Rules allow you to manipulate
Accounts and
Properties within a
Scenario. Since
Rules can be used for a variety of diverse activities, here we will focus on how to add a basic
Rule to a
Scenario. Elsewhere, we will go into detail on different types of
Rules.
So, let’s look at how to add a Rule now.
Login
First, you need to be logged in to the Real Estate Financial Planner™ software.
Go To The
Rules Page
Next, click on the link to access the Rules page.
Add New
Rule
From the Rules page, click on the Add New
Rule button.









Configure
Rule
Once you’ve added the Rule, you will need to configure it. The first step in doing this is to select which type of
Rule it is.
After you select the type of Rule, it will ask you to configure the specific options for that type of
Rule (which we will mostly cover elsewhere). However, there are a few things that are common to just about every
Rule.
Rule Start Date and
Rule End Date
Rules can be set to run for:
- A single month
- A range of months
- The entire
Scenario
To have the Rule run for a single month, select the month you want it to run as both the
Rule Start Date and
Rule End Date. If the dates are the same, the
Rule will run just for that date only.
To have the Rule run for a range of months, select the month you want the
Rule to start running as the
Rule Start Date. Then, select the month you want the
Rule to stop running as the
Rule End Date.
And finally, if you want the Rule to run for every month in the entire
Scenario, leave the
Rule Start Date and
Rule End Date blank.
Apply the
Rule to a
Scenario
Rules can be universally applied to all
Scenarios or to just a single
Scenario.
For the Apply this Rule to the following
Scenarios field, you can select either All Scenarios or any
Scenario you’ve already made in your planner.
Important note for Premium users, for organizational purposes, you will only see the
Scenarios in your current
Folder. This is intended to make it easier to group and find
Scenarios,
Accounts,
Properties,
Rules and
Goals.
Rules
Rules are powerful and can be complicated to use. Check out other resources we have related to
Rules to learn more.
Adding To
Scenarios
Rules interact with
Accounts and
Properties, so you may want to learn more about how to add these to your
Scenarios as well.
Hi! After exploring your website a year ago and recently diving into my own spreadsheets, I’ve realized your website and tools are awesome! I’m very excited to dive in further.
One thing I just noticed with regards to rules: when applying a paycheck rule to “all scenarios”, it does not apply–there is no incoming payments into the default cash account. I fixed this by applying the rule to my one scenario. Am I missing something or is this a bug? Thanks again for the great tool you have here.
Hi Kyle…
> Hi! After exploring your website a year ago and recently diving into my own spreadsheets, I’ve realized your website and tools are awesome!
Glad you’re enjoying them. I like them too. 🙂
> I’m very excited to dive in further.
Excellent!
> One thing I just noticed with regards to rules: when applying a paycheck rule to “all scenarios”, it does not apply–there is no incoming payments into the default cash account.
Let me ask a few questions:
1. Did you rerun the Scenario after adding the rule? You will definitely need to do that to see a new Rule’s results show up in a Scenario.
2. Are you applying the Paycheck rule to the Default Cash Account?
> I fixed this by applying the rule to my one scenario.
Yes. That’s how I typically do it myself, but Rules are built so they should run in ALL SCENARIOS in your account too if you select that as an option.
> Am I missing something or is this a bug?
While it is possible it is a bug (especially since we added a bunch of stuff since we added that functionality years ago and it is something that I don’t personally use that much), let’s check the two things above first and let me know if that fixed it or if I have your permission to login as you and see if I can see something wrong.
> Thanks again for the great tool you have here.
You’re welcome! Glad you’re enjoying it.