Lightyear allows you to send data to external Inventory, Point of Sale or ERP systems (or if you wanted, a simple spreadsheet). It does this by adding an inventory tab and providing you with the “Add to Inventory” button in Panel 2.
The inventory tab will not be visible when you first setup your Lightyear account. You can choose to turn inventory on and off at any time.
The Inventory tab in Lightyear is designed to allow you to send data from bills to an inventory system that is not within your accounting software.
If you would like to export your stock and numerical data across to your inventory software, Lightyear can help. With Lightyear, you can log and record each product code that comes in on invoices from suppliers. When the invoice is mapped, the data for your products will automatically record and become available for export, making your inventory tracking super easy to track.
Enable the Inventory Tab
From the menu, select Company Settings:
In the General tab, scroll down until you find the "Inventory/POS" option. Select Yes to enable the inventory feature.
The Inventory icon will now be available to the left on your icon ribbon, under settings.
🤓 Tip: For a list of Lightyear's partnered software, see Inventory Integrations.
Inventory Defaults
Now that you have enabled the use of inventory exports, you can configure your default settings and how you want Lightyear to treat your inventory data.
Select your Inventory Software
From the Settings menu, select Inventory.
Use the Inventory / POS Software menu to select your Inventory Software:
Once an inventory software has been selected, further options will appear for configuration, including default product units, suppliers and export mappings.
Set your Default Product Units
Once you have selected your Inventory Software, you will need to set a Default Product Unit.
Under Inventory / POS Software, click Edit for Inventory/POS Settings.
In the pop-up window, use the Default Product Units menu to select either Cases or Units.
Unit: Item that is sold as a whole item (e.g. 1 Duff beer bottle = 1 Unit)
Cases: Item that is made up of multiple units (e.g. A case of 24 Duff beers = Case of 24)
You can update the Default Product Unit setting at any time to support suppliers that invoice in different units.
🤓 Tip: If the majority of your stock arrives in cases, then choose this option. Otherwise, select Units.
Use the checkboxes to include the Case Quantity, Unit Type and POS Code on your exports, then select Confirm to save.
Import Suppliers from your Inventory Software
Go to Settings > Inventory Settings > Supplier Cards > Edit.
On the top right, click on the 'Upload CSV File' button.
Locate the CSV file you exported from your Inventory Software, select it, and click 'Open' in the dialogue box.
⚠️ Important: This is a mandatory step to make your import routine easier.
When you import suppliers from your Inventory software, add a date and supplier name to each file you are going to import, e.g, 221219Duff_Brewery_Pty_Ltd.csv.
The first 6 numbers are the delivery date DDMMYY = 221219, and the next string is the name of the supplier as the inventory software knows it to be "_Brewery_Pty_Ltd", and “.CSV” is the file type.
Lightyear will ask 'Does the uploaded file contain a header row?'
If your CSV file has a header (typically containing a label) in row 1, then click Yes. If the CSV file does not, then click No.
At this point, the following modal will be displayed:
Use the dropdown menus to select which column in your imported document (.csv file) maps to the appropriate Lightyear field.
📌 Note: If your upload did not contain headers or labels, it will just display the column letters.
After you have applied fields to each of your columns, select Confirm to finish your upload.
Associate your 'Inventory Supplier'
On the left hand ribbon, click Suppliers:
Select each supplier you would like to associate with Inventory and click the edit icon on the far right.
In the supplier's profile tab, locate the 'Inventory Supplier’ menu; which lists the suppliers you exported and uploaded.
Select your inventory supplier from the dropdown:
Once chosen, click Save button at the bottom right.
Each updated inventory supplier that you set against your supplier cards will show in the supplier screen, in the "Inventory Supplier" column.
You are now ready to export purchases to your Inventory Software.
Send bill data to the Inventory tab
Lightyear allows you to send line item data to external systems via the Inventory tab.
For a bill to be sent to the Inventory tab, Lightyear needs to have extracted product codes, quantity and unit prices via a 'line item' map.
📌 Note: Service bills cannot be sent to Inventory if there are no Product Codes or Quantities.
If Lightyear has only extracted a description from each row, the Doc type is considered 'Bill - Service' . Panel 2 will look something like the below and the Inventory button to the left of the Approve button will be deactivated.
To fix missing product codes:
Send the invoice back to Processing.
Re-extract the invoice using a method that captures product codes, such as Line Item Extraction.
Once reprocessed, add the invoice to Inventory. This should resolve the error.
Line Item Bills - CAN be sent to Inventory
If Lightyear is able to extract product code, quantity and unit price, the '+ Inventory' button will be available for you in Panel 2, Review Tab and Archive. Lightyear refers to this type of doc as a 'Bill - Line Items'.
Bills sent to Inventory
Once a bill has been added to Inventory, navigate to the Inventory Tab. You will notice a new clipboard icon next to that bill. This icon confirms that the bill has been sent to Inventory.
Manage Bill data in the Inventory Tab
The Inventory tab will appear once bill quantities have been added.
Panel 1 (in Blue) details the bills that are awaiting export. Panel 2 (in Red) presents the details of the selected bill.
Lightyear needs to be told (once, indicated by the red exclamation mark in the top panel) if:
The product is either a unit or a case.
If a case, how many units are inside it, e.g., Case of 24 x Cola Bottles, etc.
Your external software knows the product by a different code, e.g. a SKU, or a PLU.
Your external system supports receiving product data using the supplier product code extracted from the bill.
Lightyear cannot export without being taught this information.
Displaying 'Cases' or 'Units' as default is a preference that can be set in the Inventory Settings page on the left ribbon.
📌 Note: You cannot adjust the extracted quantity on a row that is to be exported. If the quantity is incorrect, the bill should be removed from inventory and the extracted bill details overwritten in the Approvals or Review Tab; then 'Add to Inventory' once more.
You can select which lines you want to export by checking the green box to the left of the line item.
⚠️ Important: Once exported, a bill cannot be edited. Bills should only be exported to your external software after a user has checked that the quantities are correct.
If an invoice has already been inaccurately exported and no longer appears in the Inventory tab, the best approach to correct it is to re-upload the invoice in Lightyear.
Re-upload the invoice in Lightyear.
Once uploaded, add the new invoice to inventory via the Inventory tab in Approvals.
Once confirmed in inventory, delete any duplicate invoices.
Remove an invoice from the Inventory Tab
You can remove invoice data from the Inventory tab if you do not want to export that invoice by clicking the negative inventory button.
Edit Product Information in the Inventory Tab
If you need to edit any of the Product information (e.g. Case Qty, POS Code, Unit Type) against any of the lines in the Inventory tab, and want this saved for the future, click the green pencil icon to the right of each line.
This will open the Edit Product modal and allow you to make changes to any of the fields. Once you click Update, the changes will be saved against this document.
Export data from the Inventory tab
Once you are happy with the data that is in the Inventory tab, click the Export to File button. The files that Lightyear creates for you will depend on the POS system you have chosen in the Admin tab. Refer to the specific details relating to your POS system for more information.
You'll see a check mark icon next to a bill that has been exported to Inventory but is still waiting to be exported to your Accounting Software.
Frequently asked questions
Can I re-export my batch of purchases?
Yes, just head to 'Archive & Reporting'. Re-exporting is particularly useful if date formatting issues have occurred due to opening the file in Excel or similar tools.
To re-export a previously exported batch:
Identify the batch you wish to export within Lightyear. This can be done by identifying the document you were after and checking the date/timestamp; keep the timestamp in mind.
Navigate to the Archive section within Lightyear.
Set Doc Type to Exported Batches.
Choose Type as Inventory.
Select the specific batch you need to re-export > Search
Click the appropriate option to re-export the batch.
Once re-exported, do not open the file in Excel or any other program that may inadvertently alter it before importing into your Inventory or POS system.
Best Practices
To ensure smooth operations and minimise errors when uploading CSV files:
Avoid opening exported files in Microsoft Excel or other programs unless the file format is fully supported and unaltered.
Directly upload exported or re-exported files into your Inventory or POS system without intermediate modifications.
Always verify file formats and compatibility with your specific system requirements.
Always keep a backup of the original exported CSV file.
Use specialized CSV tools or text editors that do not alter data formatting.
Test the import process with a small batch to ensure compatibility before proceeding with larger uploads.
Always verify that the correct extraction method is used to capture all necessary data, including product codes.
Double-check invoice details before exporting to Inventory to minimize the need for corrections.
Familiarize yourself with Lightyear’s extraction and export features to streamline your workflow.