About Grouping Logic

When transactions are posted, Indigo Business assigns a unique ID (Tran ID in the grids) per transaction to keep each one separate, to keep entries organised and traceable in the system.

Transactions can also be created via .CSV or .XLSX import, in which case Indigo Business applies a specific grouping logic. Understanding this logic helps you avoid posting errors and unexpected results.

This grouping logic defines how a Tran ID is assigned to imported lines, by determining which lines form a single entry. In Indigo Business, this is mainly based on:

Whether the settings to use unique references are enabled or disabled for your company;
How the transaction date and the relevant External reference (Ext ref) are combined.

Unique Reference Settings

There is at least one unique reference setting per ledger:

PostingNominalTransactionReference1Unique
PostingPurchaseTransactionReference1Unique
PostingPurchaseTransactionReference1UniquePerBusinessAccount
PostingSaleTransactionReference1Unique
PostingSaleTransactionReference1UniquePerBusinessAccount

To access these settings, go to Settings & Pref > Company Maintenance > Additional Settings. Disable or enable them by clicking on the respective button in the Value column.

Grouping with Unique References Enabled

When unique reference settings are enabled, imported transaction lines are grouped based on a strict combination of Ext ref and transaction date.

In this mode, Ext ref identifies the transaction and the date must be consistent across all lines belonging to that transaction, as long as they respect the double-entry method. This means that:

➡️ Transaction lines with the same Ext ref but different dates cannot be grouped, and will trigger an error message when trying to post them from the Drafts screen.

Grouping with Unique References Disabled

When unique reference settings are disabled, the same Ext ref can be reused across posted transactions. This means that:

➡️ Transaction lines with same Ext ref but different dates are grouped by date and posted as separate transactions, each with its own Tran ID.

Combinations Summary

The table below shows Tran ID assignment for different Ext ref and transaction date combinations, with Unique Reference enabled or disabled:

Example	Date	Ext ref	Unique Reference: ON	Unique Reference: OFF
*1	Same	Same	Grouped under same ID	Grouped under same ID
2	Different	Same	Error at Posting	Different IDs
3	Same	Different	Different	Different IDs
4	Same	Empty	Error if an existing transaction has no Ext Ref too	Grouped under same ID

*Exception

In a small but significant plot twist, there's an exception to the above: if two double entries share the same date and Ext ref but are separated by another unrelated double entry (different Ext ref and date), they won't be grouped under the same Tran ID.

For example:

If we insert the double entries as follows:
- A double entry on 12/04, with Ext ref 'Reference D'
- A double entry on 04/04, with Ext ref 'Reference E'
- Another double entry on 12/04, with Ext ref 'Reference D'
Then we import and post them, even though two double entries share the same date and Ext ref, three different IDs will be assigned—meaning three different journals/transactions— will be generated since the two double entries are separated.

Example in the System 👇

Below is an example to show you how the described grouping logic behaves in the system when the Unique Reference setting is disabled for nominal journals.

First, we downloaded and filled in the transaction import template by inputting :

One double entry for the same Ext ref (Reference 1) on the same date (07/03).
Two double entries with the same Ext ref (Reference 2) but on different dates (22/03 and 23/03)
Two double entries with different Ext ref (Reference 3 and Reference 4) but on the same date (10/03)
Two double entries with no Ext ref on the same date (15/03).

Then, we imported the file in the Drafts screen and posted the journal drafts, selecting the Commit button.

The Result after Posting

Now we can finally see how the system assigned and grouped the lines in the Audit Trail screen.

One double entry for the same Ext ref (Reference 1) on the same date (07/03).
- Result: A single Tran ID is assigned, meaning a single journal is generated.
Two double entries with the same Ext ref (Reference 2) but on different dates (22/03 and 23/03)
- Result: Two Tran IDs are assigned, meaning two separate journals are generated.
Two double entries with different Ext ref (Reference 3 and Reference 4) but on the same date (10/03)
- Result: Two Tran IDs are assigned, meaning two separate journals are generated.
Two double entries with no Ext ref on the same date (15/03).
- A single Tran ID is assigned, meaning a single journal is generated.