> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://nectarclimate.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Rules
> Configure routing and GL coding rules that automatically process incoming bills.
Need help in this area? See [Bill Pay FAQ](/docs/platform/bill-pay/faq).
Rules are the logic engine behind Bill Pay. Each rule defines **conditions** (when should this rule fire?) and **actions** (what should happen?).
Evaluation has two phases:
1. **GL coding** — first matching active GL rule wins (creation order). Later GL rules are skipped.
2. **Routing** — every matching active routing rule fires. Destinations are deduplicated so each destination receives the bill only once.
## Rule types
Bill Pay has two types of rules, evaluated in sequence:
| Type | Purpose | Example |
| ------------------- | ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Routing rules** | Determine where a bill goes | "Forward all electricity bills over \$5,000 to the CFO inbox" |
| **GL coding rules** | Assign a general ledger code | "Tag all water bills at the Chicago site with GL code 6200" |
GL coding rules are evaluated first, then routing rules. This means a bill can receive a GL code and be forwarded in the same evaluation pass.
## Creating a rule
Go to [**Bill Pay > Rules**](https://dash.nectarclimate.com/bill-pay/rules) and click **New
rule**. Select either **Add GL coding rule** or **Add routing rule**.
Give the rule a descriptive name (e.g., "Northeast electricity to AP team") and optionally add a description explaining its purpose.
Drag condition blocks from the palette onto the canvas. Each condition tests a specific field against a value — for example, "Commodity equals Electricity" or "Total charges is greater than 1000."
Drag **AND group** or **OR group** from the palette. Switch a group to **NOT** on the canvas if you need to invert it — NOT is not a separate palette item.
For **routing** rules, drag actions onto the canvas: **Forward to email**, **Route to AP
integration**, **Request funds**, or **Notify user**. For **GL coding** rules, fill in the
auto-added **Assign GL code** field — you do not drag a separate GL action block.
The builder **PREVIEW** panel updates as you edit (use the refresh icon if needed). It tests
conditions against recent bills; it does not simulate which actions would fire. When ready,
click **Create & enable** (new rules) or **Save & enable** (edits) to activate immediately, or
**Save** to keep the rule inactive.
## Condition fields
You can build conditions using any of these bill, site, and account attributes:
| Category | Field | Description |
| ---------------------- | ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Bill** | Commodity | Any tracked commodity (for example Electricity, Natural Gas, Water, Waste, Fuel, District Energy, Solar) |
| **Bill** | Total charges | The total dollar amount on the bill |
| **Bill** | Flagged status | Whether the bill has been manually flagged |
| **Bill** | Utility provider | The specific datasource or provider |
| **Bill** | Currency | The billing currency (USD, CAD, EUR, etc.) |
| **Site** | Site | A specific site or set of sites |
| **Site** | Site tag | Tags assigned to the bill's site |
| **Site** | Site location | The geographic location of the site |
| **Account** | Account | A specific utility account |
| **Utility Connection** | Connection | The connection that collected the bill |
## Operators
Each condition uses an operator to compare the field against a value (operators available depend on the field):
| Operator | Meaning |
| ----------------------------- | ------------------------------- |
| equals / does not equal | Exact match |
| is one of / is not one of | Match against a list |
| contains / does not contain | Partial text match |
| is greater than / is at least | Numeric comparison |
| is less than / is at most | Numeric comparison |
| is between | Numeric range |
| is empty / is not empty | Checks if the field has a value |
## Action types
### Routing rule actions
| Action | Effect |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Forward to email** | Sends the bill to an email [destination](/docs/platform/glossary#destination) |
| **Route to AP integration** | Pushes the bill to a connected ERP system |
| **Request funds** | Enters the centralized payment path where Nectar handles payment |
| **Notify user** | Sends a notification email to specified team members |
### GL coding rule actions
| Action | Effect |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------ |
| **Assign GL code** | Tags the bill with a general ledger account code |
## Evaluation order
Active rules are evaluated in creation order. There is no drag-to-reorder control on the rules list.
* **GL coding:** the first matching rule wins.
* **Routing:** all matching rules fire, with destination deduplication so each destination only receives the bill once.
## Dry-run preview
While you edit a rule, the **PREVIEW** panel auto-tests conditions against your recent bills. It shows how many bills would match, plus sample matches and non-matches. It does not preview which actions would fire.
## Version history
Every time you save changes to a rule, a new version is created. You can view the full edit history by clicking **Edit history** when viewing a rule. This audit trail shows who changed what and when, making it easy to understand why routing behavior changed.
## Catch-all destination
If a bill doesn't match any routing rule, it enters a **Pending routing** state and waits for manual assignment. To avoid this, you can designate a **catch-all destination** — a fallback that receives any unmatched bills. Set this from the rules page (**Set catch-all** / **Change catch-all**), or star a destination on [Destinations](/docs/platform/bill-pay/destinations).
## Related pages
* [Destinations](/docs/platform/bill-pay/destinations) — set up the email addresses and ERP systems your rules route to
* [Routing history](/docs/platform/bill-pay/decisions) — see how rules evaluated against actual bills
* [Glossary — Routing rule](/docs/platform/glossary#routing-rule) — definition