If you're using the A2X COGS feature, keeping your costs up to date within A2X can be time-consuming. Each time a cost is added, deleted, or changed, it is best practice to update the changes in A2X to ensure the cost entry to your accounting system is as accurate as possible.
If you're using Finale Inventory, you can now save time by syncing costs directly into A2X for Finale Inventory!
Follow these easy steps to connect Finale Inventory to A2X -
Step 1: Cost setup within A2X
Click 'Cost' in the main navigation
Select the 'Finale Inventory' tab
Click the 'Sync with Finale' button.
A modal will appear asking for your Finale Inventory details.
Step 2: Enter Finale Inventory details
Finale Account Name: Type in your Finale Inventory account name.
API Key: Enter your Finale Inventory username.
API Secret: Input your Finale Inventory password.
Hint: Your Finale account name can be found in your Finale URL
Step 3: Sync with Finale Inventory
Click the 'Sync A2X with Finale' button to connect A2X with your Finale Inventory account.
A2X will now automatically pull SKU and cost data from the Finale Inventory.
Step 4: Managing Costs
A2X will sync your cost data daily at 1 AM UTC.
Any changes made in the Finale Inventory will be reflected in A2X’s Finale Costs table and the Cost History table.
Step 5: Manual Sync
To sync your costs immediately, you can:
Click the "Sync" button in A2X.
This will fetch the latest cost data from the Finale Inventory.
By following these simple steps, you can keep your costs updated seamlessly, saving time and ensuring accuracy in your accounting system.
Cost Syncing
The cost per SKU will be synced from Finale to A2X on a daily basis. Users need to ensure that the costs in Finale are accurate and up-to-date since A2X relies on this information for COGS calculations. If it is unlikely that your COGS will be accurate on a daily basis, then you could consider holding off posting your entries from A2X to your GL until your cost data is complete and accurate in Finale.
Entry Posting
A2X will take care of your sales-related entries (e.g., sales, fees, COGS and inventory adjustments) and post these to your accounting system.
Other entries, particularly those related to returned inventory and misc inventory adjustments, will be posted from Finale to the accounting system. Users need to understand which system is responsible for which entries to avoid duplication or missing.
Alias SKUs in A2X
If you sell on multiple channels, then you'll notice that the COGS entries in A2X, display the ‘Alias SKUs’, which are the SKUs directly from your sales channel listings. There are also ‘identifiers’ which is how you match your Alisas SKU to the variations of SKUS listed and sold on different sales channels (like Amazon, Shopify, or eBay).
Ensure that each Alias SKU from your sales channels is properly mapped in Finale Inventory to its corresponding Product ID (Master SKU). Once this mapping is in place, the cost data for each Product ID in Finale will automatically sync with the appropriate Alias SKU in A2X.
SKU Mapping in Finale
Users need to ensure that Sales Channel SKUs (Alias SKUs) are correctly mapped to the corresponding Primary SKUs (Master SKUs/Product IDs) within Finale Inventory. This mapping is crucial for maintaining accurate cost data.
Pro Tip 1: Make sure the Product ID list is accurately reflecting your “Primary SKUs” list. Each product ID should have a cost and quantity associated.
Pro Tip 2: Make sure the Aliases are mapped to a product ID by going to Inventory > Product Lookups > Filter by missing products and map the Product ID.
Understanding How Costs Are Calculated
When syncing costs from Finale Inventory, it’s important to understand how the costs are determined for different products and SKUs in A2X:
Primary SKUs (Products in Finale):
Each primary SKU in the Finale Inventory has an associated cost, which serves as the base cost for all related calculations.
Alias SKUs (Lookups in Finale):
If an alias SKU (lookup) is associated with a primary SKU, the cost of the primary SKU is automatically applied to the alias SKU.Note: If the alias SKU has a packing quantity, the cost for the alias SKU will be calculated as: Primary SKU Cost × Packing Quantity
Products with a Bill of Materials (BOM):
For products with a BOM, the estimated average cost of the BOM is applied to the SKU. This ensures that the cost reflects the components used in the product.
Pro Tip: Temporarily Override Costs in A2X
Use this temporary override feature to override the costs from the Finale integration by uploading a csv file with the correct SKU and cost per SKU.
Pro Tip: Handling "Not Complete" Status
If you initiate a sync with Finale Inventory but notice a "not complete" status in A2X, don’t worry—this can happen if A2X had already attempted to calculate the COGS summaries before the sync was complete.
Steps to Resolve:
Refresh Payout or Settlement: On the Payouts/Settlements page, select the payouts or settlements you would like to refresh, then click 'refresh'.
This action will re-calculate the summary based on the most recent cost data.
Check Source Data: If the "not complete" status persists after refreshing, it means a cost is likely missing from the source data (Finale Inventory).
Verify Finale Inventory Data: Ensure that all costs are correctly entered and up to date in Finale Inventory. Once all costs are present, manually sync the data, then refresh your payouts again.
Pro Tip: Managing Sales, Returns, and Inventory Adjustments with A2X and Finale
To prevent duplicate entries and ensure smooth handling of sales, returns, and inventory adjustments, it's essential to configure Finale correctly and understand the roles of both A2X and Finale.
When A2X posts both sales and COGS, your profit and loss (P&L) statement will align accurately, keeping all sales-related data consistent and preventing errors. However, posting sales from A2X and COGS from Finale can lead to mismatched transactions and date ranges, causing inconsistencies. We recommend using A2X for sales and COGS, and Finale for returns and adjustments, ensuring accuracy across both systems.
Step-by-Step Configuration in Finale:
Create Accounts to Exclude Sales Postings:
For each sales channel, create these accounts to prevent specific transactions from posting:
Payment Clearing Account (Asset)
Sales Clearing Account (Asset)
Sales Income Account (Sales)
COGS Account (Cost of Goods Sold)
To do this, go to Application Settings > Accounting > Chart of Accounts and click "Create new account."
Map the Accounts for Exclusion:
In Finale, map these accounts in the mappings table by using the "exclude transactions for account" option in the QuickBooks Online column. This will block sales-related transactions from being posted by Finale.
Override Default Accounts for Specific Sales Channels:
Go to Application Settings > Accounting > Selling and override the default accounts for each sales channel using the newly created accounts. The table has columns for:
Option Name (for sources)
Accounts Receivable
Income
Sales Clearing
COGS
Map the accounts for each sales channel accordingly.
Troubleshooting and Support
If you encounter any issues during the sync process, ensure you have entered the correct account details.
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