Mapping your accounting solution to LivePlan data

Note: The mapping interface is only accessible if you are connected to an accounting solution. Also, it's important to know that the account owner and any contributors who have access to the Dashboard can make changes to the account mapping.

Mapping is associating your chart of accounts with the corresponding forecast categories in LivePlan. After mapping these two data sets, a side-by-side comparison will appear on the Dashboard.

Note: If you started your LivePlan company through the Dashboard, the system automatically mapped your initial data. You can adjust it by reading Adjusting the mapping between QuickBooks Online and LivePlan.

Mapping your accounting solution

1. Make sure you're connected to your accounting software; you should see the provider's logo in the lower-left of your LivePlan window.
2. Click Edit Mappings:
   
3. The Account mapping menu will open. The account categories are listed across the top of the menu. Click the one you'd like to map first:
   
4. Any unmapped Accounts will be displayed at the top of each catagory:
   
5. Your accounting solution's chart of accounts will be listed for each category. Here you can move mapped accounts from one LivePlan Forecast Item to another, create new forecast items to contain these mapped accounts, or exclude the accounts from LivePlan:
   
6. The Account will be mapped to the Forecast Item upon selection:
   

To change a mapping:

If you make changes to your chart of accounts in your accounting solution, such as adding, removing, or re-naming accounts, then you'll need to re-sync your accounting solution with LivePlan.

1. Click Sync, located near the lower-left of your LivePlan window:
   
2. After re-syncing, click Edit Mapping, located in the accounting menu near the lower-left of your LivePlan window:
   

Notification of unmapped accounts

If you've already mapped your accounts, and then you add a new account to your solution's company file, LivePlan will notify you with a banner that you have unmapped accounts:

Note: LivePlan will also notify you with this banner if you started the mapping process but didn't complete it. 

There are two options to choose from here:

• If you want to review the accounts that are unmapped, click Fix issues and map them now.
• If you want to set all of the unmapped accounts to Ignore, click Ignore

When you go to the mapping interface to review your unmapped accounts, you will see all unmapped accounts displaying in red. Map these to an account, or select Exclude from LivePlan:

Once you map any unmapped accounts to the appropriate LivePlan data, the banner will be dismissed, and the sidebar will return to normal.

Adding revenue streams, expenses, or direct costs during mapping

While you are mapping your accounts, you may discover that a revenue stream or expense exists in your accounting solution's chart of accounts that don't exist in your LivePlan forecast yet. This is no problem. You can add the revenue stream or expense from the mapping screen instead. However, don't forget that you'll need to go back into your Forecast tab later and enter the data for that added revenue stream or expense.

1. Next to the account that you want to map to the new revenue stream or expense, click the Move button. Select Create new to add a new forecast item for this account:
   
2. LivePlan will create a new forecast item using the existing account name. This, and other details, can be edited in the forecast entry.