What is the categorization flow?
Our categorization process streamlines how you categorize things that your bookkeeper needs your help with, in real-time. Powered by insights from millions of months of bookkeeping, this categorization flow is intuitive and easy to use to give you more flexibility and control.
We use a combination of human expertise and AI precision to help you provide input and categorize transactions that need your input faster.
What is the Categorization Assistant?
The Categorization Assistant helps you categorize things when you’re unsure of the category that should be applied, by combining human expertise and AI precision. It’s always available for real-time support for quick, accurate transaction categorizations.
As always, your bookkeeping team is there to support you if you need it. Your team still oversees your bookkeeping in the background and the Categorization Assistant will loop them in when their expertise is needed.
Watch a walkthrough video
How to use the Categorization Flow
- Go to ‘Transactions’ under the ‘My Books’ menu.
- Click on any transaction and the categorization flow will open
- From the “Select a category” dropdown, you can quickly select from a shortlist of suggested categories or, if none of those apply, you can easily look through all possible categories to select the applicable one
4. If you’re unsure of the category, click “Let us help categorize”
5. Your Categorization Assistant opens up, and it will ask a few short questions to help determine the right category. Follow the flow and respond to the questions by typing
6. After you categorize a transaction, we'll suggest transactions that are similar to the recently categorized transaction. You can then choose which of those transactions to categorize the same way. For instance, if you categorize a transaction as “Company Events Expense,” we’ll highlight other similar transactions and ask if you’d like to categorize them as “Company Events Expense” as well.
7. Click ‘Show all’
8. By default, all transactions are selected. Simply deselect any that you don’t want to categorize this way.
9. Click ‘Submit’ and the selected transactions will be categorized the same way
10. If the Categorization Assistant needs additional help with an extra tricky transaction, it will notify your bookkeeping team to review it.
11. For some categories that have higher tax implications (i.e. categorizing it a certain way would have a material impact on your tax return) we’ll need additional context from you in order to categorize
OR
Your bookkeeper will automatically be notified to help categorize the transaction
12. Based on all interactions, our system will learn and adapt to your business so it can continue to improve your categorization experience.
Pro Tip: The more you use it, the smarter our system gets. With each interaction it will learn and adapt to your business by setting up rules for the future, continuing to improve your categorization experience.
Where can I find the auto-suggested categories?
The automatically suggested categories that you’re familiar with are now integrated into the categorization flow as part of the category dropdown. If a transaction has suggested categories available, they will be presented to you first thing when you expand the category list.
Where can I leave a note for my bookkeeper?
The information from each interaction with the categorization flow and Categorization Assistant is automatically shared with your bookkeeping team. If you’d prefer to add the context and information and move on to the next task, you can simply type that and click ‘I’m done adding details. Close’
Why does my bookkeeper need my help categorizing transactions?
Bench will always categorize the vast majority of your transactions in a given month. It’s normal that there may be a few remaining transactions that we can’t categorize on our own without your help. The additional context you provide allows us to validate the accuracy of its category to ensure your books are done right and fully compliant. Here are a few examples of why we might need your help categorizing transactions:
- Additional context is needed on Business Activities: As the owner or manager of the business, you have a deeper understanding of the nature of your business transactions. Some transactions might be unique or complex, and your insights can help your bookkeeping team categorize them accurately.
- Unclear Descriptions: Sometimes, transaction descriptions might be vague or unclear. Your familiarity with the business operations can help provide context and details that aid your bookkeeping team with the best categorization.
- Changes in Business Operations: If there have been recent changes in your business activities, products, or services, you are the best source of information to guide your bookkeeper in categorizing these accurately.
- Exceptions or Unusual Transactions: Certain transactions might not fit neatly into specific categories. Your input can be invaluable in deciding the best category for these transactions.
- Special Cases: There could be specific transactions that have unique tax implications or require different treatment. Your guidance can ensure that these transactions are correctly categorized according to the most appropriate legal and financial requirements.
Why does my bookkeeper review transactions I’ve categorized?
Your bookkeeping team provides an extra layer of accuracy by conducting regular reviews of your books including categorized transactions. This ensures everything is in line with accounting standards and best practices to ensure precision and maximize your deductions.
Is my information safe?
Your security and privacy is at the core of everything we do. We are committed to the responsible use of AI as this technology continues to revolutionize the way we work and the world around us, including the practice of accounting.
- The data you share is only for you and your business as Bench’s AI runs on closed, protected models. Prompts, responses, and data accessed through the Categorization Assistant remain within Bench’s isolated boundaries and aren't used to train public or third-party AI tools or LLMs.
- Bench and its AI suite operate in secure, industry-leading AWS and Microsoft Azure cloud-hosted environments, trusted by governments, healthcare, and financial institutions worldwide.
- We conduct regular audits and update our privacy, security, and compliance commitments as our service and technology evolve
What do I do if I’m having technical issues with the Categorization Assistant?
If you’re experiencing any technical issues with the Categorization Assistant, you can share that with us here and our teams will investigate the issue.