Bulk Reclassify
Find groups of transaction lines and change their account or tax rate in one go — without opening each invoice, bill, or spend money transaction individually.
Use this when the same coding mistake appears across many lines (for example, bank fees coded to the wrong expense account, or the wrong GST rate applied).
Who can use Bulk Reclassify?
| Role | Access |
|---|---|
| Admin / Owner | Yes |
| Advisor | Yes |
| Team member | No |
Only admins and advisors can open the tool or apply changes.
Accessing Bulk Reclassify
- Go to Settings
- Open the Accounting tab
- Select Bulk Reclassify
You can also open Reclassify History from the Bulk Reclassify page to review past batches.
How to reclassify
- Add one or more conditions to find the lines you want (for example Account is Bank Fees, and Date between two dates)
- Choose whether lines must match All or Any of the conditions
- Click Search
- Tick the lines to include (up to 200 per batch)
- Click Reclassify
- Choose what to change:
- Account — leave as “Don’t recode” if you only want to change tax
- Tax Rate — leave as “Don’t change” if you only want to change account
- Mode — update the source transactions, or post a correction journal (see below)
- Click Review, check the eligible / ineligible counts, then Confirm
Changes apply immediately for source mode. Correction journals are created as drafts for you to review and post.
Search conditions
You can filter by:
| Condition | Examples |
|---|---|
| Account | Expense or income account on the line |
| Tax rate | GST, GST-Free, and other tax codes |
| Type | Spend Money, Receive Money, Bill, Invoice, Manual Journal, and related types |
| Date | On a day, or between two dates |
| Contact | Name or contact match |
| Reference | Invoice number or reference |
| Transaction total | Equals, less than, or more than an amount |
| Bank account | For spend / receive money lines |
| Reconciled between | Lines reconciled in a date range |
| Status | Posted journal status |
Update source vs correction journal
| Mode | What happens | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Update source transactions | The original invoice, bill, spend/receive money, or journal line is updated, and the general ledger stays in sync | Everyday corrections so the source document shows the right coding |
| Correction journal (draft) | Source documents stay unchanged; Rebased creates a draft manual journal that moves amounts to the new account | When you prefer not to edit original history (for example, after a period was locked and you unlock only via a later adjustment date) |
Contact changes are only available when updating source transactions.
For correction journals, choose a journal date after your lock date when adjusting older periods.
What happens to GST?
When you change the tax rate:
- The line total stays the same
- The net amount and GST portion are recalculated
- GST Paid / GST Collected in the journal is updated so the entry stays balanced
Account-only changes move the expense or income coding without changing GST amounts.
What you cannot reclassify
Bulk Reclassify will skip or block lines when:
- The period is locked (source mode) — see Lock Dates
- The period has a finalised BAS — reopen that BAS from Tax → BAS History first, then reclassify, then Prepare and Finalise again if needed
- The line uses a system account you should not recode to (bank, receivables, payables, GST control, BAS clearing)
- The transaction type is excluded (for example transfers, voided transactions, or BAS clearing journals themselves)
- You selected more than 200 lines — run another batch with the same search
Ineligible lines stay visible in search results with a short reason so you can adjust your selection.
Reclassify History
Every confirmed batch is saved. Open Reclassify History to see:
- When the batch ran and which mode was used
- How many lines succeeded or failed
- Before / after account and tax for each line
- A link to the draft correction journal when you used journal mode
Tips
- Start with a tight search (account + date range) and review a small selection before confirming a large batch
- Prefer Update source transactions when you want reports and source documents to agree
- After reclassifying tax in an open BAS period, re-check Prepare BAS figures before lodging
- If a period is locked, either unlock it temporarily (admin) for source updates, or use a correction journal dated after the lock date
Troubleshooting
“Only admin or advisor can use Bulk Reclassify”
Your role does not include this tool. Ask a business admin or advisor to run the reclassify, or ask them to grant you the appropriate role.
Lines show as blocked / ineligible
Common reasons: lock date, finalised BAS, or a system account. Fix the underlying restriction (unlock, unfinalise BAS, or choose different lines), then search again.
“Journal would be unbalanced”
The change could not be applied safely. Cancel and try a smaller selection, or reclassify account only first, then tax. Contact support if it persists on a single clear line.
Correction journal date rejected
The date must be after the current lock date. Pick a later date, or ask an admin to adjust the lock date.