How to connect with Xero

Connecting with Xero will allow you to:

  1. Share customer information with Xero.
  2. Share supplier information with Xero.
  3. Send Purchase Order receipts straight to Xero Accounts Payable.
  4. Send Sales straight to Xero Accounts Receivable.
  5. Adjust stock on hand (current asset account) and cost of goods sold (direct cost account) in Xero.
  6. Specify branding for Xero Invoices.

Preparing to connect with Xero

TidyStock can connect with specific materials/freight accounts in Xero to help you better manage your business. If you have not done so already, we recommend creating the following accounts in your Xero Chart of Accounts:

  • Sales - Materials (Revenue Account)
  • Expenses - Materials (Expense Account)
  • Sales - Freight (Revenue Account)
  • Expenses - Freight (Expense Account)
  • Cost of Goods Sold (Expense Direct cost Account)
  • Stock Adjustments (Direct cost Account)
  • Stock on Hand (Current Asset Account)

The names of these accounts are only suggestions, so feel free to use whatever naming convention you are comfortable with. If you have already been using Xero or another inventory system to track inventory and already have comparable accounts set up, you can continue using those.

Creating the Connection

To connect with your Xero account, go to GLOBAL SETTINGS > Xero (Display name: Accounting)> XERO SETUP, click Connect to Xero. You will be prompted to supply your Xero login credentials. You will be automatically returned to TidyStock, to continue configuring your connection.
Note: Once you have established the initial connection to Xero, you should not need to repeat the authentication process on the same computer for at least one year.

General Tab

Once Xero is authenticated (connected), select Xero Revenue Accounts (from the drop-down list). Select the Xero Expense Account to map expensed items. Next, define the Xero current Asset Account for Stock on Hand, and the Xero Expense Account for Cost of Goods Sold and Stock Adjustments.

Enable Advanced Mappings - By enabling this option, you will be able to assign specific account mappings for particular Material Categories. Read Global settings - Materials categories - Add or edit material categories.

Auto-approval - By activating these options, Purchase Orders, Sales Invoices, Sales Journal, and Stock Journal Invoices sent to Xero are automatically approved. If approval options are unchecked, these items will appear in Xero as a Draft document.

Note:

  1. Sale Invoices are returned as pdf documents to Tidy. If auto approval is not activated, the invoice is titled Draft Invoice. This means that the approved invoice, usually titled Tax Invoice will have to be sent to the customer from Xero, not Tidy
  2. When selecting Xero accounts from drop-down lists, be aware that drop-down lists, as returned by Xero, also display archived Xero accounts. Take care not to select an archived account

Tax Rates Tab

The Tax Rates tab allows you to identify the mapping between Tax Rates in TidyStock and Xero. Creating Tax Rates can be found in Global settings - Sales tax.

Tracking Tab

If Tracking has been set up in Xero, tracking can be used in TidyStock for purchase order and Sales, for instance to add information like Region and Customer Type.

Click Update Tracking Categories to import these categories. Click SAVE.

Branding Tab

Xero can configure multiple branding themes for Xero system documents like invoices. Consult Xero help files for instructions on how to configure custom documents.

To link to Xero branding themes to apply to sales invoices, click Update Branding Themes. Click SAVE.