Important Update for Accountants: Enhancing Ledger Accuracy and Transaction Exports
Published on May 28, 2025 by Shannon Wray
We're rolling out an update to improve the clarity and reliability of our ledger, especially for accounting purposes. This will make tracking changes like edits and refunds much more straightforward in your transaction exports.
This announcement explains:
- Why we're making this change: To address issues with how edited transactions were previously handled.
- What's new: Introducing a "Reversal" system for better accuracy.
- What this means for your Transaction Exports: Key changes to fields and presets you need to be aware of.
The Challenge We're Solving
Our ledger is designed to be immutable (meaning past transactions can't be altered, only new ones added). This ensures its trustworthiness. For example, when refunding a contribution, the original transaction is marked "refunded," and a new, opposite transaction is created.
Previously, when Fiscal Host admins needed to correct manually added funds, our system used an internal "soft delete" method which keeps the transactions on record but "disables" them.
This worked, "edits" to added funds were possible without having to contact our support tea. However, it meant that:
- Transactions could "disappear": Transactions already exported to your accounting software would no longer appear if edited in subsequent exports from our platform.
- Edits created confusion: New transactions replacing old ones could be added to your accounting system without a clear link, potentially leading to reconciliation issues.
This approach wasn't ideal for accurate accounting.
Our New Approach: Introducing "Reversals"
To provide a more transparent and accountant-friendly system, we've replaced the "soft-delete" mechanism with a comprehensive "Reversal" feature:
- More precise Edits & Adjustments: Any transaction that needs to be nullified (whether for an edit, refund, dispute, etc.) is now formally "Reversed."
- New Replacing Transaction: A new transaction is created to replace the reversed one.
- Reversal Reasons: We've added a "Reversal Kind" to specify why a transaction was reversed. These reasons include:
- Refund: Standard refunds where money is returned.
- Dispute: Contributions refunded due to a dispute.
- Reject: Contributions rejected by a Fiscal Host or Collective.
- Edit: Corrections made to manually added funds.
- Duplicate: To correct an erroneous duplicate transaction.
- Simplified Process: Refunds are now a specific type of "Reversal."
- How Edits Work Now: When "added funds" are edited:
- The original transaction is marked as "Reversed."
- A corresponding transaction is created and marked as a "Reversal."
- The new, correct transaction is created and linked to the reversal transactions (they share the same transaction group for easy tracking).
Key Changes to Your Transaction Exports
We understand changes to exports can impact your accounting workflows. We've aimed to balance necessary improvements with minimizing disruption.
1. Retiring Old Refund Fields (Action May Be Needed): To reflect the new "Reversal" system, the previous refund-specific fields are being deprecated:
- Is Refund
- Is Refunded
- Refund Transaction ID
- Refund Kind
- Backward Compatibility: These fields will remain available for selection in exports (you will find them in the "Deprecated" field set) and will continue to be included if your custom export presets use them.
- Recommendation: We strongly encourage you to update your custom export presets to use the new "Reversal" fields (see below) for future clarity.
2. Introducing New "Reversal" Fields: These new fields provide more comprehensive information:
- 'Is Reversal' (replaces 'Is Refund')
- 'Is Reversed' (replaces 'Is Refunded')
- 'Reversal Kind' (replaces 'Refund Kind' and includes new reasons like "Edit," "Dispute," etc.)
- 'Reversal Transaction ID' (replaces 'Refund Transaction ID')
Important Note on Refunds:
- Transactions that were refunded will now show:
- Is Reversed: "REVERSED" (on the original transaction)
- Is Reversal: "REVERSAL" (on the reversing transaction)
- Reversal Kind: "REFUND"
- The Reversal Transaction ID will link these related transactions.
3. Updated Default Export Preset:
- The default export preset has been updated: old "refund" fields are removed, and new "reversal" fields are added.
4. Custom Export Presets (Action Recommended):
- Your existing custom export presets have not been changed.
- Please review your custom presets and replace the old "refund" fields with the new "reversal" fields to take full advantage of the improved system.
5. Consistent Export Field Names: We heard your feedback! Exported column names in your CSV/Excel files will match the field names in the export user interface.
- For backward compatibility: An option is available if you need to temporarily revert to the previous column names. By default, the new, consistent names will be used.
6. Unchanged Field Order: To minimize disruption, the column order in your exports remains the same.
- In the default export, new "reversal" fields appear where the old "refund" fields were.
- Custom export column orders will not change (though, as mentioned above, some column headers may update to the new, consistent names).
What You Need To Do
- Review and update your custom transaction export presets: Replace the old 'Is Refund', 'Is Refunded', 'Refund Transaction ID', and 'Refund Kind' fields with the new Is 'Reversal', 'Is Reversed', 'Reversal Transaction ID, and Reversal Kind fields.
- Familiarize yourself with the new "Reversal" fields and how they represent different scenarios like edits and refunds.
- Note the option for backward compatibility with old column names if you encounter immediate issues, but plan to adapt to the new standardized names.
Need Help?
Don't hesitate to contact our support team with questions or if you need assistance with these changes.