Why Categorization, Transfers, and Recurring Don't Run Automatically
Bank statement extraction runs automatically. Categorization, transfers detection, and recurring transactions detection are separate steps you trigger when you need them.
When DocuClipper finishes converting a bank statement, you get the transactions, balances, and reconciliation right away. Categorization, transfers detection, and recurring transactions detection do not run automatically. You trigger each one from the project view when you actually need it.
This article explains what runs automatically vs. what you trigger, where to click, and why the workflow is designed this way.
Plan availability: Categorization is included on Professional and above. Transfers detection and recurring transactions detection are Business tier and above. See Pricing for details.
What runs automatically on every bank statement
As soon as the conversion completes, the following are already done:
- Transaction extraction (date, description, amount, balance per row)
- Account and period detection
- Reconciliation (running balance vs. statement balances). See How reconciliation works.
- Check image OCR if the statement contains check images
- Bank-level fraud detection signals on the statement itself
You do not need to click anything for any of these. They are part of the conversion job.
What you trigger manually
These three analyses are intentionally separate steps. You decide when (and whether) to run them on a given set of statements.
1. Transaction categorization
Tags each transaction with a category (Groceries, Rent, Payroll, etc.) using either the built-in default categories or a custom set you define.
Where: open a converted statement, then click Categorize in the Summary Table.
Full guide: How DocuClipper Transaction Categorization Works.
2. Transfers detection
Finds matching debit and credit pairs across accounts so that movement between your own accounts is not double-counted in cash-flow totals.
Where: open the project, go to Analyze, then Transfers, and click Detect Transfers.
Full guide: Transfers Analysis.
3. Recurring transactions detection
Identifies weekly, biweekly, and monthly repeating transactions: subscriptions, rent, payroll, and similar.
Where: open the project, go to Analyze, then Recurring, and click Detect Recurring.
Full guide: Recurring Transactions Analysis.
Why these are separate steps
The short version: not every workflow needs every analysis, and we want you in control of when each one runs.
- A bookkeeper exporting a statement to QuickBooks usually does not need transfers or recurring detection at all. Auto-running them on every conversion would waste time and clutter the project.
- A lender doing cash-flow underwriting wants categorization and transfers, but only after they have loaded the full set of statements for the borrower. Running detection per statement, then re-running it after each new statement is loaded, gives worse results than running it once across the full set.
- A forensic engagement may want to define a custom category set first, then categorize. Auto-running with defaults would force a re-run.
Running these manually also lets you scope the analysis. Recurring detection across 24 months of data behaves differently than across a single month, and you usually want to choose.
Running across many statements at once
All three analyses operate on whatever data is currently selected in the project, not on a single statement. To run on many statements together:
- Convert all the statements first. They can be uploaded one at a time, in bulk, or through an automation.
- In the project, use the account and period selectors to scope the data set you want to analyze. Leaving everything selected runs across the full project.
- Click Categorize, Detect Transfers, or Detect Recurring. The analysis runs over the whole selection in one pass.
This is why we recommend loading the full set of statements before triggering analysis: each detector gets more signal and produces better results when it sees the full picture at once.
Re-running after new statements arrive
When you add new statements to a project, the analyses do not re-run automatically. Re-trigger them when:
- You added statements covering new periods.
- You changed your custom category keywords.
- You changed the account or period selection and want results for the new scope.