What is Number of Days Lag?
The Number of Days Lag is a configurable setting that determines how many days the system waits before automatically pushing your financial data to your ERP. This delay ensures that all your transaction data is complete and accurate before being exported.
Why Do We Use Days Lag?
Financial data from various sources (like Amazon, PayPal, and other platforms) doesn't always arrive immediately. Some transactions may take 1-3 days to fully process and appear in your system. The Days Lag feature prevents incomplete or missing data from being pushed to the ERP by waiting a specified number of days before processing each date's transactions.
Key Benefits:
Data Completeness: Ensures all late-arriving transactions are included
Reduced Errors: Minimizes manual corrections and reconciliation issues
Customizable: Each template can be configured with its own lag based on the relevent data patterns (latency and complexity)
Automatic Processing: No manual intervention required once configured
How Days Lag Works
The system processes data using this formula, the terms below will be explained further in the article:
Cutoff Date = Current Processing Date - 1 day - Number of Days Lag
Cutoff Date = The final date for which transaction data will be included in the transaction export to the ERP. Any transactions on or before this date are eligible for processing, while transactions after this date are excluded from the current export run.
Current Processing Date = The date on which Blue Onion is working to process the data refresh for the prior day. This is always one day behind the actual calendar date to avoid processing incomplete current-day data.
Number of Days Lag = A configurable setting that determines how many additional days Blue Onion will wait before pushing transaction data to the ERP. This delay ensures all late-arriving transactions (from sources like Amazon, PayPal, etc.) are captured before exporting to NetSuite.
Only data up to and including the cutoff date will be processed and pushed to NetSuite.
Processing Timeline:
The Blue Onion daily refresh of data begins at 00:00 UTC and determines the calendar date through which we will ingest all data from external systems
E.g. A company operating in EST on July 1st will have an overnight refresh started at 8pm EST on July 1st to be completed on July 2nd. Once completed, the available data in app will be through the July 1st date.
It then subtracts your configured Days Lag to determine the final cutoff date (this configuration is setup in the JE Template created in the application)
Only transactions up to the cutoff date are included in the transaction push to the ERP
Configuration Examples
Example 1: Zero Days Lag
Configuration: Days Lag = 0
Daily Refresh Run Date: June 25, 2025
Processing Date: June 24, 2025 (current date minus 1 day)
Cutoff Date: June 24, 2025
Data Exported: All transactions ≤ June 24, 2025
Best for: Businesses that need near real-time data and have fast transaction processing
Example 2: Two Days Lag
Configuration: Days Lag = 2
Daily Refresh Run Date: June 25, 2025
Processing Date: June 24, 2025 (current date minus 1 day)
Cutoff Date: June 22, 2025
Data Exported: All transactions ≤ June 22, 2025
Best for: Businesses with slower transaction processing or multiple payment platforms
Example 3: Three Days Lag
Configuration: Days Lag = 3
Daily Refresh Run Date: June 25, 2025
Processing Date: June 24, 2025 (current date minus 1 day)
Cutoff Date: June 21, 2025
Data Exported: All transactions ≤ June 21, 2025
Best for: Businesses with complex transaction flows or significant processing delays
Choosing the Right Days Lag
Consider these factors when setting your Days Lag:
0-1 Days Lag
You need near real-time financial data
Your transaction sources provide data quickly, accurately, and without data drift
You're comfortable with occasional missing transactions that arrive late from the source system (Amazon, Paypal, etc.)
2-3 Days Lag
You have multiple payment platforms (Amazon, PayPal, Stripe, etc.)
You've noticed transactions sometimes arrive 1-2 days late
Data accuracy is more important than speed
4+ Days Lag
You have complex international transactions, with multiple time zones in consideration
Your business has significant processing delays (larger volume of transactions)
You want maximum data completeness
Common Questions
Q: Can I change my Days Lag setting? A: Yes, this can be adjusted on the Templates page within the configuration of an active template. Click the pencil icon to the right of the template in order to see the configuration. Changes will apply to future processing runs.
Q: What happens to data that arrives after the cutoff? A: Currently, correcting a push that had incomplete data requires manual intervention from the Blue Onion team. We've implemented the Days Lag functionality to minimize this possibility, but if there is ever a concern you can reach our support team by chatting us in the application. Additionally, our engineers are working on automating these corrections in the future (estimated roll out Q4 2025)
Q: Can different templates have different Days Lag settings? A: Yes, each Journal Entry Configuration template can have its own unique Days Lag setting.
Q: Will changing my Days Lag create duplicate entries? A: No, the system has built-in safeguards to prevent duplicate exports. Only missing dates are processed.
Getting Help
If you're unsure about the best Days Lag setting for your business, or if you need to modify your current configuration, please contact our support team. We can help analyze your transaction patterns and recommend the optimal setting for your specific needs.
Need assistance? Contact [email protected]