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Integrations Accounting

Octopus accounting integration with Lean ERP

You or your accountant work in Octopus, online. With the Octopus integration you create the invoices in Lean, and Lean posts them in Octopus: first the contacts, then the invoices, with feedback per invoice.

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Which data goes to Octopus?

The Octopus integration is an online connection. Octopus is an online accounting package, and Lean talks directly to your company file in Octopus.

CustomersCustomers who are not yet in Octopus go across, so the invoice lands with the right contact.
Sales invoices and credit notesWith their lines, VAT and due date, in the right journal.
FeedbackFor each invoice you see in Lean whether Octopus processed it, or which message Octopus returned.

Why in steps?

An invoice can only go into Octopus if the customer exists there. So Lean does not post everything at once, but in a fixed order. Broadly:

  1. 1
    Sign inLean signs in to your company file in Octopus.
  2. 2
    ContactsLean checks which customers on the invoices are already in Octopus and adds the missing ones.
  3. 3
    InvoicesThen the invoices themselves go to Octopus.
  4. 4
    ResultOctopus's reply comes back to Lean for each invoice.

Because Octopus answers each step separately, posting many invoices takes a little while. In Lean you can see which invoices have already been processed.

In which direction?

Contacts and invoices go from Lean to Octopus. The accounts, the VAT return and the year-end close are done in Octopus, by you or your accountant.

With this connection, payments do not come back. To see in Lean which invoices have been paid, you record the payment on the invoice in Lean.

Standard connection, online

The connection with Octopus is a standard connection in Lean. Because Octopus runs online, there is no version to choose. Per customer we set up which Octopus company file, which journals per invoicing entity, and which user the connection uses.

Conditions and limitations

Access to the company fileYou need an Octopus user with access to the company file in which Lean posts.
Customer details in orderOctopus asks for a few mandatory details for a customer. If they are missing, Octopus reports it, and you see that message on the invoice in Lean.
Pro forma stays in LeanA pro forma invoice does not go to accounting.
Exclude an entityAn invoicing entity that does not go to accounting can be excluded.

How is it set up?

  1. 1
    Company file and userWe record which Octopus company file each invoicing entity posts to, and with which user.
  2. 2
    JournalsWe take over the Octopus journal codes in Lean.
  3. 3
    Trial runWe post a first batch of invoices and check them together in Octopus.
  4. 4
    In useFrom then on, your invoicing team marks the invoices and starts the posting run.
How implementation works ›

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to create customers in Octopus myself first?

No. Lean adds the missing customers before the invoices go.

Do payments from Octopus come back to Lean?

No. With the Octopus integration you record payments in Lean itself.

Why does a posting run sometimes take a while?

Lean posts in steps and waits each time for Octopus to reply. For each invoice you see in Lean whether it has been processed.

Read more

All integrations ›Invoicing in Lean ›Wings ›
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