Exporting client data to another ledger

If you're running a client's cashbook in Prosaic but preparing their financial statements or tax return somewhere else, you don't need to rekey anything. Export a trial balance for the closing position, or the general ledger for full transaction detail, in a format the other system can import. Mapped codes let you send either one out using the receiving system's account codes rather than your own.

If you use CCH iFirm, there's an integration that pulls the data across for you. See CCH iFirm below.

In this article

• Exporting the trial balance
• Choosing a format
• Entity codes and mapped codes
• Setting up mapped codes
• Exporting the general ledger
• CCH iFirm
• Other exports

Exporting the trial balance

Go to Reports → Trial Balance, set the entity, date and report mode you want, then open Export and choose External Ledger. (The menu also offers Download as CSV and Download as PDF for an ordinary copy of the report.)

Choosing a format

The dialog has four tabs.

Xero

Produces a CSV formatted as a Xero manual journal import, with the columns Narration , Date , Description , AccountCode , TaxRate , Amount . Import it in Xero through the manual journals import, and Xero's own guidance on that is linked from the dialog.

If an account has no mapped code, the account code column is left empty for that row, so you'll be prompted to complete it during the Xero import rather than having the wrong code posted.

Prosaic

Produces a CSV that Prosaic's own journal line import accepts, with the columns Description , Account Code , Tax Rate , Credit , Debit . This is for moving balances between entities inside Prosaic, for example posting expense claims from a personal bank account into the trading entity.

Tax Rate is exported empty. The imported lines pick up the chart defaults, or No Tax if you set that on the journal.

Others

A generic CSV with the columns Date , Code , CodeDescription , Reference , Amount . This is the tab to use for any ledger without a dedicated format, and it's the starting point for CCH iFirm and MYOB.

It behaves slightly differently from the Xero export where a code is missing: instead of leaving the field empty, it falls back to the entity's own account code. Worth knowing if your mapping isn't complete, because the file will import without complaint and land those lines on the wrong codes.

Request

If you need a format that isn't here, use Request an export format in this tab and tell us which system you're importing into. That's how formats get added.

Entity codes and mapped codes

On the Xero and Others tabs you choose an Account Code Type:

• Entity Account Codes exports using the codes in the entity's own chart of accounts. Use this when the receiving system shares your chart, or when you'll map on the way in.
• Mapped Account Codes exports using the mapped codes from the chart template. Use this when the receiving system has its own chart and you want the file to arrive already speaking its language.

Mapped codes are what make this repeatable. Set the mapping up once on the template, and every entity using that template exports correctly from then on.

Setting up mapped codes

Mapped codes live in the Mapped Code column on the chart of accounts. Open the chart template under Charts, and enter the external system's code against each account.

You only need to map the accounts you actually use. Anything left blank is handled as described under each format above, which is why it's worth checking the export before you rely on it.

Exporting the general ledger

A trial balance gives the other system a closing position. When it needs the transactions behind that position, export the general ledger instead. This is the route to take when you're importing a full GL into a system like MYOB, or producing a pre-coded bank statement for Xero.

Go to Reports → General Ledger and set up the report before you export it. Three things shape the file:

• Date Range, which sets the period the export covers.
• Accounts, a searchable multi-select. Narrow it to the accounts the other system needs, or leave everything selected for a full ledger.
• Group by, set to Transaction for an import file. The by-account view is built for reading on screen; the by-transaction view is the one that gives you a flat row per transaction.

Then use the columns control to choose exactly which fields the file carries. Grouped by transaction, the available columns are Date, Code, Mapped code, Account name, Account type, Narration, Description, Merchant, Source, Debit, Credit, Net, Gross, GST, Tax name and Tax rate. Turn off what the receiving system doesn't want and turn on what it does.

Export with Export → Download as CSV or Download as Excel. The file follows the filters and the columns you've set, so what you see on screen is what you get.

CCH iFirm

CCH iFirm doesn't need a file at all. Prosaic integrates with iFirm's Client Accounting and Cashbook, so transactions are pulled across automatically rather than exported and imported by hand.

Wolters Kluwer documents the setup on their side. See Client Accounting and Cashbook powered by Prosaic Integration.

If you're using iFirm, set this up rather than exporting CSVs. The file exports above are for systems Prosaic doesn't integrate with directly.

Other exports

A few other things can leave Prosaic as a file:

• Reports export as PDF, Excel or CSV from the report itself.
• Report packs export as a formatted PDF or an Excel workbook.
• Clients export as a CSV from the Clients page using Export CSV. The file lists client name and email alongside each entity's name, type and status, so it doubles as a way to count and check the entities in your workspace.

Need help?

If you're setting this up for a system we haven't covered, tell us which one and what the import expects. Use the 💬 button in the app or email help@prosaic.works.