Software and accounting guide

Sage Intacct: accounting, entity reporting and integrations

Sage Intacct is cloud accounting and financial management software. It supports finance teams working with financial reports and, where configured, multiple business entities.

By Sam Yang · Updated 2026-10-09

How Sage Intacct supports the workflow

Who this guide is for: Finance teams who need to check the books for each company or business unit, with the individual entries behind a combined total.

Everyday uses

Review the general ledger, the master record of accounting entries, and financial reports.
Compare the books for one company or business unit with the wider business view.
Trace accounting entries and their original document details when reviewing month-end results.

How it connects to accounting: Intacct records the accounting results from billing, purchasing, payroll and other business systems. An entity is a business unit or company within the setup. A reporting book is the chosen set of accounting rules and entries. Check the entity, reporting book, currency and period to understand what a report includes.

How to connect it and get the records you need

A built-in connection transfers the records its vendor supports. An API lets software read or exchange specific records directly. Browser automation may use the screens and reports your role can access when a direct connection leaves a gap. Its coverage and reliability need checking for the specific workflow. Start with the options available in your account, then check what actually reaches your books.

Supported API

Use Sage’s documented reads for the records and fields needed. A journal batch groups accounting entries; journal lines are the individual entries within it. Confirm the account’s enabled API and permissions.

Native accounting reports

Use the general ledger (individual accounting entries) and trial balance (the balance of each account) for the chosen entity and period. Include accounts ending at zero when you need to see movement during the month.

Browser assistance

Use the interface to confirm the selected entity, finish a report download or inspect a specific journal. A submitted batch still needs a confirmed posted record.

Start here: Read the entity name, reporting book, currency and period on both reports before deciding that their totals disagree.

Integration options and their limits

An API gives software direct access to supported records. Native reports are the files and reports available inside the product. Browser automation collects through the screens you can access. Choose the route that supplies the missing records, then check that it covers the accounts and dates you need. Reports may contain filters or omit rows. Browser work depends on permitted account access and can fail when screens change. Check record IDs, counts and dates whichever route you use.

Supported API reads

What it supplies: Sage documents both journal batches and their individual lines, named GLBATCH and GLENTRY. Its guidance recommends REST for new client applications while also documenting the older XML functions.
What to check first: Check which record types the chosen API exposes and which the account can access. The REST and older XML software connections are not assumed to provide identical records. Reading journals alone does not provide every bank transaction, invoice or supplier bill.

Choose it when: Use supported reads when they retain the required entity, document and line fields.

General-ledger and trial-balance files

What it supplies: The saved procedure collected reports for a selected entity and then used a generated “Download the file” link to receive the export.
What to check first: Clicking CSV does not mean the file arrived. Check the received file, report filters, currency, reporting book and whether accounts ending at zero are included.

Choose it when: Use the product’s reports when you need their exact definitions and totals. Keep the files that actually downloaded.

Authorized browser detail

What it supplies: The browser can show the selected company and the document recorded in Intacct, or complete an authorized report download.
What to check first: Frame structure and menu labels are dated observations. Browser collection is not permission to import, post or replay a batch.

Choose it when: Use it for a specific missing document or posting-status check when the supported API or report file does not provide what is needed.

What to automate and what an accountant should review

Good work for automation

Automation can check entity and report filters, confirm that files arrived, total the journal lines and list exceptions by document. These checks reduce repeated collection work during the close.

Keep a person on these decisions

The accountant interprets combined-company reporting, reporting books, currency and each document’s purpose, then reviews correction and resubmission decisions. A tool should keep successful and failed document results separate rather than label the entire batch successful.

Lessons from accounting and operations

Known problems and what to check

Are you reviewing one company, one document or the whole journal batch?

For report collection, prove entity, basis and full detail. For a proposed correction, require native document read-back (reopen the actual document in the accounting system): a collected GL or a staged file cannot establish that a change posted.

Evidence basis: Saved entity/report download and close-review observations. They do not authorize imports or establish every product menu.

Check the company or business unit, required records, permissions and available financial reports.

Top Level and company reports disagree

First align entity and consolidation scope. Do not diagnose an accounting error from differently scoped reports.

An import review shows mixed successful and failed entries

Preserve the result for each document and signed line. A reviewed retry should target only failed entries, not replay the whole file; this collection guide permits no retry or posting.

Start with an API, connection or built-in report that your account offers and you have confirmed. An authorized browser session may collect records those routes leave out; test its coverage for the workflow. Still check the totals against the books and confirm that all relevant costs are included.

Pitfalls and when to pause

A journal batch can contain several documents. A combined-company report can include different records from one company’s report. Access to the general ledger does not establish that a proposed change posted.

How a plausible answer can go wrong

A balanced GL and trial balance can still omit cash, aging or other source families needed for close. A proposed correction file also does not prove which documents successfully posted.

Pause if you cannot confirm the account, permission, reporting dates or completeness of the records. Return the missing evidence for review. Do not fill the gap with an invented record, a balancing entry or an assumed zero.

When the result does not make sense

A trial balance agrees overall but account movement seems missing.

Check: Check whether zero-ending accounts were excluded. An account can have debit and credit movement that nets to zero.

Resolve the question: Download the same report with zero-ending accounts included and keep both debit and credit activity. A zero balance does not prove there was no activity.

The CSV action completed but no usable file arrived.

Check: Check the generated file or download link and open the file actually received, rather than relying on the request screen.

Resolve the question: Finish the authorized delivery or mark it pending. Keep the prior complete export separate from the current unfulfilled request.

A batch shows both successful and failed documents.

Check: Verify each document with its Intacct record ID and all entry lines. A batch-level status can hide different outcomes.

Resolve the question: Give the reviewer a list of failed documents. Do not replay the whole batch or label all documents posted from one success message.

Collect the records and check nothing is missing

General Ledger and Trial Balance: Use the same entity, period and basis; include zero-ending accounts so movement is not omitted.
CSV delivery: Follow a generated Download the file link when present and retain the actual downloaded file, not only the request screen.
Native document and split lines: Keep posted date, journal, transaction and document reference distinct. One batch can contain multiple economic documents.

Use general ledger (GL, the detailed entries in the books) and trial balance (TB, each account’s ending balance) exports. Choose the entity (company or business unit), dates and accounting basis (cash or accrual). Keep the report filters, completed download and document IDs. Verify how entries were applied and reopen the actual documents separately from collecting the GL.

Step-by-step collection notes

Dated saved collection procedure reviewed October 6, 2026. Verify the current account, interface, permission and available reports. Menu names may differ.

Use the existing authorized session and select the individual company entity. The account owner handles authentication challenges.
Check the company shown on screen when selecting an entity opens another tab.
Retain a full General Ledger and Trial Balance for the same period, including zero-ending accounts, with native entity, basis and date filters. Exact top-level menus must be verified in the current account.
A native CSV action can produce a second Download the file link. Follow it and retain the completed native file.
Preserve posted date, journal, transaction, document reference, account code and every split line.
Use GL posting dates for ledger controls; collect aging, receipts and check registers separately. Ordinary GL collection does not prove that corrections posted.

Checks before using the records

Retain entity, reporting basis, date and dimension filters.
Distinguish batch identifiers from documents and individual journal lines.
Check applied payments and credits separately from a GL export.

Fictional collection example

A fictional journal batch contains multiple invoice-related lines. One batch ID does not identify one invoice. Return document and line references with the entity scope. A consolidated balance that ties still needs a separate explanation before it is treated as the selected entity balance.

Invented teaching scenario, not a customer result or a reproduced vendor defect.

Capture the setup with the evidence

Company, legal entity or account, report name, period, cash or accrual accounting basis, currency and timezone.
Selected filters, status, page count, original record identifiers, record counts and totals used to check completeness.
Collection time, source route and authorized role. Record browser and automation versions when using a browser.
Original files and exceptions. Keep credentials, customer identifiers and financial artifacts private.

A browser version helps reproduce an interface issue. It does not validate the financial conclusion.

Practical workflows

Practical checks you can follow

The journal batch balances. Why is the entity close still incomplete?

A balanced batch means its debits and credits add up. It does not mean the company’s close is complete. One batch can hold several documents, and a combined report can cover different records from an individual entity report. An entity is a company or business unit in the setup. Keep the entity, reporting book, currency, document and entry line clear before deciding what needs correction.

Explain why one company’s report differs from the combined report

Write down each report’s entity (company or business unit), reporting book, period, cash or accrual basis, currency and reporting filters. Do not compare only report titles. A reporting book identifies the accounting entries and rules being used.
Select the intended entity and check the company shown on screen. If the selection opens another tab, check that tab rather than continuing in the original combined-company view.
Download the general ledger (individual accounting entries) and trial balance (each account’s balance) for the same company, book, currency and period. Include accounts ending at zero so equal debit and credit activity remains visible.
Group journal lines by company and account while keeping the journal ID, document reference and individual line ID. Compare the period’s activity and ending balances.
Identify whether the difference comes from report settings, currency or combining companies, omitted entries, or an unexplained accounting difference. Collect only the affected report again using the corrected settings.

Bring to the review: A comparison of report settings and balances by company and account. Show activity in zero-ending accounts and identify any records excluded from either report.

Then decide: Resolve differences in report settings first. A combined-company total does not replace the totals for the individual company being reviewed.

Review a mixed posting result without replaying successful documents

Keep the original submission IDs and the result for each document. Distinguish records collected, changes proposed, documents submitted and entries actually posted.
For each document reported as posted, reopen the document or journal recorded in Intacct. Keep every line, its debit or credit amount, and its company.
For failures, record the exact document, error and current source record. Check whether any lines or related documents already exist.
Check that each document is complete and that its accounts and reporting labels mean what the review requires. Do not infer an account’s purpose just because its number starts with the same digits as another account.
Produce a list of failed documents for review with the independently confirmed successful documents excluded. Any actual retry belongs to the approved accounting workflow.

Bring to the review: A document-by-document result list with Intacct record references, debit and credit lines, errors and the failed documents requiring review.

Then decide: A reviewer decides what needs correction or another submission. Downloading a fresh general ledger does not by itself prove that proposed corrections posted.

Worked example

One balanced batch, two documents and a zero-ending account

All records and amounts below are fictional teaching inputs. CSV files are spreadsheet-compatible text files. This example demonstrates the calculation, not a customer outcome or a reproduced software defect.

All four signed lines sum to zero. Clearing account 1090 also sums to 450 - 450 = 0, but contains two movements. Filtering on only nonzero ending accounts would hide this account's movement. DOC-01 and DOC-02 each have two lines even though they share T-01.

What the CSV columns mean

This is fictional teaching data in USD, not a Sage export or a customer posting.
signed_amount uses debits positive and credits negative. document_ref and line_id are independent of batch_id.
Entity A opens at zero on the illustrative clearing account 1090. Two lines on that account move 450 in and out; zero ending balance does not mean no movement.

Batch net: 0 USD; Arithmetic balance only.
Clearing account net: 0 USD; No ending balance change.
Clearing account movements: 2 rows; Two nonzero movements remain relevant.
DOC-01 lines: 2 rows; Retain both signed lines.
DOC-02 lines: 2 rows; A separate economic document in the same batch.

Inspect journal-lines.csv

batch_id,entity,document_ref,line_id,account,signed_amount
T-01,A,DOC-01,L-01,1090,450
T-01,A,DOC-01,L-02,4000,-450
T-01,A,DOC-02,L-03,5000,450
T-01,A,DOC-02,L-04,1090,-450

Download this CSV

Next decision: Review the two document references and four entry lines. Balanced arithmetic does not establish the business purpose, correct classification, successful posting or a complete close.

Expected results and calculation checks Download the reproduction code

Run the example locally

Save the CSV files, expected-results.json and reproduce.mjs in one folder. With Node.js installed, run the command below. It calculates the checks from the CSV bytes and rejects a changed input or expected result.

node reproduce.mjs expected-results.json

No software login, customer records or API key is required.

AI prompt for collecting records without changing them

Replace the bracketed scope before use. This prompt collects evidence; it does not permit edits, approvals or accounting execution. Requesting an emailed report is a separate account action and requires explicit authorization.

Collect read-only evidence for Sage Intacct to answer [financial question]. Confirm [company], [account/entity], [period], [basis], [currency] and [allowed reports]. Use native GL/TB/report export filters and actual download links; retain entity, date, basis, report population and document identifiers. Verify applications and native read-back separately from GL collection. Retain original files, complete record IDs, counts, filters, collection timestamp and exceptions. Batch number is not one economic document. Consolidated reports can differ from an entity report. GL access alone does not certify posting. Stop if the source or scope is uncertain. Do not post, match, reconnect, delete or change settings. Return the evidence for financial review; do not claim the books are correct. Do not approve, submit payroll, pay, transfer, refund, send messages, invite users or accept terms. Stop at any login, MFA or credential prompt and hand back to the account owner. Store files only in [approved private location]. Do not paste customer artifacts into public tools. Use only preauthorized collection actions. Request an emailed report only when its delivery is explicitly authorized; otherwise ask the account owner to supply the file.

Next decision

What can you decide from these records?

For each unresolved close item, identify the document in the accounting system, every required line and the source family supporting it. Separate extracted, staged, posted and independently reviewed states in the owner handoff.

Compare the same records, accounts and reporting dates. List costs or payments you cannot yet verify before using the result for pricing, cash planning or month-end review.

Read the next finance check →

References behind these workflows

Each product reference supports only the features and limits described beside that source. Level's checks and fictional calculations are separate from what the vendor documents.

Read the product and workflow references with their scopes and review dates Explore the financial diagnostic examples

Sources and scope

Base product-reference scopes were reviewed 2026-10-06. The collection procedure retains its own review date in the dated sequence above. Individual source rechecks are dated with their citations. Operator decision guidance was reviewed 2026-10-09. The references below support their stated product scope, not every observed interface detail. It is not a vendor capability certification, a measured customer result or an independently reconciled account. Verify current features and what your plan includes in the account you use.

Sage journal batches and lines
Product reference: Journal batches, entries and queries, not native report reconciliation.
Product reference: Distinct journal batch and line objects, signed lines, document and location fields. Reviewed 2026-10-07.
Workflow reference: Distinct journal batch and line objects, signed lines, document and location fields. Reviewed 2026-10-07.
Sage Intacct product overview
Product reference: Cloud financial management, general-ledger reporting and multi-entity product scope; configured modules and access not assumed. Reviewed 2026-10-08.
Sage API reference and current REST recommendation
Product reference: Documented API families and recommendation to use REST for client applications; entitlement is account-specific. Reviewed 2026-10-07.
Workflow reference: Documented API families and recommendation to use REST for client applications; entitlement is account-specific. Reviewed 2026-10-07.

Content revision history