How to Map QuickBooks Accounts to Your STRATAFOLIO Hierarchy

When your QuickBooks file holds more than one property, STRATAFOLIO needs to know where each transaction belongs. Hierarchy mapping tells STRATAFOLIO which Entity, Asset, Building, or Unit should receive the transactions posted to a QuickBooks account. It also lets you link loan accounts to your loans and mark old accounts as Ignored.

Think of it this way. Account mapping answers the question “What kind of transaction is this?” Hierarchy mapping answers the question “Where in my portfolio does this transaction belong?” You need both answers for accurate dashboards and reports.

Hierarchy mapping matters most when you run CAM Reconciliations. STRATAFOLIO uses it to decide which tenants share an expense and which tenant pays it all. When your mapping is correct, each expense lands on the right property, and your tenants are billed fairly.

In this article, you will learn where to find hierarchy mapping, how to map one or many accounts at once, how to link a loan account, how to mark an account as Ignored, how to clear a mapping, and what each hierarchy level means.

Before You Begin Mapping Your QuickBooks Accounts

Make sure these items are in place before you start mapping.

1. Your QuickBooks file is connected to STRATAFOLIO and has synced successfully. STRATAFOLIO can only show accounts it has received from QuickBooks.
2. Your Entities, Assets, Buildings, and Units are set up in STRATAFOLIO. The mapping window only lists records you have already added. If a property is missing, add it first. See Organize Your Portfolio Structure for help.
3. Your accounts are mapped to the STRATAFOLIO consolidated Chart of Accounts. Map and confirm your accounts first, then set their hierarchy levels. See Map QuickBooks accounts to STRATAFOLIO properly for help.
4. You know how your QuickBooks file separates your properties. If your bookkeeper uses subaccounts for each property, you will map each subaccount to its location.

Where to Map Your Accounts

You map your hierarchy from the Accounts tab of each QuickBooks integration.

1. Select Hierarchy from the left-side navigation menu, then select Organizations.
2. Select the i icon beside your Organization record.
3. Select the Integrations tab. This table shows each Entity and the QuickBooks file connected to it.
4. Select the i icon beside the integration you want to work with.
5. Select the Accounts tab. The number beside the tab name shows how many accounts the integration has.

The Accounts tab opens to the Chart of Accounts table. Above the table, you will see the Map Accounts, Confirm Mapping, and Map to STRATAFOLIO Hierarchy buttons, along with a Hide Confirmed Rows checkbox. The label on this checkbox also shows the number of confirmed rows.

The table includes these columns: Confirmed, Account Number, Account Name, Current Balance, STRATAFOLIO Account Name, OpEx Category, OpEx Subcategory, Hierarchy Mapped Level, STRATAFOLIO Path, Is Active, and more to the right side of the table. The Hierarchy Mapped Level column shows where each account is mapped in your portfolio. If this column is blank, the account has no hierarchy level.

How to Map Your Accounts

Map Accounts to Your Hierarchy

You can map one account or many accounts at the same time. Every account you select will be mapped to the same location.

1. Open the integration and select the Accounts tab.
2. Find the accounts you want to map. Type an account name into the Search field, or use the column sorting to group similar accounts.
3. Select the checkbox beside each account you want to map to the same location. To select every account in the table, use the checkbox in the column header.
4. Select Map to STRATAFOLIO Hierarchy.
5. The Map to STRATAFOLIO Hierarchy window opens. The label under the title shows how many accounts you selected, such as Map 1 Account To.
6. Choose a hierarchy level: Entity, Asset, Building, or Unit.
7. A dropdown appears for the level you chose, such as Select an Entity. Choose the correct record from the list.
8. Select Save Changes.
9. Clear the checkboxes for the accounts you just mapped before you select your next group. If you leave them selected, STRATAFOLIO may remap them along with your next group.
10. Check the Hierarchy Mapped Level column to confirm your change.

Map Subaccounts to Your Hierarchy

Some QuickBooks files use subaccounts to keep each property separate. For example, a Repairs and Maintenance account might have one subaccount for each building. In the Account Name column, a subaccount appears after its parent account with a colon between them, such as Repairs and Maintenance:Building B.

Map each subaccount to its location using the steps above. Once you do, STRATAFOLIO assigns every transaction posted to that subaccount only to the Entity, Asset, Building, or Unit you chose.

Link a Loan Account to Your Loan

Loan accounts work a little differently. Instead of choosing a location, you link the QuickBooks liability account to a loan you have already entered in STRATAFOLIO. After each sync, STRATAFOLIO updates the loan balance on your Loan Dashboard.

1. Open the integration and select the Accounts tab.
2. Search for the QuickBooks account where you record the loan.
3. Select the checkbox beside the loan account.
4. Select Map to STRATAFOLIO Hierarchy.
5. Select Loan Principal.
6. Choose the correct loan from the dropdown. The list shows the loans entered for this Entity.
7. Select Save Changes.

For full details, see Mapping New Loans in STRATAFOLIO.

Mark an Account as Ignored

Use Ignored when an account was deleted, merged, or replaced in QuickBooks and should never affect your STRATAFOLIO data. STRATAFOLIO syncs your full Chart of Accounts, so deleted accounts may still appear on the Accounts tab.

1. Open the integration and select the Accounts tab.
2. Find the account you want STRATAFOLIO to disregard.
3. Select the checkbox beside it, then select Map to STRATAFOLIO Hierarchy.
4. Choose Ignored.
5. Select Save Changes.

Once ignored, the account will not appear in STRATAFOLIO reports. Its balances and history will not be imported, and it will be excluded from future syncs. Nothing is deleted or changed in QuickBooks. You can confirm an account is ignored by checking the Hierarchy Mapped Level column.

Clear a Hierarchy Mapping

If you mapped an account to the wrong place or want to remove its hierarchy level, you can clear it.

1. Select the checkbox beside the account.
2. Select Map to STRATAFOLIO Hierarchy.
3. Select Clear Mapping in the lower right corner of the window.
4. Check the Hierarchy Mapped Level column. It should be blank.

You can also change a mapping without clearing it first. Select the account, open Map to STRATAFOLIO Hierarchy, choose the correct level and record, and select Save Changes.

More Information on Mapping Accounts

How the STRATAFOLIO Hierarchy Is Structured

STRATAFOLIO organizes your portfolio the same way most commercial real estate businesses run in real life:

Organization → Entity → Asset → Building → Unit

The Organization is your overall company account. Entities are your ownership groups or LLCs, and each one connects to a QuickBooks file. Assets are your properties, such as a shopping center or office park. Buildings are the structures within each property. Units are the individual spaces you lease to tenants.

When you map an account to a level, STRATAFOLIO assigns its transactions to that level and everything below it. A higher level spreads the cost across more spaces. A lower level keeps the cost focused on fewer spaces.

What Each Hierarchy Level Means

Here is a quick summary of the options in the Map to STRATAFOLIO Hierarchy window.

• Ignored: STRATAFOLIO treats the account as if it does not exist.
• Entity: STRATAFOLIO spreads the transactions across the entire Entity.
• Asset: STRATAFOLIO spreads the transactions across the entire selected Asset.
• Building: STRATAFOLIO assigns the transactions only to the selected Building.
• Unit: STRATAFOLIO assigns 100% of the transactions to the selected Unit.
• Loan Principal: STRATAFOLIO links a loan account to a loan so the loan balance stays current.

Map Accounts and Map to STRATAFOLIO Hierarchy Are Different Actions

The Accounts tab has two mapping buttons, and each one does a different job.

Map Accounts places a QuickBooks account in the STRATAFOLIO consolidated Chart of Accounts. When you select it, the Map Account window opens with a STRATAFOLIO Account Name dropdown. The dropdown is grouped by category, such as Assets, and includes an Unspecified option. You can type in the search field at the top of the list to find an account quickly. Select Save Changes to save, or Save & Confirm to save and mark the account as Confirmed in one step. The result appears in the STRATAFOLIO Account Name column.

Map to STRATAFOLIO Hierarchy decides which part of your portfolio receives the transactions. The result appears in the Hierarchy Mapped Level column.

Confirm Mapping is a third action. It marks an account’s Chart of Accounts mapping as verified, and the account shows a green Confirmed label. Confirming does not change the hierarchy level.

How Hierarchy Mapping Affects CAM Reconciliations

STRATAFOLIO uses your hierarchy mapping to decide which Units share each CAM or reimbursable expense.

If an expense account is mapped to a Unit, STRATAFOLIO assigns the full amount to that Unit. If it is mapped to a Building, STRATAFOLIO spreads the amount across all the Units in that Building.

For CAM and reimbursable accounts, if no hierarchy level is selected and classes are not used, STRATAFOLIO spreads the expense on a pro rata basis across all the Units connected to that integration. This is the most common reason an expense shows up on tenants who should not share it.