By the end of this article, you'll know how to configure an orders view, save it as a template, use it for automation or export, and edit or manage your templates.
What Is the Orders Journal Entry?
The Orders journal entry is designed to record deferred revenue at the time of order. In this entry, you'll see:
A credit to Deferred Revenue and a debit to Accounts Receivable (AR) or your clearing account
Refunds processed during the timeframe selected in your date range and filters
This entry captures order activity so your books reflect revenue obligations as they occur.
Step 1: Design Your Orders View in the Interactive Explorer
Navigate to the Journal Entries section and open the Interactive Explorer View under the Explorer page. This view pulls from your underlying source data and allows you to filter and structure it before saving it as a reusable template.
Tip: Toggle to Export View for a cleaner look at the data. Select Orders as your Journal Entry Type.
Choose Your Reporting Period
Select the date range for the period you want to validate. This is the timeframe that will drive the data shown in your journal entry.
Choose Your Grouping
For the Orders journal entry, there are four grouping options:
Grouping | What It Shows |
Order System | Broken out by platform (e.g., Amazon vs. Shopify) |
Order System Account | Broken out by individual store (e.g., each Shopify store, Amazon seller account) |
Channel | Broken out by sales channel (e.g., subscriptions, online store, point of sale) |
Location | Broken out by where orders were placed (e.g., online, warehouse, retail) |
Order System or Order System Account are the most commonly used defaults, but the best choice depends on your specific use case.
Apply Filters
Use filters to narrow the data to exactly what you want in this template. For example, you might filter to show only Shopify orders for the Subscriptions channel.
Each filter supports "is" and "is not" logic so you can include or exclude specific values.
Once filters are applied, the journal entry will reload to reflect only the data matching your criteria.
Step 2: Create the Template
Once you're satisfied with your view in the Interactive Explorer, navigate to the Templates page and click Create Template.
Fill In the Template Details
Field | Example |
Template Name | Shopify Subscriptions |
Journal Entry Type | Orders |
Use Financial Statement Currency | Toggle on to consolidate into a single reporting currency |
Group By | Channel (or your preferred grouping) |
Filters | Order System = Shopify, Channel = Subscriptions |
Step 3: QuickBooks Automation Settings (QuickBooks Customers Only)
If you're a QuickBooks customer, you'll see additional booking configuration fields:
Setting | Description |
Interval | Currently set to daily — Blue Onion pushes journal entries to QuickBooks every day |
Days of Lag | Controls how many days back to push. Recommended: 1 day since Blue Onion data refreshes nightly |
Adjustment Cadence | If there's any data drift, Blue Onion can send adjusting journal entries to QuickBooks automatically |
Push Start Date | The date Blue Onion begins automatically pushing entries. Set this to a future date if you want time to test first |
For example, if you'd like to do some additional testing before automation kicks in, you could set the push start date to a future date — say, May 1st — giving you time to validate everything at your own pace.
Step 4: Map to Your Chart of Accounts
After creating your template, you'll need to map all line items to your Chart of Accounts. Blue Onion lists every line item from the journal entry, and each one has a dropdown that connects directly to your Chart of Accounts so you can select the appropriate account.
Make sure every line item is mapped before using the template for posting or export.
Step 5: Test Before Going Live (QuickBooks Customers)
Before enabling automatic pushes, manually test your template. On the Templates page, you'll see four icons next to each template:
Icon | Function |
1st — Edit | View or modify the template's filters and structure |
2nd — Manual Push | Manually push a journal entry into QuickBooks for testing |
3rd — Mappings | View or update Chart of Accounts mappings |
4th — Disable | Temporarily disable the template |
How to Test
Click the Manual Push icon (2nd icon).
2. Use the Preview button to review the journal entry without posting anything.
3. Select your date range — Blue Onion will push one journal entry per day in the selected range. For example, selecting Feb 1–Feb 7 will push 7 individual journal entries.
4. Use the Push to GL button to push the entry into QuickBooks.
Tip: Start by testing one day at a time to verify accuracy before pushing a larger range.
Managing Your Templates
From the Templates page, you can manage all of your saved templates:
Disable a Template
If you need to pause or restructure a template, click the Disable icon. Disabled templates remain saved but won't be used for posting or automation. You can re-enable them at any time.
Filter by Status
Use the status filter on the Templates page to quickly see which templates are Active vs. Disabled.
Summary
To set up your Orders journal entry template:
Design your view in the Interactive Explorer with the right groupings and filters
Create the template with a clear name and your preferred configuration
Configure automation settings if you're a QuickBooks customer
Map all line items to your Chart of Accounts
Test by previewing and manually pushing before going live
Manage templates by editing, disabling, or re-enabling as needed
Have questions? Reach out to our Customer Success team for assistance.