Disclaimer: Inventory management, costs, and COGS posting can be complex and may vary greatly depending on your individual business needs. If you need help determining the best configuration for your business, we recommend consulting an inventory specialist, such as an integrator or an eCommerce accountant. The information in this article serves as a guide, and we advise seeking expert advice for your specific configuration.
Cin7 offers two great Inventory Management Systems: Cin7 Omni, the original Cin7 solution, and Cin7 Core, formerly known as Dear Inventory.
This article explains how to use A2X with Cin7 Omni. For guidance on using A2X with Cin7 Core, click here for the support article.
What is the difference between an inventory management solution and A2X?
Many sellers use A2X in conjunction with an Inventory Management System (IMS).
An IMS is designed to track, manage, and optimize physical stock levels. It handles tasks like ordering, storing, and selling inventory. Key functions of an IMS include:
Creating and managing purchase orders.
Acting as the trusted source for your buy and landed costs.
Receiving inventory and managing orders.
Dynamically updating inventory quantities across sales channels, including managing bundles.
A2X specializes in eCommerce accounting by capturing and summarizing financial transactions from eCommerce platforms and marketplaces. Its focus includes:
Handling the complexities of eCommerce sales, such as multiple payment processors and currencies.
Reconciling transactions across varying payment periods.
Ensuring financial entries match bank deposits for accurate reconciliation.
What is the optimal configuration for A2X and Cin7 Omni?
With Cin7 Omni, you have two configuration options:
Option 1: Connect both A2X and Cin7 Omni to your accounting software.
In this setup, A2X will post your sales entries, and Cin7 Omni will post your COGS entries.
Key considerations
You need to configure Cin7 Omni to not post sales (turn off 'Sales Posting' in the settings).
A2X’s posting frequency depends on the channel (e.g., Amazon settlements are bi-weekly; Shopify postings may be daily or every few days).
If Cin7 posts your COGS more frequently than A2X posts your sales, your margins will be skewed in your accounting software until A2X posts the sales entry.
There could be discrepancies between the orders accounted for by A2X and the IMS (e.g., IMS might post at the fulfillment date, while A2X posts at the payment date).
Option 2: Use Cin7 Omni to calculate costs, and then import these costs into A2X, allowing A2X to post both COGS and sales entries to your accounting software.
Key considerations
In this case, you will need to configure Cin7 Omni not to post sales or COGS; in the settings ‘sales posting and COGS posting will be switched off’.
Within your A2X settings, your COGS need to be switched on. More on this below.
With A2X posting both entries, your COGS and sales entries will be posted at the same time.
COGS and sales entries will match, which means they’re accounting for the same orders.
However, this approach is more manual, as it requires exporting and importing the costs
A2X’s COGS entries are based on average cost, rather than FIFO or LIFO.
A2X doesn’t currently capture reimbursements or returns in the COGS entries.
The frequency of your A2X entries depends on the sales channel, for example, Amazon settlements are every two weeks, and Shopify might be daily or every few days.
How to switch COGS off/on in A2X
To enable or disable COGS within A2X, visit settings > COGS.
Then select enable or disable COGS, depending on your setup.
COGS is available on all A2X plans, excluding mini plans. Click here to find out more about how A2X COGS works.
If you have any questions regarding A2X’s configuration, please reach out to our Customer Success team via the blue chat icon in the bottom right of your screen, or via contact@a2xaccounting.com.
If you have questions about the configuration for Cin7 Omni, we recommend you contact their support team or visit their support center.