By the end of this article, you'll know how to design a revenue recognition view, save it as a template, configure automation, and test before going live.
Step 1: Design Your Revenue Recognition View
Navigate to the Journal Entries section in Blue Onion and open the Interactive Explorer View. This is where you'll build and preview the structure of your revenue recognition journal entry before saving it as a template.
Select the Journal Entry Type
Choose Revenue Recognition as your journal entry type.
Important: Revenue recognition journal entries are based on all orders that have been fulfilled within the selected timeframe — not when orders were placed.
Select Your Date Range
Choose the timeframe you want to validate.
Choose Your Grouping
Grouping controls how your data is organized within the journal entry. For revenue recognition, the available options are:
Grouping | What It Shows |
Order System (default) | Broken out by platform (e.g., Amazon, Shopify) |
Order System Account | Broken out by individual store (e.g., each Shopify store name or Amazon seller account) |
Channel | Granular detail by sales channel (e.g., draft orders, subscriptions, Facebook, Instagram) |
Location | Broken out by fulfillment location (e.g., online store, point of sale, warehouse) |
SKU | Shows all SKUs fulfilled within the selected timeframe |
Apply Filters
Use filters to narrow down exactly what data this journal entry should include. For example, you can filter by a specific order system (e.g., Shopify only), a specific channel (e.g., Facebook and Instagram), or subscription orders only.
Each filter supports "is" and "is not" logic, so you can include or exclude specific values as needed.
Understanding the Revenue Recognition Journal Entry
Once your filters and groupings are applied, the journal entry will load and display the following:
Deferred Revenue (Liability) — This journal entry removes fulfilled order line items out of your deferred revenue liability account.
P&L Line Items — Revenue, shipping, and discounts are booked to your P&L.
Complimentary Orders — Two additional line items at the bottom capture orders with a 100% discount (e.g., free products sent for influencer marketing, donations, etc.).
A Note on Complimentary Orders
Complimentary orders are defined as orders with a 100% discount. Blue Onion gives you the option to back these amounts out of your revenue and discounts so they are not overstated.
You can then create your own adjusting journal entry to book the amount at unit cost to the appropriate expense account (e.g., marketing expense, influencer expense, donation/contribution).
Step 2: Create the Template
Once you're satisfied with the layout in the Interactive Explorer, navigate to the Templates page (directly below the Explorer View) and click Create Template.
Fill In the Template Details (Illustrative Example)
Field | Example |
Template Name | Revenue Recognition - Shopify Subscriptions |
Journal Entry Type | Revenue Recognition |
Use Financial Statement Currency | Toggle on if you want everything posted in a single currency (e.g., USD) |
Group By | Channel (or whichever grouping you selected in the Explorer) |
Filters | Order System = Shopify, Channel = Subscriptions |
Step 3: Accounting Sync Automation Settings
If you have connected your accounting system (QuickBooks, NetSuite), you'll see additional configuration options when creating your template:
Interval
Currently, Blue Onion supports daily push intervals, meaning journal entries are pushed to your accounting system on a daily basis.
Days of Lag
This controls how many days back you want Blue Onion to push journal entries. Since Blue Onion refreshes data every evening (data is current as of yesterday):
1 day of lag (recommended) — Pushes yesterday's data.
2+ days of lag — Waits additional days before pushing. Useful if you want to allow more time for data to settle.
Adjustment Cadence
Blue Onion's Smart Adjustment feature captures data drift over time. You can choose how often adjustment entries are posted:
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Never
Click the info icon (ℹ️) next to this field for more details.
Push Start Date
This determines when Blue Onion begins automatically pushing journal entries into QuickBooks. If you're still in a testing phase, set this to a future date so you can validate everything before going live.
Step 4: Generate Mappables and Map to Your Chart of Accounts
After creating the template, click Generate Mappables Now to load all the line items for that journal entry. From here, map each line item to the appropriate account in your chart of accounts.
For each line item, select the GL account you want it to map to, then click Save Mappings.
For QuickBooks customers: You'll also have the option to add an additional field alongside your GL account mappings.
Step 5: Test Before Going Live
Before enabling automatic pushes, it's important to test your template manually. On your template management page, QuickBooks and Netsuite customers will see a fourth icon that allows you to manually push journal entries.
How to Test
Click the manual push icon on your template.
Use the Preview button to review the journal entry that will be pushed — this does not post anything.
Use the Push to GL button to actually push the entry into QuickBooks.
Select the date and date range you want to push.
Testing tip: Start by pushing one day at a time. If you select a range (e.g., 7 days), Blue Onion will push 7 individual journal entries into QuickBooks.
Viewing and Exporting Your Templates
To review your saved templates:
Navigate to the Template View (instead of Interactive View).
Select or deselect which templates you want to see.
Toggle to Export View for the best overview.
For customers without a direct accounting integration: Click Export, select a booking date, and you'll receive an email with the journal entry file that you can import directly into your accounting system.
Summary
Once you've completed these steps, your revenue recognition journal entries are standardized and ready for month-end close. To recap:
Design your revenue recognition view in the Interactive Explorer
Save it as a template with your preferred filters and groupings
Map all line items to your chart of accounts
Test by previewing and manually pushing (QuickBooks customers)
Go live by setting your push start date or exporting as needed
Have questions? Reach out to our Customer Support team for assistance.