Supplier and Customer Rules help automate how documents from specific suppliers or customers are processed in Dext.
Once a rule is set, it’s automatically applied to every new document uploaded from that supplier or customer – reducing manual entry and speeding up review.
Important: Only Admin users can create and manage supplier or customer rules. This includes accountants and bookkeepers working on a client account. Standard users can't access the Costs > Suppliers and Sales > Customers pages.
How rules work
Supplier and customer rules are useful when documents from a specific supplier or customer consistently follow a pattern.
For example:
Uber receipts are always categorised as Travel
Adobe, Google, or Apple invoices are categorised as IT Costs
Utility bills are categorised as Utilities
Rules eliminate repetitive categorisation for recurring suppliers or customers.
What you can automate
With supplier or customer rules, you can set default values for:
Category
Invoice due date
Tax rate
Payment method
Paid/Unpaid status
Description
Currency
In Dext Solo, you can also set a default Income source and a default Rental property.
Note: If your account is connected to accounting software like QuickBooks Online, Xero, or Sage 50, additional fields may be available. These integrations also support suppliers in multiple currencies (e.g., CAD and USD).
Setting a rule
You can set rules either from the item itself or from your Suppliers/Customers lists.
From the Item details page
To set a rule from an item's details page:
1. Open a document from the relevant supplier or customer.
2. Click Set Supplier Rules or Set Customer Rules.
3. Fill in the fields you want to automate.
4. Click Apply.
Note: When setting a new rule from the Item Details page, mark the Apply to all inbox items checkbox to apply it to existing documents.
From the Supplier/Customer list
To set a rule from your supplier or customer list:
Go to Costs > Suppliers or Sales > Customers.
Select a supplier or customer name from the list.
Use the editable fields on the rules page to add or change rules.
Dext saves each change as soon as you choose it.
In Dext Solo, you can also change the Income source, Rental property and Category straight from the Suppliers or Customers list, without opening the rules page.
Note: Changes made on the Supplier rules page will apply to all inbox items by default.
Supplier-specific workflow notes
You can now add a workflow note to a supplier to help standardise the coding of their documents.
This note appears at the top of the Item Details page for every new document from that supplier, giving your team a clear reminder of what to check or fill in.
How specific workflow notes work
Go to Costs > Suppliers > click on a supplier to open the Supplier rules page.
Alternatively, open an item from the Costs inbox and click on Set supplier rules under the Supplier field.
Find the Specific workflow field at the bottom.
Enter any short instruction you want users to follow, such as “Always fill in the invoice number” or “Verify tax rate before publishing”.
Once saved, the workflow note automatically displays on the Item Details page for all items from that supplier.
Note: This feature is only available for suppliers.
Setting rules in bulk
You can apply rules to multiple suppliers or customers at once.
From the Suppliers page
Go to Costs > Suppliers.
Tick the checkboxes next to the suppliers you want to update.
Click Bulk Edit in the top-left corner.
Select and apply your rules.
From the Customers page
Go to Sales > Customers.
Tick the checkboxes next to the customers.
Click Actions > Bulk Edit.
In Dext Solo, bulk edit also includes Income source and Rental property. For more details, go to How to add and manage rental properties in Dext Solo
Note: Some fields - particularly those synced with your accounting software - may not be editable in bulk.
Rule prioritisation and auto-publish
Auto-Publish Rules only apply to documents uploaded after the rule is created, regardless of where you set the rule from. They’re triggered automatically after data extraction.
Payment Method Rules, User Rules, and Auto-Publish Exceptions will override Supplier or Customer Rules if set for the same field.
Supplier and Customer Rules will override account-level defaults if set for the same field, for example, default due dates.
For details, go to Rules and automation in Dext
Frequently asked questions
Do rules apply to existing documents by default?
Do rules apply to existing documents by default?
No, only to new documents. To apply rules to existing inbox items, edit them directly from the Rules page or use the Apply to all inbox items checkbox when editing from the Item Details page.
Important: Rules like Auto-publish and Extract line items can't be applied to items already in your inbox.
Can I edit all fields in bulk?
Can I edit all fields in bulk?
Not all. Specific fields linked to accounting integrations may be unavailable to edit in bulk.
Do rules support multiple currencies?
Do rules support multiple currencies?
Yes, but only if connected to QuickBooks Online, Xero, or Sage 50.
Why are my supplier/customer rules resetting or not applying?
Why are my supplier/customer rules resetting or not applying?
If you’re connected to accounting software, check if you’ve set up rules for the supplier/customer there - these will often overwrite the rules in Dext when we sync the data every 48 hours.
If you removed or made changes to the rules in the accounting software, make sure to refresh the integration data in Dext to reflect them.