diff --git a/MoneyMap/Pages/Receipts.cshtml.cs b/MoneyMap/Pages/Receipts.cshtml.cs
index 211f5dd..d0f377f 100644
--- a/MoneyMap/Pages/Receipts.cshtml.cs
+++ b/MoneyMap/Pages/Receipts.cshtml.cs
@@ -254,32 +254,30 @@ namespace MoneyMap.Pages
             var candidates = await query
                 .ToListAsync();
 
-            // If receipt has merchant, sort matches by relevance (but don't exclude)
+            // Sort by merchant/name relevance using word matching
             if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(receipt.Merchant))
             {
-                var merchantLower = receipt.Merchant.ToLower();
+                var receiptWords = receipt.Merchant.ToLower().Split(new[] { ' ', '-', '_', '.' }, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries);
 
-                // Sort: exact matches first, then partial matches, then others
                 candidates = candidates
                     .OrderByDescending(t =>
                     {
                         var merchantName = t.Merchant?.Name?.ToLower() ?? "";
                         var transactionName = t.Name?.ToLower() ?? "";
 
-                        // Exact match on merchant or transaction name
-                        if (merchantName == merchantLower || transactionName == merchantLower)
-                            return 3;
+                        // Exact match
+                        if (merchantName == receipt.Merchant.ToLower() || transactionName == receipt.Merchant.ToLower())
+                            return 1000;
 
-                        // Contains match on merchant
-                        if (merchantName.Contains(merchantLower))
-                            return 2;
+                        // Count matching words
+                        var merchantWords = merchantName.Split(new[] { ' ', '-', '_', '.' }, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries);
+                        var transactionWords = transactionName.Split(new[] { ' ', '-', '_', '.' }, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries);
 
-                        // Contains match on transaction name
-                        if (transactionName.Contains(merchantLower))
-                            return 1;
+                        var merchantMatches = receiptWords.Count(rw => merchantWords.Any(mw => mw.Contains(rw) || rw.Contains(mw)));
+                        var transactionMatches = receiptWords.Count(rw => transactionWords.Any(tw => tw.Contains(rw) || rw.Contains(tw)));
 
-                        // No match
-                        return 0;
+                        // Return the higher match count
+                        return Math.Max(merchantMatches * 10, transactionMatches * 10);
                     })
                     .ThenByDescending(t => t.Date)
                     .ThenByDescending(t => t.Id)
diff --git a/MoneyMap/Services/ReceiptAutoMapper.cs b/MoneyMap/Services/ReceiptAutoMapper.cs
index 883ea44..1fbbb82 100644
--- a/MoneyMap/Services/ReceiptAutoMapper.cs
+++ b/MoneyMap/Services/ReceiptAutoMapper.cs
@@ -118,18 +118,38 @@ namespace MoneyMap.Services
                 return new List<Transaction>();
             }
 
-            // Filter by merchant if available
-            if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(receipt.Merchant))
-            {
-                // Try to find matching merchant name
-                query = query.Where(t =>
-                    (t.Merchant != null && t.Merchant.Name.Contains(receipt.Merchant)) ||
-                    t.Name.Contains(receipt.Merchant));
-            }
-
             // Get candidates
             var candidates = await query.ToListAsync();
 
+            // Sort by merchant/name relevance using word matching if merchant available
+            if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(receipt.Merchant))
+            {
+                var receiptWords = receipt.Merchant.ToLower().Split(new[] { ' ', '-', '_', '.' }, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries);
+
+                candidates = candidates
+                    .OrderByDescending(t =>
+                    {
+                        var merchantName = t.Merchant?.Name?.ToLower() ?? "";
+                        var transactionName = t.Name?.ToLower() ?? "";
+
+                        // Exact match
+                        if (merchantName == receipt.Merchant.ToLower() || transactionName == receipt.Merchant.ToLower())
+                            return 1000;
+
+                        // Count matching words
+                        var merchantWords = merchantName.Split(new[] { ' ', '-', '_', '.' }, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries);
+                        var transactionWords = transactionName.Split(new[] { ' ', '-', '_', '.' }, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries);
+
+                        var merchantMatches = receiptWords.Count(rw => merchantWords.Any(mw => mw.Contains(rw) || rw.Contains(mw)));
+                        var transactionMatches = receiptWords.Count(rw => transactionWords.Any(tw => tw.Contains(rw) || rw.Contains(tw)));
+
+                        // Return the higher match count
+                        return Math.Max(merchantMatches * 10, transactionMatches * 10);
+                    })
+                    .ThenByDescending(t => t.Date)
+                    .ToList();
+            }
+
             // If we have a total amount, filter by amount match (±10% tolerance)
             if (receipt.Total.HasValue)
             {