Help Center

Xero data sync settings (Advanced)

When you first connect Xero to CRM, all your sync settings will be set to Manual by default. You will then need to amend them to appropriately push data between the systems.

If you haven’t connected Xero yet, please view the connection instructions.

How data syncing works

Who does what?

Xero has 2 key functions: accounting & compliance.
CRM should be used as your master system day-to-day where you enter sales, purchases, perform stocktakes, manage your stock, manufacture products, track your sales pipeline, centralise marketing and manage your customers and suppliers.

We then sync all that data OUT (export) from CRM to Xero so that it has enough information to complete its key functions of accounting & compliance.
We also sync IN (import) data from Xero that CRM needs e.g. payments so they can be matched to invoices.

Important

We strongly recommend that you do not perform some activities in CRM, some in Xero and then try to sync stock levels between the systems.

You should perform all your key operations in CRM and then sync the information out to Xero.

So that we can guide you through any potential impacts on your data, please contact us at [email protected] with any queries that you have, or if you feel you may want to apply a custom configuration to your sync settings.

Sync settings page

There are 4 tabs on the sync settings page, as follows.

Note that if you cannot see the Advanced Configuration tab, it means that your system is set to automatically sync data in real time – see this guide for more information.

See also:

Data can be synced in the following directions:

EXPORT means from Xero to CRM.
IMPORT means from CRM to Xero.

Data can be synced on the following basis:

Manual – data isn’t synced until someone deliberately presses a button on a specific record to sync it to Xero.
Automatic – once a record has been synced with Xero for the first time, it will automatically be synced with Xero when any changes are made to it in future.
Scheduled – you can determine days and times when data will automatically sync between systems.

When you connect Xero to CRM, all your data sync settings are set to Manual by default.

Data can be synced in the following ways:

From the Xero integration page in CRM

1. You can set a Manual, Automatic or Scheduled sync for different data types from this page.

Selecting a sync setting

Example of a Scheduled sync configuration

2. You can also perform a bulk export or import for selected data types from this page.

Note that this option is not available for all types of data i.e. the Import or Export options may not show if this is the case.

3. You can also use the Import All option at the top of the page – this imports data IN from Xero to CRM.

Be warned that if you use this option, it may cause data you’ve edited in CRM to be overwritten as it will import ALL data from Xero into CRM again.

From a record

1. Press the Create button to sync a record to Xero manually.

2. If a record has previously been synced with Xero, you can see the existing sync details.

3. Click on the Xero logo to reveal the options to Import or Export the record.

How to correctly configure your data sync settings

1. Link your Xero accounts for stocktakes and adjustments in CRM.

You need to select 4 accounts here – these dropdown lists are populated with accounts from Xero.

Account For Stock Adjustments: select the correct account in Xero for stock adjustments in made in CRM to be posted to when they are synced OUT to Xero.
Bank Account For Supplier Payments: when you create a Stocktake in CRM and then push this OUT to Xero, a supplier bill is created for products that have increased in quantity; an account needs to be nominated for this purpose.
Bank Account For Supplier Refunds: when you create a Stocktake in CRM and then push this OUT to Xero, a credit note is created for products that have had the quantity reduced; an account needs to be nominated for this purpose.
Purchase GL Code for ESB Product: Receipting goods on a Purchase Order is handled by an Estimated Supplier Bill (ESB), which is a temporary bill. The estimated bill is then replaced by the actual SB when it syncs – this will stop inventory & costs getting mucked up in your accounting system. If there are no GL codes available to select, you will need to create one in your accounting system.

To learn how to configure these accounts in Xero for selection in CRM, see our guide on setting up bank accounts for stock movements.

2. Make a selection for the following 3 sync preference settings.

Lock invoices when transferred to Xero: we recommend that you tick this box, which will mean that once an Invoice is sent to Xero, it cannot be altered. Altering Invoices in Xero once they have been finalised in CRM could cause potential issues between the systems.

Rather than amending or deleting an Invoice, we recommend that you use a Credit Note and then re-issue the Invoice.

Sync Inventory with Xero: For new connections, you cannot select to ‘not sync’ inventory with Xero. For existing connections, once this option is selected to sync inventory, it cannot be turned off and will no longer be visible.
Sync Invoice Item Descriptions: this setting is optional and if enabled, means that as well as the item name, quantity and price, the item description will also be synced from CRM to Xero. Following is an example of the item description box in edit mode on an Invoice.

3. Following is how we recommend you set up your data sync settings with Xero in CRM.

Data Type	Recommended Sync Setting	Notes
Company	Automatic EXPORT Manual IMPORT	When you sync a sale or purchase to Xero, the customer/supplier record will be synced along with it. Then, if updates are made to the Company record in CRM, those changes will be automatically synced to Xero. In this way you can keep Xero ‘clean’ by only syncing over records for companies you do business with, as other records serve no accounting purpose.
Contact	Automatic EXPORT Manual IMPORT	When you sync a sale or purchase to Xero, the customer/supplier record will be synced along with it. Then, if updates are made to the Contact record in CRM, those changes will be automatically synced to Xero. In this way you can keep Xero ‘clean’ by only syncing over records for people you do business with, as other records serve no accounting purpose.
Product	Manual IN & OUT	When you sync a sale or purchase to Xero from CRM, the product record/ss will be synced along with it. For this reason, you can leave the sync setting as Manual. You can also bulk import/export product records between systems.
Quote	Manual IMPORT & EXPORT	Xero doesn’t want or need your quotes; as potential sales, they don’t affect your stock or bottom line.
Invoice	Scheduled EXPORT Daily Manual IMPORT	Invoices in CRM reduce your stock level and we want to sync these OUT daily so that stock can be reduced accordingly in Xero. There should be no new invoices created in Xero, so the IN sync setting can be left as Manual. Note that Credit Notes are not currently available for scheduled sync and need to be exported manually for now.
Credit Note	Manual IMPORT	Note that Credit Notes are not currently available for scheduled sync OUT and need to be exported manually for now.
Payment	Scheduled IMPORT Daily If you have a payment gateway integrated, you will need to set up Scheduled EXPORT Daily as well. You should the scheduled syncs to run at least 5 minutes after your Invoices are scheduled to sync.	You will continue processing payments in Xero, and we will pull these IN to CRM each day to be matched up with invoices. If you are also using a payment gateway integration with CRM, we will also want to push these payments OUT to Xero each day.
Stock Level	Manual IMPORT	When you initially connect Xero, your stock level will be brought into CRM, which you will then be using as your master system for stock, sales & purchasing. As you sync your invoices and bills from CRM to Xero, your stock level in Xero will be updated to match CRM. For this reason, you can leave the sync setting here as Manual. You should also note that pulling in your stock level from Xero to CRM will overwrite your stock position and potentially cause issues.
Stock Adjustment	Manual IMPORT & EXPORT	It is important that you have completed step #1 and linked your Xero account for stock adjustments before you sync any data to Xero, otherwise the sync will fail. When you need to sync adjustments OUT to Xero, you should do a bulk export.
Purchase Order & Supplier Bill	N/A	We recommend that you manually export your Supplier Bills to CRM as you confirm receipt of goods. When you manually export a Supplier Bill to Xero, the associated Purchase Order is automatically pulled through to Xero as well, so you don’t need to export these manually. The following Status of a Supplier Bill in CRM will equal the status of the bill record in Xero once the exported record has been received: ‘Entered’ in CRM = ‘Draft’ in Xero, ‘Generated’ in CRM = ‘Submitted’ in Xero, ‘Cancelled’ in CRM = ‘Deleted’ in Xero, All other statuses are exported as ‘Authorised’ in Xero.
Stocktakes & Transfers	Manual EXPORT	This relates to Stocktakes, Stock Transfers done in CRM, which can be manually synced OUT to Xero from the record. It is important that you have completed step #1 and linked your Xero accounts for stocktakes before you sync any data to Xero, otherwise the sync will fail.
Work Order	Scheduled EXPORT Daily (If applicable) You should the scheduled syncs to run at least 5 minutes after your Payments are scheduled to sync.	You only need to configure this setting if you are using Manufacturing in CRM as this will push your Work Order stock movements OUT to Xero.
GL Code	Manual IMPORT	If you create new GL codes in Xero, you can use this area to do a bulk import of them into CRM. Otherwise, this setting can remain Manual.

How to set up a Scheduled sync

Select the data type you want to establish the sync for and then choose the IN or OUT setting and click the dropdown list, then select Scheduled.

Changing a sync type to Scheduled

Then click on the text next to the sync direction indicator to open up the schedule configuration.

In here, select the desired options and then click on Close to apply the changes.

Following is an example of a daily schedule configuration that is set to run:

On all days the business is operational (Monday to Friday).
Once per day.
After-hours (business hours are 9am to 5pm) the sync will run at 6.30pm so it captures all the activity from the day and pushes it to Xero.

Notes:

We recommend that you set your sync schedule to run no more than Once Per Day and select a time that is outside of your normal business hours. This is because the import/export processes heavily consume system resources and will slow down your CRM performance if they are frequently running in the background throughout the day.
Where you have several types of data that needs to be synced on a schedule daily, you should leave a gap of a few minutes between each data type to give the sync time to complete before it moves on to the next data type.

How to know when data has been synced with Xero

From a record

If a record has previously been synced with Xero, you can see the existing sync details on the record, next to the Xero logo.

From List View

Every record in CRM that can be synced with Xero has fields for Last Accounting Import Date and Last Accounting Export Date.

You can quickly see when records have synced (in either direction) by adding these columns to your view and then use a Filter to search the contents.

From the sync settings page

For each data type you can see the last time it was imported or exported by looking at the relevant area on the sync settings page.

How to know what data is synced with Xero

From List View

Every record in CRM that can be synced with Xero has a field for Accounting Code – if there is a value in this field, it means the record is synced with your accounting system, if it is empty, it is not synced.

You can quickly see which records have synced by adding this column to your view and then use a Filter to search the contents.

From a record

If the Create button shows on the record, this means it has NOT been synced with Xero.

If a record has previously been synced with Xero, you can see the existing sync details, instead of the Create button.

How to sync data in bulk with Xero (import/export)

You can perform a bulk export of data IN or OUT for selected data types from the sync settings page – just click on the Xero logo to reveal the options to Import or Export.

Note that this option is not available for all types of data i.e. the Import or Export options may not show if this is the case.

Example of bulk import/export options in data sync settings

Only press the import or export button ONCE. Pressing the button multiple times will queue multiple syncs to be executed.

How to prevent records from syncing with Xero

On records that can be synced with Xero, there are checkboxes you can use to prevent the record being imported or exported with Xero.

Once the checkbox has been enabled, another box called Reason will display which lets you add in optional notes about why the record shouldn’t be synced.

Do not sync fields on an Invoice

You can also add all 4 columns to List View so that you can quickly see which records are prevented from syncing and why.

How your stock level is synced between systems

Even though your Stock Level is not being explicitly synced on a schedule via your sync settings page, stock is kept up to date in both systems in the following manner.

If you are using CRM correctly as your master system, you’ll be creating the following records, which are then synced OUT to Xero:

Your Invoices should be syncing OUT to Xero on a daily basis, thus reducing stock for items in Xero.
Your Supplier Bills should be being synced OUT to Xero as goods are received, increasing stock for items in Xero.
You should be syncing Work Orders OUT to Xero on a daily basis (if you are using them in CRM) so that Xero can decrease stock levels for your input products and increase stock levels for your output products in Xero.
You should bulk export OUT any Stock Adjustments from CRM so that the same adjustments can be made in Xero.
Stocktakes and Stock Transfers done in CRM should be manually synced out to Xero so the same amendments can be made there.

Your stock levels in the CRM will always be correct because CRM is tracking your ‘Tracked Stock’ in real-time items by:

Reducing stock when an item is on an Invoice.
Increasing stock when you receipt items on a Purchase Order.
Reducing your input product stock and increasing your output product stock when you complete a Work Order.
Appropriately increasing or decreasing stock on Stocktakes.
Appropriately adjusting stock when manual Stock Adjustments are input.
Increasing or decreasing stock at Locations, as per your Stock Transfers.

Sync troubleshooting

Please see our guide on Accounting Integration Errors.

Reauthorise your connection with Xero

There may be instances where you need to reconnect Xero with CRM e.g. if your Xero password changes.

Click on the Re-authorise button and you will be prompted to enter your Xero credentials again and refresh the connection with CRM.

Disconnecting Xero

If you want to disconnect your Xero datafile from CRM, just click on the Disconnect button at the top of the sync page.

All data that has previously synced between systems will remain unaffected.

First Name*:
Last Name*:
Email1*:
Phone (Work)*:
Is there anything else we can help you with: