Autotask Setup Guide

Appxite Updated by Appxite

Introduction

This guide covers the essential Autotask configuration steps that Partners need to complete before and alongside the Platform integration. It explains how Services and Recurring Service Contracts work in Autotask, how to set up Billing Codes for Material Code mapping, how Account records are used by the integration, and how to reconcile and correct data after a sync.

For the full end-to-end workflow inside the Platform, refer to Autotask integration overview. For credential setup, see How to obtain Autotask credentials.

Platform ↔ Autotask field name dictionary

The Platform and Autotask use different names for the same concepts. This is the official mapping, also visible on the Platform's Settings → Autotask → Dictionary tab:

Platform term Autotask term
Organizations Accounts
Invoice Lines Contract Services / Contract Charges
Products Services
Contracts Recurring Service Contracts
Charge Start Date Effective Date / Date Purchased
Charge End Date Cancellation Date / Billing Period End Date

The Platform's Products tab maps each Offer to an Autotask Service record, not to an Autotask Product record — these are two separate Autotask entities. The tab is currently labeled Products to match the Platform's own vocabulary; this naming is under review and may change in a future release.

In this article

Create Services in Autotask

Before mapping Products in the Platform, each recurring Offer must exist as a Service in Autotask. The Services list is the source of truth for every record that appears in the PSA Product Name dropdown on the Platform's Mapping → Products tab.

Before you can set up Services, you must first set up at least one Service Code under Admin → Admin Categories → Features & Settings → Finance, Accounting & Invoicing → Billing Codes (Service Codes section).

To create a new Service in Autotask, go to Left Navigation Menu → Admin → Admin Categories → Features & Settings → Products, Services & Inventory → Services. Click New on the Services page.

Field Recommended value and notes
Name* A clear, descriptive name. This is the value shown in the PSA Product Name dropdown on the Platform. It should be descriptive enough to ensure the correct Service is mapped to the right Offer.
Active Selected by default. Must remain checked. Inactive Services can't be added to Contracts and don't appear in the PSA Product Name dropdown on the Platform.
Description Optional. A detailed description of the Service.
Invoice Description Optional. The description that appears on invoices. You can modify it at the Contract level.
Vendor Name Optional. Associate with a vendor to track profitability by vendor.
Unit Cost Optional. Captures costs of providing the Service (e.g. licensing fees). Allows profitability tracking.
Unit Price* Required. The default price per billing period per unit. You can adjust it per Contract when the Service is added to it. Supports up to 4 decimals.
Period Type* Required. Choices: Monthly, Quarterly, Semi-Annual, Yearly. Set to Monthly for services billed on a monthly cycle, to match the Platform's Billing Cycle. You can't change this after the Service is saved.
Service Code* Required. Select a Service Code (set up under Billing Codes). Must be an active Recurring Contract Service code. This is the Service's own billing classification, separate from the Platform's Material Code mapping.

If a Service doesn't appear in the PSA Product Name dropdown on the Platform, it either hasn't been created in Autotask yet, or it isn't marked Active. Services are never synced from Autotask back to the Platform; if one is missing, create it in Autotask first, then return to the Platform's Mapping → Products tab to complete the mapping.

See also: Autotask integration: Mapping organizations, products and contracts

Set up Recurring Service Contracts

The Platform integration supports Recurring Service Contracts only. If you post a recurring Invoice Line to any other Autotask contract type, Autotask returns a validation error and the sync fails for that line.

Caution: Before mapping a Platform Contract on the Mapping → Contracts tab, confirm the target Autotask Contract's type is Recurring Service. The Platform doesn't permit mapping to any other contract type.

In Autotask, the Contracts module is a top-level entry in the left navigation bar. To create a new contract, go to Create → Contracts → Recurring Service. This opens the New Contract Wizard where you associate the contract with an Account and configure its billing details.

Field Notes for integration
Contract Name The name shown in the PSA Agreement Name column on the Platform's Mapping → Contracts tab. Use a descriptive name.
Contract Type Selected during contract creation (Create → Contracts → Recurring Service). Must be Recurring Service. You can't change this after the contract is created.
Account Must be an active, Customer-type Account (see the next section). The contract must belong to the same Account mapped on the Organizations tab.
Status Must be Active for the contract to receive new Contract Service Adjustments or Contract Charges.
Start Date / End Date The Start Date defines the billing periods. Use No End Date for open-ended recurring billing, matching an open-ended Platform Contract.

Note: Optionally, you can enable Auto-Create Recurring Contract on the Platform's Settings → Configuration tab to have the Platform create a Recurring Service Contract automatically in Autotask when a mapped Organization doesn't yet have one. Manually created contracts are still recommended when you need specific naming, start dates, or billing terms.

Set up Billing Codes for Material Code mapping

Autotask groups billing items under Billing Codes (also called Allocation Codes), of which there are six types: Work Types, Material, Internal Time, Expense Categories, Recurring Contract Service, and Milestone. The Platform's Material Code Mappings table (Settings → Configuration) is populated from Billing Codes of type Material only.

You must set up at least one Material Billing Code before configuring the Platform's Material Code Mappings. Each of the four non-recurring Charge Types (Usage Fee, Correction, One Time Fee, Item Fee) needs a Material Code assigned, either individually or via the Default Material Code ID fallback.

To create a new Material Code in Autotask, go to Left Navigation Menu → Admin → Admin Categories → Features & Settings → Finance, Accounting & Invoicing → Billing Codes. Click New → Material Code. Fields include: Name (required), Active, General Ledger Account, External Number, and Tax Category.

Understand the Account record for integration purposes

Autotask renamed this entity from Company to Account in the current UI and in the REST API. Older Autotask documentation, the legacy SOAP API, and some Security Level permission labels still say Company — both terms refer to the same record. This article uses Account to match what you see on screen.

In Autotask, an Account is the customer entity that Contracts and Contract Charges are linked to. During the Platform integration, Platform Organizations are mapped to Autotask Accounts. Only valid, active Account records appear in the PSA Organization Name dropdown on the Platform's Mapping → Organizations tab.

Navigation in Autotask: CRM → Search → Accounts.

Autotask defines seven Account types: Customer, Lead, Prospect, Dead, Cancellation, Vendor, and Partner. Only active, Customer-type Accounts can be used to create or update Contracts, and only these should be mapped for billing purposes.

  • On the Platform's Mapping → Organizations tab, click Sync Organizations to retrieve Accounts from Autotask and populate the list.
  • The Excluded from Sync flag defaults to Yes for every newly synced Organization. You must explicitly set it to No before any Invoice Lines for that Organization are posted to Autotask.
  • Only Organizations that participate in valid invoices are pulled from the Platform — the full Organization list isn't transferred.

If a Customer doesn't appear in the PSA Organization Name dropdown on the Platform, check that the Account Status is Active, its Account Type is Customer, and the integration API user's Security Level has sufficient permission on the Companies/Accounts entity. For details, see How to obtain Autotask credentials.

Reconcile Platform and Autotask data

After syncing, verify that Invoice Lines on the Platform match the corresponding records in Autotask. Discrepancies can occur due to mapping errors, contract-type mismatches, or sync failures.

The Platform provides two key views for reconciliation:

  • Mapping → Invoices tab — shows each Invoice Line with its Charge Type, Quantity, Cost, Revenue, PSA Organization, PSA Product, PSA Agreement, PSA Material Code, and Sync Status. This is the source of truth for what should exist in Autotask.
  • System Logs page — shows sync history and errors over the last 30 days. Filter by ERROR to see only failures.

Warning: Autotask's Contract Service Adjustment is a Create-only operation — it can't be queried back through the API once posted, and it always returns an empty result ID even on success. Don't expect to find a matching adjustment record by searching; instead, verify the resulting state on the Contract's Services tab (the unit count and price should reflect the adjustment) or on its Contract Charges tab for non-recurring lines.

To compare data, follow these steps:

  1. In the Platform, go to Mapping → Invoices and note the PSA Organization, PSA Product, Charge Type, Quantity, and Revenue for a given line.
  2. In Autotask, open the Contracts module and select the mapped Recurring Service Contract for that Account.
  3. For a recurring line, check the Services tab for a matching Service with the expected unit count. For a non-recurring line, check the Contract Charges tab for a matching entry.
  4. Compare quantity, unit price, and effective/charge date against the values on the Platform's Invoices row.
Issue How to identify and resolve
Line missing in Autotask Check the Platform's System Logs (filter by ERROR). Common causes: PSA Organization not mapped, PSA Product (Service) not mapped, target Contract isn't type Recurring Service. Re-sync the line individually after fixing the cause.
Sync fails with a contract type error The mapped Autotask Contract isn't a Recurring Service Contract. Map the line to a Recurring Service Contract, or enable Auto-Create Recurring Contract in Configuration.
Wrong Material Code on a Contract Charge In the Platform, go to Settings → Configuration → Material Code Mappings. Confirm the per-charge-type mapping or Default Material Code ID is set as expected.
Duplicate Contract Charges Check the Platform's Sync Status column. If Synced, don't re-sync. Remove the duplicate directly in Autotask.

Handle corrections and adjustments post-sync

Once an Invoice Line is synced from the Platform to Autotask (Sync Status = Synced), you can no longer edit it on the Platform's Invoices tab. You must make corrections directly in Autotask.

Note: The Platform treats invoice line amounts as final. It doesn't rely on Autotask's automatic proration when a recurring service's units or price change mid-billing-period — doing so on top of the Platform's own calculation would double-bill the customer. If a correction or proration amount appears as a separate line on the Platform, it's posted as its own Contract Charge, not as a recurring service price change.

  • To correct a recurring line, adjust the Service's unit count or price directly on the Contract in Autotask.
  • To correct a non-recurring line, edit or void the Contract Charge directly in Autotask.
  • Don't re-sync a line after manually correcting it in Autotask — re-syncing attempts to post the original Platform values again as a new entry, rather than updating your correction.

Summary

This guide covered the key Autotask configuration areas that Partners need to manage alongside the Platform integration: creating Services for recurring Offers, setting up Recurring Service Contracts (the only contract type supported for recurring sync), configuring Billing Codes for Material Code mapping, maintaining valid Account records, reconciling Platform and Autotask data, and handling corrections after a line has synced.

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compliant Autotask PSA

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