Accounting: How to map Customers and Variants to your Accounting Platform

To sync an order to your accounting platform you need to map all variants and customers.  

How to Map Customers

After connecting your accounting platform (QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Online, or Xero) to RoasterTools, you'll need to map your RoasterTools Wholesale Customers to your accounting customers. This ensures invoices sync to the correct customer record in your accounting software.

You can Map customers from the customer edit page or the orders page. 

Mapping Customers From the Customer Edit Page:

From the customer edit page you can:

• map customers
• create new customers
• assign an accounting class.  

Sales > Customers > Customer Name - Edit > scroll to the Accounting section. 

You'll see the following options:

Customer in Accounting

This is where you link the RoasterTools customer to your accounting platform. You have two choices:

Option 1: Create a New Customer

Click "Create New Customer on [Your Platform]" if this customer doesn't exist in your accounting software yet. RoasterTools will create a new customer record

Option 2: Map to an Existing Customer

Use the "Search for customer..." dropdown to find and select a customer that already exists in your accounting software. This links the RoasterTools customer to the matching record so invoices sync to the right place.

Tip: Search by customer name. The dropdown pulls from customers that were imported during your initial sync.

Class in Accounting (Optional)

Use this field to assign a class or tracking category to the customer. When set, every invoice synced for this customer will automatically be tagged with this class in your accounting software.

What are classes used for?

Classes (called "Tracking Categories" in Xero) help you categorize transactions for reporting. Common uses include:

• Sales channels: Wholesale, Retail, E-commerce
• Customer types: Cafes, Grocery, Foodservice, Office
• Regions: East Coast, West Coast, Local
• Sales reps: Assigning revenue to team members

Example: If you have a class called "Wholesale - Cafes" in QuickBooks, assigning it here means all invoices for this customer will show up under that class in your reports.

Note: This field is optional. If you don't use classes in your accounting software, you can leave it blank.

Save Your Mapping

After selecting the customer and (optionally) a class, click Save to store the mapping.

Mapping Customers from the Orders Page

You can also map customers directly from the Orders page without navigating to each customer record. This is especially helpful when you're ready to sync invoices and notice some customers still need to be mapped.

How It Works

1. Go to Orders
2. Look for orders with a "MAPPABLE" sync status - this indicates the customer or items need to be mapped before the invoice can sync
3. Click the Eye Icon on the order row to reveal the mapping panel
4. You'll see two sections:

ROASTERTOOLS CUSTOMER → MAPPED ACCOUNTING CUSTOMER

• The left side shows the customer in RoasterTools
• The right side has a dropdown to search and select the matching customer in your accounting platform
• Click Save to link them

ROASTERTOOLS VARIANT → MAPPED ACCOUNTING ITEM

• Each line item on the order is listed with its quantity and variant details
• Use the dropdown to search and select the matching item in your accounting platform
• Click Save to link each item

Once the customer and all items are mapped, the sync status will change from "MAPPABLE" to "SYNCABLE" and you can sync the invoice to your accounting platform.

Tip: Mapping from the Orders page saves the mapping permanently - you won't need to map that customer or item again on future orders.

Commerce Customers

All commerce orders create a customer in RoasterTools, but are assigned to be a retail customer by default.  It is common to assign all commerce customers to a single customer in your accounting platform (e.g. "Web Orders"), rather than creating a new customer for each person who orders retail coffee.

1. To do this, go to:

Name > Integrations > select three dots next to the commerce connection and select Edit

2. From here you'll go to Preferences

In the section on Consolidate Retail Invoices in Accounting, select the dropdown box and begin typing the name of the commerce customer you'd like to map the commerce orders to.  

3. Press Update when done.

KEY THINGS TO NOTE:

1. This will only apply to orders imported AFTER you updated this setting.  If the order was imported before, you'll need to go into the customer edit page and map the customer.
2. If this commerce customer had an order that was imported before the setting was updated, they will not be mapped on the next order import (especially common with subscription orders).  You will need to map them individually.  

Mapping Variants

Mapping Variants from the Orders Page

When an order shows a "MAPPABLE" sync status, it may be because the product variants on that order haven't been linked to your accounting items yet. You can map items directly from the Orders page.

How It Works

1. Go to Orders
2. Find an order with a "MAPPABLE" sync status
3. Click the eye icon on the order row to reveal the mapping panel
4. In the lower section, you'll see:

QTY | ROASTERTOOLS VARIANT → MAPPED ACCOUNTING ITEM

Each line item on the order is displayed with:

• The quantity ordered
• The RoasterTools variant (e.g., "Rocketman Espresso, 12oz, Coarse")
• A dropdown to select the matching item in your accounting platform

To Map an Item

1. Click the "Search accounting items..." dropdown next to the variant
2. Search for and select the matching item from your accounting platform
3. Click Save

Repeat for each line item on the order.

Tip: Once you map a variant, that mapping is applied to all other orders with that variant and saved permanently. You won't need to map it again.

After Mapping

Once the customer and all items on the order are mapped, the sync status will change from "MAPPABLE" to "SYNCABLE", and you can sync the invoice to your accounting platform.

Mapping Variants from the Product Page

You can also map variants to your accounting items directly from the product setup page. This is useful when you're setting up products for the first time or want to map all variants for a product at once.

How to Map Variants from a Product

1. Go to Inventory → Products
2. Click on the product you want to map
3. Scroll down to the Variants section
4. You'll see a column for your accounting platform (e.g., "Quickbooks Online #1")
5. For each active variant (Whole Bean, Drip, Coarse, etc.):
   • Click the dropdown
   • Search for the matching item in your accounting platform
   • Select it from the list

The mapping is saved automatically when you select an item.

Tips

• Map all active variants: Each grind, size, or option combination is a separate variant that needs its own mapping
• Search by name: Type in the search box to filter your accounting items (e.g., typing "c" shows items containing "coffee")
• Inactive variants don't need mapping: Variants marked with ✕ are inactive and won't appear on orders, so you can skip mapping them
• One-time setup: Once a variant is mapped, it stays mapped. You won't need to do this again unless you create new variants.

Pro tip: If you have many products, mapping variants from the product page is often faster than waiting for orders to come in and mapping them one by one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I change a customer mapping later?

A: Yes. Return to the customer's Accounting section, select a different customer from the dropdown, and click Save. Future invoices will sync to the new mapping.

Q: Can I change a variant mapping later?

Yes - you can update that at anytime

Q: What happens if I don't map a customer or variant?

A: RoasterTools won't be able to sync their invoices that do not have all variants and customers mapped.  

Q: Do I need to map every customer?

A: You only need to map customers whose invoices you want to sync to your accounting software. If you have customers you don't invoice through RoasterTools (or don't need in your accounting system), you can skip mapping them.

Q: I updated my Commerce setting to map to a commerce customer in accounting and my order shows the customer as not mapped?

A: The mapping will only apply to orders imported AFTER you updated this setting.  If the order was imported before, you'll need to go into the customer edit page and map the customer.

Also, If this commerce customer had an order that was imported before the setting was updated, they will not be mapped on the next order import (especially common with subscription orders).  You will need to map them individually.