One of the big benefits of using AcuSync for integrating systems with Acumatica is the ability to translate and manipulate data during the import and export process.
AcuSync translations provide three main types of translations:
Translation Tables: With AcuSync, you can create a multi-dimensional translation table that can be used to convert values from one system to values in another system. A great example of this may be converting country codes, order or shipping types of statuses, or even item types. Basically, if you have any field that has a set of values in one system but needs to be converted to a different set of values in another system, translation tables are ideal for you. Of course, you can perform these translations using standard formulas in Acumatica, but this gets incredibly complex and difficult to maintain the more values you need to translate. If you want to equate this to Excel, think of a Translation Table as a VLOOKUP formula (except much simpler, since you don't have to write any formulas in AcuSync to use them).
Record Lookups: With AcuSync, you can perform a query against any record in Acumatica, matching on one or more fields and retrieving any value you need in your Import or Export Scenarios. While that may sound like a relatively simple feature, the applications of it are very powerful. For example, you can:
Matching to Existing Records during Import: You can dynamically decide which record to select and update when importing data. For example, say you have three pieces of possible information that you can use to match to an existing Customer record for potential update during import, such as a customer number, an alternate reference number, the last invoice number, or a billing email address. You can use record lookups to search Acumatica for these possibilities, and then depending on the results, prioritize which one should be used to select the correct Customer record to update.
Retrieving Values during Export: You can dynamically pull data from any related record in Acumatica and include those additional data fields in your export. For example, say you are exporting Stock Items and need the current inventory on-hand or available count. This information is not available on the native Stock Item form, but using a record lookup, you could retrieve this value and include it in your export, along with any other related data you may want in your export.
Metadata Lookups: With AcuSync, not only can you lookup data from records within the system, but you can also query the Metadata records that AcuSync uses to track the status of records as they move in and out of Acumatica. For example, you can:
Find Records using External System IDs on Import: Often times when you import data that is related (e.g. a Sales Order related to the customer), the Sales Order may include the Customer ID from the external system. Because AcuSync tracks the external system IDs in its metadata, you can use Metadata Lookups to find the corresponding Acumatica Customer based on the ID from the external system. If you were importing Sales Orders from Magento, a Metadata Lookup would allow you to find the Acumatica Customer ID using the Magento Customer ID. This is extremely powerful, allowing you to maintain relationships between records across systems when integrating.
Converting Acumatica IDs to External System IDs of Export: Say you imported a Sales Order from Magento, and once that Sales Order is shipped in Acumatica, you need to send that shipment to Magento. The problem is that Magento requires the internal ID of the Order from Magento to create a shipment, which you don't have in Acumatica (you only have the Acumatica Order Number and the Magento Order Number). Using AcuSync Metadata Lookups, you can find the internal Magento Order ID and then use that to create the shipment record in Magento.
As you can see, there are many powerful ways to use AcuSync Translations to help you with your integrations. Its even possible to nest these translations together. By combining Translations with Record and Metadata Lookups, the possibilities increase exponentially.
If you are interested in seeing how AcuSync can help you with your integrations, reach out to us by emailing hello@eis.consulting or visit our website https://acusync.io.