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A mapping tells Plane which account a line posts to. You set mappings once, and Plane applies them to every new accounting item. Set them in Accounting > Settings > Mappings.
Mappings aren’t available until you connect your accounting system. Plane pulls your chart of accounts from that connection, so there are no accounts to map to before it exists.

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How mappings are organized

Mappings are grouped by who is being paid, with a tab for each:
  • Company—your bank account and Plane subscription fees
  • Contractors—earnings, reimbursements, and net pay paid outside Plane
  • Employees—earnings, employer taxes, reimbursements, benefit expenses, benefit payables, and payroll payables
  • Vendors—earnings and reimbursements
Categories for contractors, employees, and vendors appear once you have paid that type of worker through Plane. Employees in and outside the US share the Employees tab. Within each group, every category gets its own mapping, so you can send overtime, commission, or a 401(k) contribution to different accounts. The Mapping reference lists every category.

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Default accounts and department rules

Each category has a default account. To send one department somewhere else, add a rule that pairs a department with an account. For example, map regular earnings to Salaries by default, with a rule that sends the Sales department’s regular earnings to Sales salaries.
You don’t need department rules to report by department. Most accounting systems track departments as a dimension, such as QuickBooks classes or departments, rather than as separate accounts. Map each category to one account and use reporting categories to tag lines by department. Add rules only if your chart of accounts has separate accounts per department.
To set the same account on several categories, select them and edit them together. To leave a category unmapped on purpose, choose No account.

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Which mapping Plane uses

For each line, Plane looks for the most specific mapping and uses the first one it finds. Plane tries a department rule, then the default account, then for benefits the general benefit rule and default. The first match decides the account; if nothing matches, the line is unmapped. Plane tries a department rule, then the default account, then for benefits the general benefit rule and default. The first match decides the account; if nothing matches, the line is unmapped.
  1. A rule for the worker’s department, for this worker type and category
  2. The default account for this worker type and category
Benefits and deductions add two more steps. If the specific benefit type has no account, Plane falls back to General benefit expense or General benefit payable, first with a department rule, then the default. Your bank account mapping follows the same pattern without a worker type: a department rule first, then the default. The Plane subscription always uses its default account. When you change a mapping, Plane updates the lines in To prepare that use that exact category. Items you have already prepared keep their accounts. To change one, move it back to To prepare and set the account on the line.

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Which accounts each category accepts

  • Bank account accepts asset accounts.
  • Payroll payables (payroll taxes and net pay paid outside Plane) accept liability accounts.
  • Every other category accepts any account.
Plane never offers accounts payable, accounts receivable, credit card, or fixed asset accounts.

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Expenses and payables

Some amounts are paid by Plane and some are paid by you later. The mapping groups follow that split.
  • Expenses are what the payroll costs you: earnings, reimbursements, employer taxes, and employer benefit contributions.
  • Payables are what you still owe someone else after the payroll runs. For US employees, Plane doesn’t pay benefit providers, so employer contributions and pre-tax employee deductions for benefits post to Benefit payables until you pay the provider. Taxes Plane doesn’t remit for you post to Payroll taxes.
  • Net pay paid outside Plane is for payrolls where you paid workers’ net pay yourself. It posts to a liability account you clear when you send the payments.
Employees hired through Plane’s employer of record are different. Plane pays their taxes and benefits as part of the charge, so those amounts post as expenses only.

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Reporting categories

Reporting categories tag journal entry lines with a QuickBooks class or department, so you can report by team in QuickBooks without separate accounts for each department. They are separate from department rules: a rule changes the account, and a reporting category labels the line. The bank line is never tagged, so it stays whole and matches your bank feed. To set them up, go to Accounting > Settings > Other, turn on Enable reporting categories, and choose a QuickBooks class or department for each Plane department. Map every department; a worker without a department, or in an unmapped department, is exported without a category.

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When a line has no account

An item with an unmapped line stays in To prepare and shows a Missing mappings badge. To find them all, filter the To prepare tab by Mappings: Missing. You can fix an unmapped line two ways.
  • Add the missing mapping. Plane updates every item in To prepare that needs it.
  • Choose an account on the line itself. Open the item and set the account for that line. A line-level choice takes precedence over your mappings.
Some lines always need a line-level choice, because no mapping covers them:
  • EOR deposit invoices
  • Plane invoices other than your subscription
  • Direct charges, such as a separate tax payment