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      Account and Service Mapping in Synthesize

      A Comprehensive Guide to Account and Service Mapping in Synthesize.

      Overview

      Service mapping is an essential feature of the Synthesize Billing Reconciliation module, aimed at optimizing the billing reconciliation process for your PSA products and vendor services. This article explores the concepts of account and service mapping in detail.

      Important Note

      Vendor usage will be synchronized into Synthesize only after the accounts and services are mapped from the vendor to your PSA records. For detailed instructions on connecting and configuring specific vendor integrations or CSV Import Profiles, please refer to the following links:

      Quick Links

      Click to navigate to the following topics:

      Account Mapping

      Service Mapping

      Account Mapping

      What is Account Mapping?

      Account mapping is the process of associating PSA accounts with their corresponding vendor accounts, ensuring accurate billing across client contracts.

      Left-Side Accounts (PSA):

      • PSA accounts are displayed on the left side of the account mapping screen.
      • Accounts can be searched by name, and hovering over them reveals the PSA Id, a unique identifier.
      • Updates or modifications to account names in your PSA won't affect mappings in Synthesize, as we use the PSA ID for mapping.
      • Only "active" accounts or clients from your PSA are displayed in the left-hand search bar.

      Right-Side Accounts (Vendor):

      • Vendor accounts fetched from your vendor are displayed on the right side.
      • During initial configuration, accounts from your vendor are automatically mapped to your PSA if there's an exact match.
      • Automatic mapping doesn't occur after the initial configuration, allowing intentional skipping of certain accounts for usage synchronization.

      New Account Mapping

      Automatic mapping doesn't happen after the initial configuration, enabling intentional exclusion of specific accounts for usage synchronization. Therefore, manual mapping of new accounts in Synthesize is necessary during onboarding or provisioning of a new account in your vendor.

      1. When onboarding a new account within your vendor, configure the integration in Synthesize.
      2. Manually map the new account by clicking "Update Account Mapping".
      3. Initiate a vendor sync to synchronize usage after mapping the new account.

        Do You Support Many-to-Many Account Mapping?

        Currently, we do not support many-to-many account mapping. While we understand that this feature is frequently requested, there are potential workarounds depending on your PSA. For example, if you need to consolidate service usage from multiple accounts onto a single invoice, you could create these accounts similarly in your PSA and then set the "bill-to" customer to the parent account, leveraging custom invoice templates in your PSA. Other potential workarounds exist, but they vary based on your PSA.

        Missing Account Mapping: Vendor Units are Blank on Mapped Service

        A common reason for unsynchronized vendor units on mapped services is the absence of account mapping. To confirm whether an account is mapped, hover over the service card or row in Synthesize and click the "Details" button. Here, you'll find account and service mappings under the "Data Sources" widget. If there's no account mapping, click the gear icon to navigate to the integration configuration and update the mappings accordingly. Remember to push a vendor sync after updating account or service mappings to fetch the usage for the new mappings.

        How to Ignore Syncing Usage for an Account?

        If you prefer not to synchronize vendor usage for a specific account, you can adjust the vendor integration settings. Simply navigate to the "Integrations" page, configure the vendor integration, click "Update Account Mapping," locate the account mapping on the right-hand side, or search for the mapped account using the search box on the left. Then, click the "x" icon to remove the account mapping. Keep in mind that any unmapped accounts will not have their usage synchronized into Synthesize.

        How to View and Update Account Mappings?

        1. Navigate to the "Integrations" page.
        2. Hover over the integration card you want to configure.
        3. Click "Configure".
        4. Select "Update Account Mapping".
        5. Delete account mappings by clicking the "x" icon either on the left (PSA side) or the right (Vendor side).
        6. Click "Finish".
        7. Initiate a vendor sync by clicking "Sync Now" to synchronize usage for any new account mappings.

        Note, any accounts not mapped within a vendor integration will not have their vendor usage synchronized into Synthesize.

        Service Mapping

        What is Service Mapping?

        Service mapping involves linking PSA products with their corresponding vendor services or SKUs, ensuring accurate billing across client contracts.

        Left-Side Services (PSA):

        • PSA products or services are displayed on the left side of the service mapping screen.
        • Products can be searched by name or product id, and hovering over them reveals their PSA ID.
        • Updates or modifications to product names in your PSA won't affect mappings in Synthesize as we map to the PSA ID unique identifier.
        • Only "active" products from your PSA are displayed in the left-hand search bar.

        Right-Side Services (Vendor):

        • On the right side, you'll find vendor services or SKUs fetched from your vendor. From the left side, you can map multiple PSA products or services to a single vendor service or SKU. This process is known as many-to-one service mapping, and further details can be found below.

        New Service Mapping

        Manual mapping of new services in Synthesize is necessary when you provision a new vendor service.

        To map a new service within your vendor, follow these steps:

        1. Configure the integration in Synthesize for the new service.
        2. Manually map the new service by clicking "Update Service Mapping".
        3. Initiate a vendor sync to synchronize usage after mapping the new service.

        Many-to-One Service Mapping

        In the realm of service mapping, two primary scenarios exist: 1:1 service mappings and many-to-one service mappings. While 1:1 service mappings represent the ideal situation where each PSA product aligns with a unique vendor SKU, the billing landscape can often be more complex, necessitating many-to-one service mappings.

        Note, we've paused the creation of "New Found Revenue" (NFR) cards for many-to-one service mappings to avoid generating incorrect NFR cards. 1:1 service mappings will still generate NFR cards, highlighting potential unbilled services.

        Why Many-to-One Service Mappings?

        Many-to-one service mappings are employed when inconsistencies arise within your PSA products, particularly when you have multiple PSA products created for the same vendor SKU. These inconsistencies can occur due to various reasons, including different naming conventions, variations in product configurations, or a lack of standardization.

        While standardizing your PSA products is recommended, it may not always be feasible, especially in complex billing scenarios. Many-to-one service mappings accommodate these challenges by allowing you to map multiple PSA products to a single vendor SKU.

        Many-to-One Service Mapping Scenarios

        1. Product Catalog Inconsistencies
          In situations where you use a vendor SKU or count to reconcile multiple products, many-to-one service mappings simplify the process. For instance, if you offer various PSA products like "Workstations," "Total Workstations," and "Premium Workstations" all reconciled under the same vendor SKU, such as NinjaOne's "Total Workstations," many-to-one service mapping enables you to efficiently track and bill these products without redundancy.
        2. Tiered Services or Service Bundles
          If your organization offers tiered service bundles with different list prices within client contracts, many-to-one service mappings come in handy. For example, consider Bronze, Silver, and Gold packages, which share the same count for reconciliation but have distinct pricing structures. By mapping all three PSA products to a single vendor SKU, like NinjaOne's "Total Workstations," you can ensure accurate billing while avoiding unnecessary complexity in your client contracts. Notably, in this scenario, only one of these products typically exists in the client contract.
        3. Using a Vendor Source of Truth to Reconcile Other PSA Services or Products
          In certain scenarios, you may rely on a particular vendor service to reconcile your client contracts. For instance, if you deploy Proofpoint Essentials to every managed user's mailbox and offer a managed user service bundle, you can map Proofpoint Essentials to reconcile your managed user service bundle. This example illustrates the potential of using a vendor source of truth, although your specific use-case may vary.

        Mapping a PSA Service or Product to Multiple Vendor Sources

        In certain scenarios, you may need to map a service or product from your PSA to multiple vendor sources. For instance, if you purchase Webroot Endpoint Protection and SentinelOne but incorporate both Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions across your client contracts, only reselling one service (e.g., Endpoint Protection), you can map that service from your PSA to multiple vendor sources or integrations. We will then synchronize usage across those two vendors and aggregate that usage, allowing you to reconcile the one service, irrespective of whether you resell SentinelOne or Webroot Endpoint Protection to that client. You can find the connected vendors under the "Data Source" widget by clicking the "Details" tab of a connected service.

        How to View and Update Service Mappings?

        1. Go to the "Integrations" page.
        2. Hover over the integration card you wish to configure.
        3. Click "Configure".
        4. Choose "Update Service Mapping".
        5. Delete service mappings by clicking the "x" icon on either the left (PSA side) or the right (Vendor side).
        6. Click "Finish".
        7. Initiate a vendor sync by clicking "Sync Now" to synchronize usage for any new service mappings.

        Note Any services not mapped within a vendor integration will not have their vendor usage synchronized into Synthesize.