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Livestock Production

This article covers a number of frequently asked questions of interest to those running a livestock operation.

Doireann Mulhall avatar
Written by Doireann Mulhall
Updated today

Livestock Production:

Q: I'm trying to add my livestock sale and purchase accounts to the tracker, but they're not showing up as options. Why can't I see them?

Answer

The reason you can't see your sale or purchase accounts in the tracker is likely because they're set up as the wrong account type in your accounting software. For Figured to pick them up correctly, they need to be mapped as follows:

Sales accounts should be set up as Revenue

Purchase accounts should be set up as Direct Costs.

A common mistake we see is livestock purchase accounts being set up as an Expense — unfortunately Figured won't recognise them if they're categorised that way. If you jump into your accounting software and update the account types, they should appear in your tracker straight away.

Q: Can we edit or customise stock class names?

Answer

Currently, you cannot customise or edit the stock class names. If you have any particular stock class that you track that is not yet in Figured please let us know as we collect additional data.

Q: Should I be entering my livestock quantities in my accounting software, or can I just add them in Figured?

Answer

We'd strongly recommend it! Figured uses the quantities from your accounting software to auto-reconcile livestock and crop production. Entering quantities in your line items saves you hours later — when those transactions pull through to Figured, reconciliation becomes quick and seamless.

Q: What about weights? I can't add average weight info in my accounting software — do I have to update each line manually in Figured?

Answer

Yes, weights do need to be added directly in Figured, as this is what builds out your $/kg values. A handy tip though — pop your weight reference data into the description field in your accounting software. This will pull through to the notes in Figured, making it easy to update each line without having to go hunting for the information.

Q: Why can't I edit my livestock forecast in the planning grid?

Answer

Once you set up your livestock trackers in the production module, the associated accounts (e.g. livestock sales and purchases) become greyed out in the planning grid. This is intentional — your forecasting for these accounts is now managed directly within the trackers, where you can add more detail such as quantity, $/head, weights, and other key metrics rather than just a total dollar value. Figured calculates the totals and automatically flows the data through to your planning grid and cash flow. All production forecasting for both sales and purchases must be done in the trackers from this point forward.

Q: I only run a single livestock sale and purchase account in my accounting software — can I still track more detail across multiple stock classes in Figured?

Answer

Yes — you can map multiple stock class trackers in Figured to the same sale or purchase account in your accounting software. This means you can track detailed information across different stock classes (e.g. ewes, lambs, wethers) in Figured, while keeping your Chart of Accounts in Xero/MYOB simple. Figured will handle the breakdown at a stock class level for your production and profitability reporting.

A key tip here is to make good use of the notes/description field in your accounting software transactions, noting which stock class each sale or purchase relates to. This information will pull through to Figured, making it much easier to identify and import each transaction to the correct stock class tracker.

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Q: If I start with a single stock class in Figured, can I add more detail later or does my setup need to stay the same?

Answer

You can absolutely add more detail over time — your setup doesn't need to stay the same. Many users start with a single stock class to get comfortable with the system, then add additional stock classes as they want more granular reporting. You can add new stock classes at any stage and begin importing transactions to them going forward.

Q: If you sell different classes of stock on the same invoice (e.g. ewes and wethers), can you split the invoice on the tracker?

Answer

Yes — you can split a single invoice across different stock classes within the tracker. The key is to enter the ewes and wethers as separate line items in Xero/MYOB, even if they both sit against the same sales account. For example:

Line 1: 50 Ewes @ $100 = $5,000

Line 2: 30 Wethers @ $80 = $2,400

Total Invoice: $7,400

Then in Figured, go to each stock class individually, click Import from Xero/MYOB, and select only the relevant line item from that invoice. This pulls the correct dollar amount and quantity into each stock class, keeping your tracker accurate even though it was all on one invoice.

Q: If you've entered data using Dynamic Mode, is there a way to tell on the planning grid that it will automatically update as you make changes?

Answer

Yes — when an account is set to Dynamic Mode, a lightning bolt icon (⚡) will appear next to the account name on the planning grid. This is your visual indicator that the account is being dynamically forecasted and will automatically update its values if changes are made to the underlying data it's linked to, such as your livestock tracker numbers or crop hectares.

Q: Can I move livestock from one tracker to another (e.g. from a breeding tracker to a trading tracker)?

Answer

Yes — if you have two trackers of the same stock type (e.g. two sheep trackers), you'll see Transfer In and Transfer Out options within each tracker. Use these to move stock quantities between your trackers, keeping your numbers accurate across both.

Q: Does it affect cash flow in Figured when you transfer stock with a dollar figure, even though no money is actually moving?

Answer

No — a stock transfer is treated as a non-cash transaction in Figured, so it won't appear in your cash flow reporting. The purpose of adding a dollar value to a transfer is purely for profitability reporting. It moves the value of the animals from one enterprise (e.g. Breeding) to another (e.g. Trading), giving you a more accurate gross margin for each enterprise by reflecting the cost of the stock transferred in.

Q: I've been recording my livestock selling expenses — like cartage and commission — in the same account as my livestock sales. Is that okay?

Answer

Unfortunately not — this is one that catches a lot of people out! When selling expenses are mixed into your sales account, it causes issues with the Livestock Tracker in Figured and makes reconciliation tricky. We'd recommend splitting those selling expenses out into their own expense account(s). This keeps your sales figures clean and means you'll get smooth one-click reconciliations in Figured.

Q: Does Figured integrate with any farm management software (e.g. AgriWebb)?

Answer

We currently have an AgriWebb integration in development. For now, we'd recommend getting started with setting up Figured and your trackers without it — once the integration is available, we can link it in later.

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