In Sequence, a Rule is our term for an automation - the set of instructions that tells Sequence when and how to move your money.
Each rule as two main components:
Your Trigger tells Sequence when to start,
and your Action tells it what to do.
1. Trigger — When it runs
So how does Sequence know when to start an automation and move your funds?
That’s the job of the Trigger.
It’s the “signal” that tells Sequence it’s time to run your rule.
Two types:
By date: e.g., “Run on the 1st of every month.”
By incoming funds: e.g., “When my paycheck hits my account.”
2. Action — What it does
Now that Sequence knows when to start your automation because you’ve set the Trigger, we need to know what to do with the money - where to move your funds, how much to send, and to which account.
The Action is the heart of your rule.
It’s the actual money movement that happens automatically.
Examples:
Send 15% of incoming funds to Taxes
Move all remaining funds to Savings
Transfer a set $200 to Bills every Friday
3. Condition (Optional) — Run only if…
But what if you only want to run your actions only if you have enough funds in your income account — not every single time the rule is triggered?
Or maybe you have a rule that moves money to your Vacation Savings (Action) every payday (Trigger)… but you only want it to run if your checking account balance is above $1,000.
That’s where Conditions come in.
They add a “check” before the action happens, so the rule only runs if your condition is true.
Examples:
IF balance is greater than $500, then send extra to Savings
IF it’s before the 20th, then pay Vendor A
IF balance in “Expenses” is low, skip the transfer
How Rules and Transfers Work Together
Rules = the instructions that decide when and how money moves.
Transfers = the result of those instructions — the actual transfer of funds.
Together, they give you predictable, hands-off cash flow.
Note: Transfer times vary depending on the source and destination of the transfer. Read here to understand how transfer times work.
Important: Sequence does not currently support international transfers, so we do not have a SWIFT or BIC code.
Tip: Start simple — like “Send 10% to Taxes on payday” — and add conditions later as you get more comfortable.
Next, the next few pages will walk you through Triggers, Actions, and Conditions in depth — with clear examples — so you can see exactly how each piece works in Sequence and how to set them up for your own automations.