When using A2X for ecommerce bookkeeping, you may occasionally notice variances between the A2X data and the transactions recorded in your accounting system, such as your General Ledger (GL).
These variances can arise from several factors—from incorrect transaction mappings to missing or edited entries in your accounting system, or reposting settlements without first removing the original entries.
In this article, we’ll walk through common causes and provide practical steps to help you identify and resolve these variances.
Incorrect Mappings
One of the most common causes of data variances is incorrect account mappings in A2X.
To check your account mappings, log into your A2X account and navigate to the Accounts & Taxes page. The accounts mapping page in A2X is grouped into two parts.
Accounting categories are split into the Income, Expense, Current Asset, Current Liability, Tax, and Other tabs. These categories are similar to the GL account type in your accounting system.
Ecommerce transactions subcategories are nested under each accounting category. This means that the ecommerce transactions e.g., Sales, should be mapped into an Income account type in your accounting system.
When reviewing your Accounts & Taxes mappings page, it is important to ensure that the account type you have mapped against each ecommerce transaction is aligned with the accounting category in A2X to avoid posting transactions to incorrect GL accounts.
If you’re unsure how to map specific transactions in A2X, our Auto Setup tool can help by automatically generating a default chart of accounts for each subcategory. Additionally, you can consult our help center for detailed instructions or reach out to our support team for assistance.
Missing Data
Another common cause of data variances is missing data. This can happen if you have not synced all of your A2X settlement/payout transactions to your accounting system or if there have been alterations done to the invoice/journal entries posted from A2X.
Most often, the simple fix is to look for unposted settlements in your A2X settlements page i.e. Payout status of "Ready to post" or "Not complete".
"Ready to post" can be sent to your accounting system.
If settlements are showing as "Not complete", review your Accounts & Taxes page for incomplete mappings and map those transactions. Once they are mapped, the settlement should now become available for you to post.
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If you continue to notice data variances after posting your settlement transactions, it may be helpful to conduct a detailed comparison between your A2X settlements and the transactions in your accounting system to pinpoint the variances.
Comparing Reports and Troubleshooting Variances
Once all settlements have been posted to your accounting system, run your Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet reports to compare the data.
If you're using Shopify, refer to the A2X Finance Report to identify any variances.
If you're using Amazon, use the Amazon Summary Report in A2X to review balances.
If variances appear, review the GL transactions in your accounting system, focusing on the accounts mapped in A2X. Compare these entries with the data in A2X to identify and resolve any mismatches.
Conclusion
Data variances can be frustrating, but they’re often easy to resolve by following the troubleshooting steps outlined above. If issues persist after working through these steps, our support team is always here to help and ready to assist you further.