Filter inbox with Outlook rules
Outlook 365 Business Basic sorts incoming emails automatically.
Step 1: Check subscription
Open the Microsoft 365 Admin Center and sign in with the company account. Select the Business Basic plan at 6.00 € per user per month as of July 2026. Without this plan the extended rule options are missing in the web client.
Step 2: Open Outlook on the web
Go to outlook.office.com and sign in. Click the gear icon on the left and then “View all Outlook settings”. The web client is required because rules are stored centrally there. Skip this step and rules stay active only on the desktop client and do not apply on mobile devices.
Step 3: Create the rule
Go to “Mail” > “Rules” > “New rule”. Choose the condition “From” and enter a frequent sender address. As action select “Move to folder” and create a new folder “Invoices 2026”. The rule saves immediately. Without this action the inbox stays unstructured and messages pile up.
Step 4: Add further conditions
Click “Add more options”. Add the condition “Subject contains” with the word “Invoice”. Set priority to “High”. This combination prevents important messages from being overlooked. Missing the extra condition lets many mails pass the first rule and land in the wrong place.
Step 5: Set rule order
Drag the new rule to the top position in the list. Rules are processed top to bottom. Without this ordering a more general rule can fire first and the specific rule is never reached.
Step 6: Test on mobile
Send yourself a test mail containing the word “Invoice” in the subject from another account. Open the Outlook app on the smartphone and check whether the mail appears in the target folder. App version 4.2407 shows the result within 60 seconds. Skip the test and you notice only days later that the rule does not work on the phone.
Step 7: Add exception
Open the rule again and add under “Exceptions” the condition “Importance is high”. This exception prevents urgent messages from being moved automatically. Without the exception urgent internal mails also land in the wrong folder.
Step that often goes wrong
Many users forget after one week to check the rule statistics. Click “Manage rules” in the settings and look at the “Hits” column. If the hit count is zero a condition is wrong. This step is omitted most often and leaves the entire configuration useless.