Overview

Some organizations configure a validation rule that prevents Journal Entry Lines from being saved without GL Account Variable (GLAV) fields populated. Because Journal Entry Lines created by AR Automation do not carry native GLAV auto-population, this requirement can block Merchant Funds Transfer Journal Entries from being created. This article walks a Salesforce Administrator through building a Record-Triggered Flow that automatically assigns GLAV1 and GLAV2 values to Merchant Funds Transfer Journal Entry Lines at the moment of creation.

In this article:

• Before You Begin
• Key Terms
• Step 1: Gather Your Information
• Step 2: Build the Flow
• Step 3: Test the Flow
• Step 4: Deploy to Production
• Troubleshooting

Before You Begin

• You must have the Salesforce System Administrator profile, or a profile with the Manage Flows permission.
• You need access to your org’s GL Account and Accounting Variable records.
• Build and test in a sandbox before activating in production.

Note: The Manage Flows permission is also required to debug a flow in Flow Builder. This is almost always the same person building the flow, but confirm before handing off to someone else to test.

Key Terms

GL Account Variable (GLAV): A categorization field on Journal Entry Lines used to tag transactions for reporting. Accounting Seed supports up to four GL Account Variables (GLAV1–GLAV4). This article covers GL Account Variable 1 (AcctSeed__GL_Account_Variable_1__c) and GL Account Variable 2 (AcctSeed__GL_Account_Variable_2__c). To cover GLAV3 or GLAV4, repeat the GLAV2 block pattern and update the field references accordingly.

Accounting Variable: The record object (AcctSeed__Accounting_Variable__c) that holds GLAV values. Accounting Seed uses “Accounting Variable” and “GL Account Variable” interchangeably. The records are Accounting Variables; the fields on the Journal Entry Line are GL Account Variables. Accounting Seed’s documentation primarily describes GLAVs in the context of Billings and Payables, where they can auto-populate from Account or Product records. Journal Entry Lines also carry GLAV fields but have no native auto-population mechanism, which is why this flow is needed.

Journal Entry Line (JEL): A line item on a Journal Entry (AcctSeed__Journal_Entry_Line__c). Merchant Funds Transfer Journal Entries are created automatically by AR Automation.

Step 1: Gather Your Information

Before opening Flow Builder, identify the GL Accounts and GL Account Variable values you need. Having these ready prevents stopping mid-build to look things up.

Quick Reference: You need the GL Account Variable field labels used in your org, the GL Account Names that appear on Merchant Funds Transfer Journal Entry Lines, and the Accounting Variable Names for each GLAV value you will assign. These are name-based. No record IDs required. Re-verify names for every environment (sandbox, production).

Find Your GLAV Field Labels

GL Account Variable field labels vary by org. Your org may call them Department, Division, Region, Territory, or something else. You need the label before you can find the fields in Flow Builder.

1. In Salesforce Setup, go to Object Manager.
2. Search for Journal Entry Line and open it.
3. Click Fields & Relationships.
4. Find GL Account Variable 1 and GL Account Variable 2 in the list and note their field labels.

Field	Label in Your Org
GL Account Variable 1	[e.g. Department, Division, Cost Center]
GL Account Variable 2	[e.g. Region, Territory, Location]

Identify Your GL Account Records

For each GL Account that appears on Merchant Funds Transfer Journal Entry Lines and should receive a GLAV assignment, record the GL Account Name and the GLAV values to apply. Fill in the table below using the labels from the step above. The examples use Administration and Sales as GL Account Names, Department as the GLAV1 label, and Region as the GLAV2 label. Replace these with your own values throughout.

GL Account Name	GLAV1 (Department)	GLAV2 (Region)	Notes
[GL Account Name]	[e.g. Administration]	[e.g. US East]
[GL Account Name]	[e.g. Administration]	[e.g. US West]
[GL Account Name]	[e.g. Sales]	[e.g. US East]
[GL Account Name]	[e.g. Sales]	[e.g. US West]

Tip: Exclude any GL Account lines already handled by existing automation. Only include lines that currently have blank GLAV fields.

Checkpoint: All bracketed values in the table above should be filled in with your actual values. If any are blank, find those values before opening Flow Builder.

Step 2: Build the Flow

Quick Reference: Record-Triggered Flow, Before Save, created only, no entry conditions. Get Records to fetch parent JE name, then two Decision + Get Records + Assignment blocks for GLAV1 and GLAV2.

Create the Flow

1. In Salesforce Setup, search for Flows in the Quick Find box and click Flows.
2. Click New Flow.
3. Select Record-Triggered Flow and click Create.
4. On the Configure Start panel, set the following:
   • Object: search for and select Journal Entry Line (AcctSeed__Journal_Entry_Line__c)
   • Trigger the Flow When: A record is created
   • Optimize the Flow for: Fast Field Updates
5. Under Set Entry Conditions, select None in the Condition Requirements dropdown.
6. Click Save.
7. In the Flow Label field, enter: Auto-Assign GLAV - Merchant Funds Transfer Journal Entry Lines (allow the Flow API Name to auto-populate).
8. In the Description field, enter: Assigns GL Account Variable 1 and GL Account Variable 2 on Journal Entry Lines created by AR Automation for Merchant Funds Transfer Journal Entries. Fires on record creation only. Values are only assigned when the field is blank.
9. Click Save on the Save the flow modal. Salesforce displays an error that the flow cannot be activated because nothing is connected to the Start element yet. This is expected.

Note: Do not set entry conditions on the Start node. Fast Field Updates (before-save) flows run before a record is written to the database, which means they cannot look up data on related records at the entry condition stage. The Merchant Funds Transfer filter is applied inside the flow in the next step instead.

Get the Parent Journal Entry

This element looks up the parent Journal Entry so the flow can check its name in the next step.

1. Click the + icon below the Start node on the canvas.
2. Select Get Records.
3. In the Label field, enter: Get Parent Journal Entry (allow the API Name to auto-populate as Get_Parent_Journal_Entry).
4. For Object, search for and select Journal Entry (AcctSeed__Journal_Entry__c).
5. Under Filter Journal Entry Records, set:
   • Field: Id
   • Operator: Equals
   • Value: Click the search box, then click Triggering AcctSeed__Journal_Entry_Line__c | Salesforce Object (may be truncated). Type Journal Entry and select the Journal Entry option with the Aa icon (not the clipboard icon with the arrow). The resulting value should read: {!$Record.AcctSeed__Journal_Entry__c}
6. Under How Many Records to Store: Only the First Record
7. Under How to Store Record Data: Automatically store all fields
8. Click Done.

 

Important: If the Get Records element finds no matching record (for example, if a Journal Entry Line is created without a parent Journal Entry reference), the flow continues with an empty result and GLAV fields remain blank. No error is thrown. If GLAV fields are left blank on lines that should have been assigned, verify that the parent Journal Entry record exists and is linked to the JEL, and that the filter Value is set to the Journal Entry lookup field on the JEL, not the triggering record itself. See Troubleshooting for more detail.

Checkpoint: You should see a Get Parent Journal Entry element on the canvas connected to the Start node.

Decision: Is This a Merchant Funds Transfer Journal Entry?

This step checks the parent Journal Entry name and exits early for Journal Entry Lines that are not part of a Merchant Funds Transfer Journal Entry.

1. Click the + icon below the Get Parent Journal Entry element.
2. Select Decision.
3. In the Label field, enter: Is this a Merchant Funds Transfer Journal Entry?
4. Leave the Default Outcome as-is. In the New Outcome, fill in:
   • Outcome Label: Yes - MFT
   • Outcome API Name: Yes_MFT (auto-populates)
   • Condition Requirements to Execute Outcome: All Conditions Are Met (AND)
   • Resource: Journal Entry from Get Parent Journal Entry > Journal Entry Name ({!Get_Parent_Journal_Entry.Name})
   • Operator: Contains
   • Value: Merchant Funds Transfer
5. On the canvas, click the + icon on the Default Outcome path and select End.

Note: The flow uses Contains rather than Equals because AR Automation appends additional information (such as a date or sequence number) to the Journal Entry Name. Contains matches any Journal Entry whose name includes the phrase “Merchant Funds Transfer” anywhere within it.

Checkpoint: You should see two paths branching from the Decision: Yes - MFT on the left, and Default Outcome on the right leading to End.

Decision: Assign GLAV1

This step checks each Journal Entry Line’s GL Account and routes to the correct GLAV1 assignment. Create one outcome for each GL Account in your table from Step 1.

1. Click the + icon on the Yes - MFT path and select Decision.
2. In the Label field, enter: Assign GLAV1 ([your GLAV1 label]) — replace the text in parentheses with your GLAV1 label from Step 1 (e.g. Assign GLAV1 (Department)).
3. Leave the Default Outcome as-is.
4. For each GL Account in your table, click + Outcome and fill in:
   • Outcome Label: [GL Account Name] GLAV1 (e.g. Administration GLAV1)
   • Outcome API Name: auto-populates
   • Condition Requirements to Execute Outcome: All Conditions Are Met (AND)
   • Condition 1: Match the GL Account
     • Resource: Triggering AcctSeed__Journal_Entry_Line__c > GL Account > GL Account Name
     • Operator: Equals
     • Value: [your GL Account Name]
   • Condition 2: Only assign if GLAV1 is blank
     • Resource: Triggering AcctSeed__Journal_Entry_Line__c > [your GLAV1 label]
     • Operator: Is Null
     • Value: True

Note: The Default Outcome requires no changes. Records that do not match any GL Account in this decision skip GLAV1 assignment and continue to the GLAV2 decision.

Get GLAV1

Add a Get Records element to each GLAV1 outcome path to retrieve the Accounting Variable record whose ID will be populated onto the Journal Entry Line in the next step.

If two GL Accounts map to the same GLAV1 value, you only need one Get Records element for that value. Build the Get Records element for the first outcome, then click + on the second outcome path and use Connect to Element to wire it to that same Get Records element. The same applies to the Assignment element after it.

1. Click the + icon below each GLAV1 outcome on the canvas and select Get Records.
2. In the Label field, enter: Get GLAV1 - [GL Account Name] (e.g. Get GLAV1 - Administration, Get GLAV1 - Sales). Each element must have a unique label.
3. For Object, search for and select Accounting Variable (AcctSeed__Accounting_Variable__c).
4. Under Filter Accounting Variable Records, set two conditions:
   • Condition 1:
     • Field: Accounting Variable Name
     • Operator: Equals
     • Value: [Accounting Variable name from your table in Step 1]
   • Condition 2:
     • Field: Type
     • Operator: Equals
     • Value: GL Account Variable 1
5. Under How Many Records to Store: Only the First Record
6. Under How to Store Record Data: Automatically store all fields
7. Click Done. Repeat for each GLAV1 outcome, updating the Accounting Variable Name value for each element.

Note: The Type field value (GL Account Variable 1) is a picklist that ships with the Accounting Seed package. If your org has customized it, the value may differ. Open an Accounting Variable record in your org, locate the Type field, and copy the exact value (including capitalization and spacing) before entering it here.

Assign GLAV1

Add an Assignment element after each Get GLAV1 element to stamp the retrieved Accounting Variable’s ID onto the Journal Entry Line’s GLAV1 field.

1. Click the + icon below each Get GLAV1 element and select Assignment.
2. In the Label field, enter: Assign GLAV1 - [GL Account Name] (e.g. Assign GLAV1 - Administration). If one Assignment element covers multiple GL Accounts sharing a GLAV1 value, name it after the shared value instead.
3. Under Set Variable Values:
   • Variable: Triggering AcctSeed__Journal_Entry_Line__c > [your GLAV1 label]
   • Operator: Equals
   • Value: Accounting Variable from Get GLAV1 - [GL Account Name] > Record ID
4. Click Done. Repeat for each GLAV1 outcome.

Checkpoint: You should see the GLAV1 Decision branching into multiple outcome paths. Each path flows through a Get GLAV1 element then an Assignment element. The Default Outcome path has no additional elements yet.

Decision: Assign GLAV2

All paths from the GLAV1 block (every Assignment element and the Default Outcome) must connect into the GLAV2 Decision. Connect everything to an End element first, then copy the GLAV1 Decision and replace those End connections.

1. Click the + below each Assignment element from the GLAV1 block and select End. Do the same for the Default Outcome path.
2. Hover over the Assign GLAV1 Decision element, click the three-dot menu (···), and click Copy Element.
3. Click the + before the End element you just connected everything to and click Paste 1 Element.
4. Open the copied Decision. Update the Label to: Assign GLAV2 ([your GLAV2 label]).
5. For each outcome in the copied Decision, update:
   • Outcome Label: change GLAV1 to GLAV2 (e.g. Administration GLAV2, Sales GLAV2).
   • Condition 1 Value: no change needed. The GL Account Name carries over correctly from the copy.
   • Condition 2 Resource: Change from your GLAV1 field to your GLAV2 field. Select Triggering AcctSeed__Journal_Entry_Line__c, then search and select your GLAV2 label (e.g. Region). Search by label name, not API name.
6. Leave the Default Outcome as-is.

Important: Condition 2 on the copied GLAV2 Decision still points to your GLAV1 field after pasting. This is the most common copy error. You must update it to your GLAV2 field or GLAV2 will never be assigned. Use the tooltip to verify the resource reads your GLAV2 label, not GLAV1.

If all your GL Accounts map to the same GLAV2 value, you can collapse the GLAV2 Decision to a single outcome:

1. Delete extra outcomes until only two remain: one non-Default outcome and the Default Outcome.
2. In the non-Default outcome, add one Condition row per GL Account (GL Account Name Equals [name]).
3. Add a final Condition row: [your GLAV2 field] Is Null True.
4. Change Condition Requirements to Execute Outcome to: Custom Condition Logic Is Met.
5. In the Condition Logic field, enter: (1 or 2 or 3) and 4, where 1, 2, 3 are your GL Account Name conditions and 4 is the null check. Adjust the numbers to match how many GL Account conditions you have.

Note: When you connect two outcome paths to the same Get Records element, the downstream Assignment element is shared automatically. Any path that reaches that Get Records element continues through the same Assignment element that follows it.

If your GL Accounts map to different GLAV2 values, keep separate outcomes per GL Account exactly as in GLAV1. Each outcome uses its own GL Account Name condition and null check, set to All Conditions Are Met (AND).

Get GLAV2 and Assign GLAV2

Follow the same pattern as Get GLAV1 and Assign GLAV1. You can copy those elements and update them.

Get GLAV2:

1. Click the + on each GLAV2 outcome path and select Get Records (or paste a copied Get GLAV1 element).
2. In the Label field, enter: Get GLAV2 - [GL Account Name] (e.g. Get GLAV2 - Administration). Each label must be unique.
3. Confirm Object is Accounting Variable (AcctSeed__Accounting_Variable__c).
4. Update the filter conditions:
   • Condition 1: Field = Accounting Variable Name, Operator = Equals, Value = [your GLAV2 Accounting Variable name from Step 1]
   • Condition 2: Field = Type, Operator = Equals, Value = GL Account Variable 2
5. Under How Many Records to Store: Only the First Record
6. Under How to Store Record Data: Automatically store all fields
7. Click Done. Repeat for each GLAV2 outcome.

Assign GLAV2:

1. Click the + below each Get GLAV2 element and select Assignment (or paste a copied Assign GLAV1 element).
2. In the Label field, enter: Assign GLAV2 - [GL Account Name] (e.g. Assign GLAV2 - Administration).
3. Under Set Variable Values:
   • Variable: Search for your GLAV2 label. Confirm the tooltip reads: Triggering AcctSeed__Journal_Entry_Line__c > [your GLAV2 label].
   • Operator: Equals
   • Value: Accounting Variable from Get GLAV2 - [GL Account Name] > Record ID
4. Click Done.
5. Click + below each Assignment element and the Default Outcome and connect all paths to End.

Final Canvas Check

Before saving and activating, confirm all paths are connected. Any dangling (unconnected) path prevents activation. Connect it to End.

• ☐ Start node: trigger is A record is created, optimized for Fast Field Updates, no entry conditions
• ☐ Get Parent Journal Entry connected to Start
• ☐ MFT Decision Default Outcome path leads to End
• ☐ All GLAV1 paths (Get Records, Assignment, and Default) connect into the GLAV2 Decision
• ☐ All GLAV2 paths (Get Records, Assignment, and Default) connect to End
• ☐ No paths are left dangling

Note: This flow runs multiple database lookups for every Journal Entry Line that enters it. Salesforce limits each transaction to 100 database queries. Under normal conditions this flow runs well within that limit. If AR Automation creates a large number of Journal Entry Lines in a single operation, you may see a flow error: “Too many SOQL queries: 101.” If this occurs, add an entry condition on the Start node to filter only the specific GL Accounts handled by this flow. If the error persists, contact Accounting Seed Support. This scenario may require a different automation approach such as an Apex trigger or batch class.

1. Click Save.
2. Click Activate.

Note: If Salesforce displays errors when you activate, see the Troubleshooting section before making changes.

Step 3: Test the Flow

Quick Reference: Debug with the Created trigger and rollback mode unchecked. Then run a live test with a real Merchant Funds Transfer Journal Entry creation.

Debug in Flow Builder

1. With the flow open in Flow Builder, click Debug in the top right.
2. Set Run the Flow As If the Record Is: Created.
3. In the record field, paste the record ID of a Journal Entry Line from an existing Merchant Funds Transfer Journal Entry in your sandbox. To find a record ID, open the Journal Entry, navigate to a Journal Entry Line, and copy the 18-character ID from the URL.
4. Uncheck Run automation in rollback mode.
5. Click Run.
6. Review the debug output and confirm:
   • The MFT Decision shows the Yes - MFT outcome was executed.
   • The correct GLAV1 and GLAV2 outcomes fired for the GL Account on that JEL.
   • The Get Records elements retrieved the expected Accounting Variable records.
   • The Assignment elements show the correct record IDs being stamped onto the JEL.

Tip: If rollback mode is checked, the flow runs correctly but nothing saves to the record. Values do not appear on the JEL even if the flow ran successfully. Always uncheck it for your final test.

Live Test

1. Trigger AR Automation to create a new Merchant Funds Transfer Journal Entry in your sandbox.
2. Open the resulting Journal Entry Lines.
3. Confirm the GLAV1 and GLAV2 fields are populated on the lines included in your flow.
4. Confirm any excluded lines are unchanged.

Step 4: Deploy to Production

Once tested in sandbox, deploy to production. Because this flow matches records by name rather than by record ID, it is fully portable. Verify that GL Account names and Accounting Variable names are identical between environments before activating.

Quick Reference: Deploy via Change Set or recreate in production. No record IDs to swap. Verify that GL Account names and Accounting Variable names match between environments before activating.

Item	Verified
GL Account Names verified in production	☐
GLAV1 Accounting Variable Names verified in production	☐
GLAV2 Accounting Variable Names verified in production	☐
All Decision outcome values and Get Records filter values updated if names differ between environments	☐
Flow tested in production before announcing to users	☐
Flow activated in production	☐

Note: Add a row to the table above for each unique GL Account and GLAV in your implementation. If any name differs between environments, update the corresponding condition value or filter value in the flow before activating.

Troubleshooting

If something is not working, find your symptom below.

Symptom	What to Do
Flow does not fire at all	Confirm the flow is Activated (not Draft). Confirm the trigger is set to A record is created.
Activation error: ‘$Record can’t be a SObject’	Open the Get Parent Journal Entry element. The filter Value is set to $Record itself. Change it to $Record > AcctSeed__Journal_Entry__c (the specific lookup field on the JEL).
Activation error: ‘Invalid condition logic — filter conditions defined but not referenced’	Your custom condition logic formula references the wrong condition number for the null check. Count your conditions top to bottom and confirm the AND condition number matches the null check row. Example: 3 GL Account conditions + null check as condition 4 = (1 or 2 or 3) and 4.
Flow fires but no GLAV values are assigned	Confirm Condition Requirements to Execute Outcome is set to All Conditions Are Met (AND) on every outcome. Confirm the Is Null condition checks the correct GLAV field for each outcome.
MFT Decision takes Default path, flow exits early	Open the parent Journal Entry record and confirm its Name field contains ‘Merchant Funds Transfer.’ Confirm the Get Records filter Value is set to $Record > AcctSeed__Journal_Entry__c, and the Decision resource is Get_Parent_Journal_Entry > Name.
GLAV1 populates but GLAV2 does not	Check three things: (1) All GLAV1 paths including Default connect into the GLAV2 Decision. (2) GLAV2 Get Records elements filter by GL Account Variable 2, not GL Account Variable 1. Check the Type field. (3) GLAV2 Assignment elements point to your GLAV2 field, not GLAV1. Verify using the tooltip.
Get Records returns no records, GLAV field stays blank	The Accounting Variable Name in your Get Records filter does not exactly match the record name in your org. Open the Accounting Variable record in Salesforce and copy the exact name, including capitalization and spacing.
Debug runs correctly but values do not appear on the record	‘Run automation in rollback mode’ is checked. Uncheck it and run debug again.
Existing GLAV values are being overwritten	The null check condition is missing or misconfigured. Confirm Condition 2 is [GLAV field] Is Null True on every outcome in both Decision elements.

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