An accounting connection needs an agreed set of records, owners and directions. Financial documents may move where the connection supports them, while operational detail remains available to explain the work. With Datum, choose native accounting or a supported external setup; do not assume every record synchronises in both directions.
Connecting accounting software should reduce duplicate work without obscuring the records behind a balance. Begin with responsibilities: where is an order managed, where is a bill reviewed, and which system maintains the books?
Separate responsibilities, connected records
Operational records describe what was ordered, received, allocated, built and delivered. Accounting records describe the financial effects. A sub-ledger retains transaction detail that supports related balances in the general ledger.
These responsibilities can exist inside one platform. Datum Accounting provides a native accounting path; keeping QuickBooks Online or Xero is a separate choice. If you retain external books, define the boundary between the products without losing the underlying evidence.
Decide what crosses the connection
The table below is a planning checklist, not a list of guaranteed synchronisation capabilities.
| Record | Decision to make |
|---|---|
| Customers and suppliers | Choose the owner and supported import or update direction. |
| Accounts, tax codes and payment terms | Map the setup needed by each supported transaction. |
| Bills, invoices, credits and payments | Confirm each record type, direction, approval step and correction process separately. |
| Inventory and production costs | Agree whether any financial summaries are supported and how they reconcile. |
| Orders, receipts, builds and allocations | Retain the operational detail; copy it only where there is a defined purpose and supported destination. |
An ordinary purchase order records a commitment. Copying it to another system as an order is different from posting a bill or liability. Avoid blanket rules about whether an order can be shared; define what the destination record means.
Which system owns which field
“Two-way” is not a sufficient specification. A connection can read suppliers from accounting without sending bills back, and a supported bill export does not imply support for payments or journals.
For each record, write down its owner, stable identifier, allowed update direction and treatment of edits. For a customer address, for example, decide where the team changes it and what happens if the same customer already exists at the destination. Include inactive records, duplicates and reconnecting an account in the review.
Inventory and cost summaries
Inventory detail needs to remain explainable even when accounting uses a summary. Select the granularity that supports your reconciliation and reporting requirements. A summary can reduce volume, but it needs a clear period, source population and route back to the underlying records.
Do not assume that a valuation view produces an external inventory, WIP or COGS journal. Confirm the posting workflow and connection support. Distinguish project-cost categories from general-ledger accounts: an operational forecast is not itself a journal.
When the records disagree
Compare the same company or book, currency basis and cut-off date. Then work through the records that should explain the difference.
- Scope: one side may include different warehouses, documents or periods.
- Status: drafts, approved records and posted records may be treated differently.
- Timing: an import may reflect an earlier point than the operational view.
- Corrections: credits, reversals or late cost amendments may need separate handling.
- Exceptions: review failed records and duplicates before retrying.
A connection needs a named owner for this review. A successful connection or import alone does not establish that every balance reconciles.
How Datum handles it
Datum supports native accounting and connections to QuickBooks Online and Xero. Its external connection workflows support access to master data such as contacts, accounts, items and tax information for supported imports.
Agree the exact records and directions required for your implementation. Do not infer a complete transactional sync from a connected status or from the availability of imported master data. The Accounting page describes the two accounting paths, and the accounting-choice guide helps define the responsibilities.
What to check in your setup
- List the required record types and test the supported direction for each.
- Agree which system owns edits, approvals and corrections.
- Review a duplicate, a changed record and a failed import or transfer.
- Include connection scope and responsibility for exceptions in your implementation proposal.
Related questions
Should purchase orders sync to accounting?
Only where there is a defined purpose and supported record type. Sharing an order is not the same as posting a bill. Keep the commitment distinct from the financial obligation and avoid duplicate records.
Must inventory post as summarised journals?
No single level of detail suits every setup. Agree the supported posting method, reconciliation evidence and reporting needs. A summary must remain traceable to the records it represents.
What does two-way sync mean?
It should identify the exact record types and supported directions. The ability to import contacts does not establish that invoices, payments or journals move in the opposite direction.
Does Datum require QuickBooks or Xero?
No. Datum provides a native accounting path. Your team can evaluate Datum Accounting or retain supported external books according to its requirements and implementation scope.