if" statement to.
Click the Add icon (the plus sign).
In the Change payee to field, enter or edit the name you want to use for the payee. In other words, the name you want to change similar payees to such as Main Square Coffee.
In the Quicken will rename the downloaded payee field enter the original payee name, such as SQ*COFFEE1234SHOP.
To save the rule, click OK.

To change or delete a "rename if" statement in an existing renaming rule

If necessary, choose Tools menu > Renaming Rules.
In the Renaming Rules dialog, select the name of the renaming rule that you want to edit and expand it (click the arrow next to it) to reveal its "rename if" statements.
In the drop-down, select Payee contains or Quicken name is, as necessary.
In the text box, edit the words to search for in the downloaded payee name.
To save the rule, click OK.

To delete an "rename if" statement, select it and click the Delete icon (the minus sign).

Using the renaming rule preferences

You can access the renaming rules preferences by going to Edit menu → Preferences → Downloaded Transactions.

Preference	Description
Use my existing renaming rules	When this option is selected, Quicken will use your existing renaming rules to automatically rename similar payees for future downloaded transactions. Click Renaming Rules to see a list of the rules you've created.
Automatically create rules when I rename payees	When this option is selected, Quicken will create renaming rules when you manually edit payee names in the register.
Let me review/confirm the automatically created rules	When this option is selected, Quicken will notify you whenever a new renaming rule is created.
Renaming Rules button	Select the Renaming Rules button to access a window where you can view, create, and change your payee renaming rules.

Create a custom renaming rule from a transaction

In the rectangular field, click the elements of the payee name that you want Quicken to scan for in downloaded transactions. These elements can be words, abbreviations, numbers, or symbols. A transaction must contain all of the selected elements before Quicken qualifies is as a match.
Enter the standardized name that you want to use for the payee.
Click OK.

Create a new rule

Go to Edit menu → Preferences.
Select Downloaded Transactions.
Click on Renaming Rules.
Click Add a rule.
Define the method you want Quicken to use to map similar names to be renamed to the new name.
Press OK.

Edit an existing rule

Go to Edit menu → Preferences.
Select Downloaded Transactions.
Click on Renaming Rules.
Select the rule you want to edit.
Click on Edit the name for this payee (Pencil icon) to edit the rule.
Enter the new Payee name.
To save the rule, click OK.

Add a rule to an existing rule

Go to Edit menu → Preferences.
Select Downloaded Transactions.
Click on Renaming Rules.
Select the rule you want to edit.
Click on Add a rule for this payee name (plus icon).
Define the method you want Quicken to use to map similar names to be renamed to the new name.
Press OK.