Unified Transaction Ledger

How the AI-Native ERP processes all financial transactions through a single unified system

8 min read

Overview

The AI-Native ERP uses a Universal Transaction Ledger where all financial transactions flow through a single unified system. Whether you are posting vendor bills, customer invoices, bank transfers, journal entries, or payroll, every transaction follows the same pipeline for validation, GL posting, tax handling, and audit trails.

Key Benefits:

Single source of truth for all financial transactions
Consistent GL posting patterns across every transaction type
Unified multi-currency handling with automatic conversion
Automatic tax calculation and posting
Dimension tracking at both header and line level
Item-based GL account defaults (expense and revenue accounts auto-populated)
Per-transaction-type field configuration
AI-powered transaction classification

How Transactions Flow

Every transaction follows a consistent lifecycle:

Submission -- You describe a transaction to Claude or submit it through the dashboard
Validation -- The system checks required fields, resolves vendors/customers/accounts, and validates business rules
GL Posting -- Debit and credit entries are created automatically based on the transaction type
Tax Calculation -- Tax amounts are computed and posted to the appropriate tax accounts
Dimension Tracking -- Cost centers, departments, projects, and other dimensions are stored at both header and line level

Transaction Operations

Operation	What It Does
Post	Creates a new transaction with full GL posting
Update	Edits a posted transaction (header fields or full GL line replacement)
Delete	Permanently removes a transaction with full audit trail
Reverse	Creates an offsetting transaction with opposite GL lines

Supported Transaction Types

Accounts Payable (AP)

Type	Description	When to Use
AP Invoice	Vendor bill or purchase invoice	Recording bills from vendors for goods or services
AP Credit Memo	Vendor credit note	Vendor returns, price adjustments, credits received
AP Debit Memo	Vendor debit memo	Additional charges from vendor
AP Payment	Vendor payment	Paying vendor bills

Accounts Receivable (AR)

Type	Description	When to Use
AR Invoice	Customer invoice	Billing customers for goods or services
AR Credit Memo	Customer credit note	Customer refunds, return allowances
AR Debit Memo	Customer debit memo	Additional charges to customer
AR Payment	Customer payment receipt	Recording payments received from customers
Recurring Invoice	Recurring customer billing	Automated periodic customer invoicing

Banking

Type	Description	When to Use
Bank Deposit	Bank deposit	Recording deposits to bank account
Bank Withdrawal	Bank withdrawal	Recording withdrawals from bank account
Bank Transfer	Inter-bank transfer	Moving funds between bank accounts
Bank Fee	Bank charges	Recording bank service fees
Bank Interest	Interest earned	Recording interest income

Stripe Payment Processing

Type	Description	When to Use
Stripe Charge	Payment received	Customer card payment via Stripe
Stripe Refund	Refund issued	Refund processed through Stripe
Stripe Payout	Payout to bank	Stripe settlement to bank account
Stripe Fee	Processing fee	Stripe transaction fees

Journal and General Ledger

Type	Description	When to Use
Journal Entry	Manual GL entry	Adjustments, accruals, reclassifications, corrections
Opening Entry	Opening balance entry	Setting up balances for new periods or entities
Closing Entry	Period closing entry	Year-end income summary close
Reclassification	Account reclassification	Moving balances between GL accounts

Tax

Type	Description	When to Use
Tax Payment	Tax remittance	Paying VAT/sales tax to authorities
Tax Adjustment	Provision adjustment	Correcting tax provisions or liabilities

Allocations and Intercompany

Type	Description	When to Use
Cost Allocation	Cost distribution	Allocating shared costs across departments or entities
Revenue Allocation	Revenue distribution	Allocating shared revenue
Intercompany Charge	Intercompany transaction	Charges between legal entities in the same organization

Foreign Exchange

Type	Description	When to Use
FX Gain	Realized gain	Currency fluctuation gains
FX Loss	Realized loss	Currency fluctuation losses

Loans and Equity

Type	Description	When to Use
Loan Disbursement	Loan given	Recording a loan to a borrower
Loan Repayment	Loan received back	Recording loan principal received
Owner Distribution	Dividends or distributions	Profit/capital distribution to owners
Capital Contribution	Capital injection	Cash or asset contribution by shareholders

Payroll and Expenses

Type	Description	When to Use
Payroll	Payroll posting	Salary, taxes, and deductions
Expense Report	Employee expenses	Employee reimbursements
Reimbursement Payout	Reimbursement payment	Bank payout for employee reimbursement

System-Generated Types

Some transaction types are created automatically by the system and cannot be posted manually:

Type	Generated By	When
Depreciation	Fixed asset depreciation run	Monthly
Closing Entry	Period close process	Month-end
Opening Entry	Year open process	Year start
FX Gain/Loss	Foreign exchange revaluation	Month-end
Recurring Invoice	Billing schedule runner	Per schedule

GL Posting Patterns

Each transaction type follows a specific debit/credit pattern:

Transaction Type	Debit	Credit
AP Invoice	Expense account	Accounts Payable
AP Payment	Accounts Payable	Bank account
AR Invoice	Accounts Receivable	Revenue account
AR Payment	Bank account	Accounts Receivable
Bank Transfer	Destination bank	Source bank
Bank Fee	Expense account	Bank account
Journal Entry	Custom	Custom (must balance)
Expense Report	Expense accounts per line	Employee Payable
Payroll	Salary/tax accounts	Net Pay/Tax Payable

Item-Based Account Resolution

Transaction lines can reference either an item or a GL account number directly. When an item is used, the system automatically resolves the correct GL account:

For AP transactions: The item's default expense account is used
For AR transactions: The item's default revenue account is used
Direct account: You can always specify a GL account number directly on any line

This means you can mix items and direct accounts on the same transaction -- items for catalog products and services, direct accounts for one-off charges.

Dimensions

Dimensions provide multi-axis tracking for reporting and analysis. They can be applied at two levels:

Header level -- Applies to the entire transaction (e.g., project, department)
Line level -- Applies to individual line items, overriding header dimensions

Common dimension types include departments, cost centers, projects, locations, and product lines. Each organization can configure which dimensions are required for specific transaction types.

Party Tracking

All transaction types support optional party fields to track the associated vendor, customer, employee, or other party. This is especially useful for journal entries and bank transactions where the party relationship provides context for reporting and reconciliation.

Updating Posted Transactions

Posted transactions can be updated without needing to reverse and re-post:

Update Type	What Changes	GL Impact
Header-only	Description, reference number, due date	No GL changes
Line replacement	All GL lines deleted and replaced	Full GL rewrite
Both	Header fields and line replacement	Full GL rewrite

The system validates that the fiscal period is open, checks for restrictions on partially-paid invoices, and automatically unmatches bank statement lines if amounts change.

Transaction Reversal

When you need to void a transaction while preserving the audit trail, the reversal operation creates a new transaction with opposite GL lines. The original and reversing transactions are linked together, and the original is marked as "reversed."

Multi-Currency Support

Every transaction supports multi-currency handling:

Document currency -- The currency of the original transaction
Functional currency -- Converted to the entity's base currency
Reporting currency -- Converted to the organization's reporting currency
Exchange rates -- Applied automatically based on the transaction date

Foreign exchange gains and losses from rate differences are posted automatically during month-end revaluation.

Key Capabilities

46 transaction types covering AP, AR, banking, payroll, Stripe, intercompany, and more
Automatic GL posting with type-specific debit/credit patterns
Multi-currency with automatic conversion and FX gain/loss handling
Dimension tracking at header and line level for granular reporting
Tax automation with configurable tax codes per line
Audit trail for every transaction lifecycle event
Configurable field requirements per transaction type through the admin dashboard
Item defaults that auto-populate GL accounts from your item catalog

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