Jira sync FAQ
This FAQ covers common questions about JIRA sync behavior, including when JIRA changes don’t appear in NeoTax, how to handle QA work, and what “orphan tickets” are.
Why don’t my JIRA changes appear in NeoTax?
The Core Principle
NeoTax intentionally locks project names and parent structures once synced. This is to protect accounting accuracy—preventing changes to capitalization in prior periods after books are closed.
What Won’t Auto-Update
| Change in JIRA | What NeoTax does |
|---|---|
| Renamed an Epic or Initiative | Keeps the original name |
| Moved a ticket to a different Epic | Keeps it in the original Epic’s project |
| Moved an Epic to a different Initiative | Keeps it in the original project |
| Changed capitalization custom field | Does NOT change capitalization status in NeoTax |
| Changed ticket assignee | Updates only for current/future periods |
How to Align NeoTax with JIRA
If you need NeoTax to reflect your JIRA changes:
- To change a project name: Edit directly in NeoTax (Project drawer → click project name)
- To move tickets: Use the Tickets tab in the project drawer → Select tickets → Move
- To change capitalization status: Edit in NeoTax Project drawer → Capitalization section
See: Managing Tickets with JIRA Hierarchy Sync
How do I handle QA and changing ticket assignees?
The Question
“In our process, QAs are assigned to tickets after engineering finalizes them. Does the sync take the first assignee or the assignee at the moment of sync?”
The Answer
NeoTax captures the assignee at the time of each sync. If the assignee changes between syncs, the new assignee will get credit for work in subsequent periods.
Best Practice: Use Subtasks for QA
To properly attribute QA work separately from engineering work:
- Create a subtask for QA work under the main ticket
- Assign the subtask to the QA engineer
- The QA subtask will be tracked separately from the parent ticket
This ensures:
- Engineering time is attributed to the engineer
- QA time is attributed to the QA person
- Both contribute to the same project’s effort
What is the “No Parent” or orphan ticket project?
What It Is
When tickets don’t have an Epic parent in JIRA, NeoTax groups them into a special project for that JIRA team/board. This is sometimes called the “orphan ticket” project.
How to Identify It
- Project name is longer and in a descriptive form like “X Enhancements and Integration Initiative”
- In the Tickets tab, you’ll see only “No Parent” at the top (no Epic listed)
Example
If you see a project called “Car Insurance Lead Form and Error Handling System” but can’t find it in JIRA, it’s likely NeoTax’s project for all orphan tickets from that JIRA board.
What to Do
If these tickets should be in an Epic:
- Open the project in NeoTax
- Go to Tickets tab
- Select the orphan tickets
- Move them to the appropriate Epic’s project
How do I find where tickets were moved?
Using the ASC Downloads Report
If you accidentally moved tickets and need to find them:
- Go to ASC Downloads page
- Download the report
- Open the Ticketing sheet
- Search by Ticket ID
- The report shows which project each ticket is assigned to
This is useful for:
- Tracking where tickets ended up after bulk moves
- Auditing ticket assignments
- Finding specific tickets by JIRA ID
How do I see the JIRA ID for a project?
If you need to find what JIRA Epic/Initiative a NeoTax project represents:
- Open the Project drawer
- Go to the Tickets tab
- The top-level object shows the Epic ID
- Click on any ticket to open it directly in JIRA
Why is my Epic name truncated?
What Happens
Some users noticed prefixes being removed from Epic names (e.g., “LP - App - Authentication” became “Authentication”).
Why
Project names in NeoTax are set when the Epic is first synced. If JIRA displayed a shortened version at that time, that’s what NeoTax captured.
Solution
You can manually update the project name in NeoTax:
- Open Project drawer
- Click the project name to edit
- Enter the full name with prefix