Practical guide

Review mapping changes as decisions with an effective date

Last materially reviewed 2026-09-30

Quick answerA mapping change needs an owner, scope and historical-effect check before it touches the books.
What to know

Name the intended difference

Write down the current behavior, desired behavior and reason. “Make the report match” is not a sufficient mapping objective. A useful request might identify a supported category that needs separate reporting, with the accountant specifying the correct destination and treatment.

What to know

Separate future configuration from history

Ask whether the setting affects new imports, existing unposted records or already-posted entries. Provider behavior varies. A2X’s grouping guidance illustrates why settings and previously generated output need separate consideration. Do not infer that a saved setting has rewritten all historical records.

What to know

Keep a before-and-after packet

Retain the configuration description, representative source record, expected result and authorized reviewer. Use anonymous descriptions when discussing the plan outside the accounting system. If a rollback is proposed, inspect exactly which linked entries the tool will remove; Link My Books documents that associated output can be included.

What to know

Accept the smallest justified change

Test the defined case through the organization’s approved process and confirm that unrelated classifications remain unchanged. Record the effective date and unresolved limitations. This is a change-control checklist, not a recommendation for a particular tax code, account or revenue-recognition rule. Those decisions remain with the responsible professional.

Continue when useful

Next: First posting

Use a reversible, reviewer-approved sample to check mapping and the bank connection before routine operation.

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Sources used for this page

These records support the facts and comparisons above. Merchant-controlled records are labelled so you can separate product claims from independent evidence.

  1. A2X grouping settings — Merchant documentation · support.a2xaccounting.com · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-30
  2. Rollback scope — Merchant documentation · help.linkmybooks.com · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-30