When using AccountLinx to help expedite your payroll process, you may need to switch to alternate accounting/payroll applications. This can be due to using multiple applications for record keeping/payroll processing, or moving from one application to another at the end of the fiscal year. One of the concerns from many of our customers doing this is whether it is okay to switch between exporters, primarily if the data mappings are preserved.

Depending on the scenario, you generally can switch back and forth between AccountLinx exporters and preserve the data mappings for both. As the mapping data for each exporter is stored independently of each other, there is generally no concern for the loss of any mappings.

We have documented the common scenarios encountered below, but if you are unsure about switching to a different AccountLinx exporter, feel free to contact us with the "Request Support" link at the top of the page. 

Possible Scenarios

Switching to a Different Company File

If you are using a payroll software, such as QuickBooks, with multiple company files, you may need to re-map the data, as you can only have one set of data mappings per exporter. Even if the entity has the same name in the company files, the underlying identifier we rely on may differ.

Some exporters will require you to remap the data map between the respective company files before exporter. QuickBooks allows you to preserve data mapping between company files, if possible. For example, if an entity in ExakTime needs its time data exported to multiple company files, then you will need to remap the data.

The following article goes over this situation and what is possible when exporting to multiple company files.

Switching to a New Application

If your company has been using QuickBooks for your accounting/payroll, but needs to move to Sage 100 starting January 1st, you may want some time to set up and test Sage 100, but need to continue using QuickBooks for payroll. You can freely switch between the exporters during this period, and there should be no trouble as the data mappings are associated with the specific exporter.

Using Two Different Applications

If you need to track your time data in two different applications/systems, you are still able to switch between different AccountLinx exporters. The only thing to be mindful of is that you would need to re-export the time records, as the records are normally hidden after being exported to prevent duplicate exports. For more information about resetting your exported records, you can refer to the following article.

Possible Concerns

As we cannot take into account every scenario possible, there may be some scenarios that introduce trouble. Some common ones are listed below:

Reset Exported Records

As noted before, you may need to reset your exported records if you need to export your records to two different applications as exported records are hidden to prevent duplicate exports. For more information about resetting your exported records, you can refer to the following article.

Integration Option Removing or Replacing Mappings

Integration is an option in AccountLinx where your mappings will match the equivalent ExakTime Connect entity IDs to prevent duplicate data entry and keep data consistent. While this is useful when using a single accounting/payroll application, this can be troublesome when using two different accounting/payroll applications as the mapping and IDs may be different between the two. Integration should be disabled to prevent the possibility of the mappings for an exporter being replaced by the mapping/IDs intended for another exporter.