Integrations are an efficient way for you to import trial balance data into Castaway from an external source such as your accounting software general ledger or MS Excel.
Once you have imported your trial balance, we have a process to quickly enable you to create your Chart of Accounts in Castaway. This process is called Mapping.
What is Mapping?
Mapping is the process of connecting your account data from an external source (Eg: Xero) via Integrations to Elements in Castaway.
The benefit of using Integrations to map your Chart of Accounts when you set up your project is that you can fill two needs with one deed - you'll be building your Chart of Accounts in Castaway AND you'll be setting up your file so that you can easily Import your Actuals from an external source.
Connecting your Integration Source
You can access the Integrations workspace by going to Forecast > External Sources. The mapping process takes place in the External Sources space, accessed via the Forecast tab. An Integration workflow guide can be found in the left-hand panel, but a more detailed guide for each Integration can be found HERE.
Connect your source and import the Trial Balance.
Reviewing External Sources
The right side of the page displays your accounts by their account type which is decided by how you've got it set up in your source file. Click between the Income, Expense, Asset, Liability, Equity and Driver (if applicable) tabs to navigate between the different account types.
Below is a brief summary of each column on the page:
| Link | The mapping status of each account. The icon will turn green when Mapped, blue when Archived, and will remain red when Unmapped. |
| ID | Account codes as per your source file |
| Account | Account names as extracted from your source file. The accounts can be renamed to another in Castaway |
| Type | The type of account set up as in your source file |
| Value | The dollar value of the account on a specific month |
| Spark graph | A summary of the balances in the account within each month. Use the arrows to toggle between the months |
Note
You can sort each column by clicking on the respective headers. For example, if you want to group your mapped accounts together, click on the arrow beside the Link header.
Mapping your Chart of Accounts
The Mapping screen makes it easy to map your Chart of Accounts from your source across to Castaway using a simple drag-and-drop function.
You can access the mapping screen by going to Forecast > External Sources > Map.
With this, you're able to map:
- One Source account to an existing Castaway element
- Multiple Source accounts to an existing Castaway element
- One Source account to a new Castaway element
- Multiple Source accounts to a new Castaway element
- Multiple Source accounts to multiple new Castaway elements
Select the Source account(s) as follows:
- Select one account: single-click on the Source account
- Select multiple accounts (adjacent): single-click on the first Source Account, then hold SHIFT and single-click on the last Source account
- Select multiple accounts (non-adjacent): single-click on the first Source account, then hold CTRL and single-click on the other Source accounts
You can map your Chart of Accounts in any order you like but here is our recommended order:
- Sales accounts- These can be connected straight to a sales element in your Chart of Accounts
- Expenses- These are your Direct Costs and Overhead Costs
- Bank Accounts- Castaway has a Bank account element created in advance for you to use first
- Fixed Assets
- Accumulated Depreciation- Created as a partner element when you add a Fixed Asset
- Inventory
- Other Assets and Liabilities such as Trade debtors and Insurance
- Liabilities including GST, Tax, Payroll and wages
- Loans
- Equity
Why do we suggest mapping this way? It lines up with how Castaway creates elements and partner elements. Castaway works on the double accounting principle so all accounts between the P&L and Balance Sheet should be accurately represented. We have an article explaining the Element Types we have available and how they communicate with each other.
Drag and drop the account(s) to the Castaway Chart of Accounts as follow:
- Map to an existing Castaway element: Drag and drop the Source account over the name of an existing Castaway account. Hit Enter to confirm the position and name of your element. Only Profit and Loss accounts can be mapped in the Profit and Loss section, and Balance Sheet accounts in the Balance Sheet.
- Map and create a new Castaway element: Drag and drop the Source account over the name of the element heading. You may have to select the type of element if there are different options. Hit Enter to Save.
- Map multiple accounts to one Castaway element: Drag and drop the Source accounts to the Section you'd like to position them in. Select the map Many to Many icon (
) to change it to map Many to One (
). Hit Enter to Save.
- Map multiple accounts to multiple Castaway elements: Drag and drop the Source accounts to the Section you'd like to position them in. Leave the map Many to Many icon (
Creating a new Castaway Element
When creating a new Castaway element, you may need to select the type of Element as well.
For example, when mapping an Expense account, you need to make a decision to set it up as either a Cost, Inventory, Provision or Wages element. These are all expense types, but have unique settings.
To better understand each of the available Elements, check out Element Types.
Remapping elements
You can remap elements to change where you'd like the Actuals values to be reported against.
- Unmap by clicking once on the Link icon of the respective account
- The Link should now change to red for Unmapped
- Remap by dragging and dropping it to the intended element (either new or existing)
Note:
Don't forget to Save Mapping as you make these mapping changes!
Check your Mapping
You need to check that you've:
- mapped all your accounts, AND
- any Archived accounts do not have any movements/ balances
It's important for you to check the above to ensure that the data you import does not produce an Out of Balance value in your Actuals data.
You can review your mapping completion rate by going to the Mapping workspace and observing the top section as per the below screenshot:
- If there is a red dot next to the Category header, this means that you have account(s) that you have yet to map or archive. This is a great way to do a quick check that you have left no account(s) unmapped.
- Review the number of Archived accounts in each category. Then click on Link to Group the accounts based on status their status e.g. Archived or Unmapped. This is a quick way for you to manage your data so that you can review all the Archived accounts in one space and observe if they contain balances in them.
- Observe the mapping progress toolbar at the top of the page.
Common mistakes
1. Not using the Main Bank Account element
We've created a Bank Account element for you to use as a default in your Chart of Accounts. If the name of your Bank Account doesn't match what we have in Castaway, you can rename the account before or after mapping to suit your Chart of Accounts.
2. Creating separate elements for depreciation of a Fixed Asset
If you're adding a Fixed Asset to your Chart of Accounts, Castaway will automatically create the matching Accumulated Depreciation and Depreciation Elements to match. So there's no need to create separate accounts
3. Adding Insurance Elements without setting the payment terms
Some elements such as Insurance need to have certain settings enabled before a partner element can be created. Refer to our article on modelling prepayments and accruals for more information.
Once you are used to the Mapping steps in Castaway, this will be a natural and efficient process.
If you need to confirm where your accounts are being mapped, refer to this article.
Reach out to our Customer Success team if we can help you further.