Balance Sheet Account Balances Integration
LeaseAccelerator integrates with Enhanced Finance Controls and Automation (EFCA) software solutions, that require Balance Sheet account balances, such as BlackLine, that are used for reconciling subledger balances with general ledger balances.
Download a PDF version of the Enterprise Integration User Guide.
Business architecture
Immediately after month-end closing, all balance sheet account balances for primary (i.e., functional) ledgers must be transferred from LeaseAccelerator to BlackLine. LeaseAccelerator can be configured to automatically trigger the generation of a BlackLine export file in .txt format which is then imported into BlackLine.
If there are no YTD balances for an account, a zero (0.00) balance is sent.
While calculating balances, LeaseAccelerator identifies all the balance sheet accounts dynamically. If any new balance sheet accounts are added, then LeaseAccelerator considers those new accounts while extracting balances.
Account balances (i.e., YTD balances) are transferred in one export file with functional currencies for all ledgers. LeaseAccelerator converts all transactional currencies to functional currencies per the configuration settings in the LeaseAccelerator application.
Configuration
A LeaseAccelerator report must be set up and scheduled for LeaseAccelerator to automatically generate the BlackLine export file on a specific day of each month immediately after the month-end closing.
To configure the report, go to Reporting then Integration then Export BlackLine Balances in the LeaseAccelerator application.
Set the key parameters for the report as follows:
Parameter |
Value |
|---|---|
As at: |
Report date. Choose future and past dates and LeaseAccelerator simulates the date as if it was generated at that date. |
Ending Fiscal Year |
Select current year (default). |
Ending Fiscal Period |
Select Current Period. |
Starting Fiscal Year |
Select the relative choice. For example, select Current Year instead of 2018. |
Starting Period |
Select the relative choice. For example, select Current Month instead of January. |
The As at, Ending Fiscal Year, and Ending Fiscal Period are required parameters.
If you do not select a relative choice for the starting parameters, LeaseAccelerator will always use the time period selected. For example, if you select January 2018 instead of current month and current year, LeaseAccelerator will send the January 2018 data in February and all other months going forward.
After entering the parameters, check the box for “Schedule this report” and enter the correct format, which is .txt, and the destination, which is the LeaseAccelerator SFTP. Designate users to receive the export file via email.
LeaseAccelerator then generates balance sheet account balances for all ledgers in functional currencies into one export file and places it into the designated location and emails it.
Integration process
Process Step ID |
Process Step Description |
Phase |
|---|---|---|
P100 |
Start |
Send balances to BlackLine |
P200 |
LeaseAccelerator Triggers BL Export |
Send balances to BlackLine |
P300 |
Receive and Validate |
Import balances to BlackLine |
P400 |
Validated? |
Import balances to BlackLine |
P500 |
Manual Export in LeaseAccelerator UI |
Send balances to BlackLine |
P600 |
Import into BlackLine |
Import balances to BlackLine |
P10000 |
Stop |
Import balances to BlackLine |
P100: Start
This process is triggered automatically by LeaseAccelerator’s BlackLine export function as configured.
P200: Automatic export (BL-C1)
As per the configured schedule, LeaseAccelerator generates the BlackLine export file and automatically places the encrypted file into the LeaseAccelerator SFTP area. LeaseAccelerator also sends a copy of the exported file to the designated users as per the configuration.
P300: Receive and validate
BlackLine detects the new file and ingests. The BlackLine technical integration officer runs tools to validate entries in the file.
P400: Validated?
The validation tools may discover two types of errors that will prevent posting these entries into BlackLine:
Soft errors such as ledger codes, currency code, or accounts are invalid, or a null value was received for a non-null field.
Hard errors, which result from file corruption due to transmission or disk I/O errors.
In all cases, any invalid data in the file causes the entire file to be rejected. If there are errors, proceed to step P500.
If entries are valid, proceed to step P600.
P500: Manual export
Errors in the export file must be corrected. After correcting, the integration officer re-generates the export manually in the LeaseAccelerator application. LeaseAccelerator places the re-generated export file in the designated location and emails it to the designated users.
Return to step P300.
P600: Import
Once the file is validated, the integration officer imports the balances into BlackLine.
P1000: Stop
A log must record the success of the process.
Additional use cases
Case number |
1 |
Case trigger |
Ensure no duplicate balances can be sent to BlackLine. |
Scenario |
A user may – by mistake – generate an export file that has been already imported into BlackLine. |
|
Steps and Expected Outcome: New balances overwrite the existing balances. | |
Case number |
2 |
Case trigger |
Error message displayed in LeaseAccelerator during manual export process. |
Scenario |
When the integration officer clicks export, LeaseAccelerator displays an error message indicating that LeaseAccelerator failed to post the file to the designated location. |
|
Steps and Expected Outcome: The integration officer should attempt to fix the failure by contacting internal IT resources or LeaseAccelerator Client Support if necessary. If the problem cannot be fixed immediately and/or the officer wishes to proceed with the integration, export the files by email or transfer to a different destination then place them manually in BlackLine import area. Then proceed with the integration process. | |
|
Warning: A control process must be in place to handle this situation. | |
Account balance integration data
As part of the BlackLine integration, LeaseAccelerator includes the following fields in the export file:
Field |
Type (Format) |
Comment |
|---|---|---|
CompanyCode |
Text |
Company Code (Segment 1) |
AccountNumber |
Text |
Account Number (Segment 6) |
InterCompany |
Text |
InterCompany (Segment 2) |
Ledger Name |
Text |
Name of the Ledger |
Segment3 |
Null |
This column is part of BlackLine template. Send Null value. |
Segment4 |
Null |
This column is part of BlackLine template. Send Null value. |
Segment5 |
Null |
This column is part of BlackLine template. Send Null value. |
Key8 |
Null |
This column is part of BlackLine template. Send Null value. |
Key9 |
Null |
This column is part of BlackLine template. Send Null value. |
Key10 |
Null |
This column is part of BlackLine template. Send Null value. |
Period End Date |
Date (mm/dd/yyyy) |
Last day of the period |
Subledger Reporting Balance |
Null |
This column is part of BlackLine template. Send Null value. |
Subledger Functional Balance |
Null |
This column is part of BlackLine template. Send Null value. |
Subledger Accounted Balance |
Number (2 decimal places) |
This is the FUNCTIONAL BALANCE. Can be Positive or Negative. Currency precision followed. Some currencies do not have any precision or decimals. |