Add-on: Xero

1. Key information before you start
2. Add-on features
3. Step-by-step setup guide
4. Map account codes and tax rates
5. Configure payment methods
6. Inclusive Vs exclusive tax
7. Site tracking (optional)
8. Successful invoice sync example
9. Viewing payments
10. Troubleshooting common errors
11. Limitations

The Xero Add-on allows seamless integration of your Storeganise instance with your Xero business account, simplifying financial management. This guide will help you set up the integration, configure settings correctly, verify that everything is working, and troubleshoot any errors.

Key information before you start

• Supported users: Only available for self-storage operators.
• One-to-one linking:
  • All sites in a Storeganise instance link to the same Xero account.
  • Multiple Storeganise businesses can use the same Xero account ID.
  • The Add-on can be installed either on a site-specific basis or at the business level.
• One-way sync: Payments, invoices, and contacts sync from Storeganise to Xero, but not the other way around.

Add-on features

• Invoice syncing
  • Synchronises sent, paid, failed, and credit note invoices.
  • Does not synchronise draft invoices or invoices created before the Add-on was enabled.
• Payments
  • Payments in Storeganise synchronise to Xero's payment view (not the invoice view).
  • Both manual and automatic payments are supported.
• Tax configuration
  • Tax settings (inclusive/exclusive) in Storeganise must match those in Xero.
  • Syncs Tax rates for line items
• Fallback for unmapped data
  • Line items without account codes are assigned to the default account code set in the Add-on settings.
  • Payments without mapped payment methods use the default payment account code set in the Add-on settings.
• Contacts
  • Invoice-related contacts in Storeganise automatically synchronise to Xero.
• Credit notes
  • Negative invoices in Storeganise synchronise to Xero as credit notes.
• Synchronisation frequency
  • Synchronises automatically when a new, non-draft invoice is generated in Storeganise
• Limitations
  • Changes to paid invoices in Storeganise (e.g., reverting to draft) are not reflected in Xero.
  • No two-way syncing; data flows only from Storeganise to Xero.

Step-by-step setup guide

1. Install the add-on

• Contact the Storeganise team to install the Xero Add-on for your account.
• Authorize your Xero account:
  • After the Add-on is installed, a setup link will appear at the top of the page in Storeganise. Follow the instructions to complete the connection.
• In Xero:
  • Log in and select the organization to sync with.

2. Configure the Add-on settings

The Add-on now supports site-specific configurations. Each site must enable the Add-on individually.

1. Set mandatory defaults:
   • Default account: Used for invoice line items without a mapped account. Case sensitive. Ensure this code matches with a code in Storeganise and Xero.
   • Account code for automated payments: The account code for an automated payment method such as Stripe or Cybersource. Case sensitive. Ensure this code matches with a code in Storeganise and Xero.
2. Optional settings:
   • Tracking category name: Only set if you want to track invoices by site (details below)
   • Category option: Only set if you want to track invoices by site (details below)
   • Default tax type: Leave this blank during the initial setup to avoid syncing errors.
     • Adjust this setting only when troubleshooting specific issues.
3. Tenant ID and Access token and generated and added automatically once the Add-on is installed. These can be left unchanged.

Map account codes and tax rates

• Tax rates:
  • In Xero: Go to Accounting → Advanced → Tax Rates .
  • Set up the Tax rates to match your Tax rates in Storeganise
    • Example: In Storeganise, if you have Tax Exempt ; 0%, ensure you also have "Tax exempt"; 0% set up in Xero.
    • Do this for all your Tax rates.

• Account codes:
  • In Storeganise: Go to Main settings → Accounting → Accounting codes and tax rates .
  • In Xero: Navigate to Accounting → Chart of Accounts .
  • Ensure that:
    • Each account code in Storeganise matches exactly with an associated account in Xero.
  • Example: If your rental income account code in Storeganise is rent , create a matching account in Xero with the code rent .

Note: Codes in both Xero and Storeganise as case sensitive.

Important: You must check "Enable payments to this account" in Xero for all manual payment methods and account codes added in Xero. Otherwise, any payments made on these accounts will not be tracked in Xero.

• Set Tax on each account code
  • In Xero: Head to Accounting → Chart of Accounts
  • Open each account code you have added and ensure the default tax setting on the account matches the account code in Storeganise
  • Example: If your deposit code is set to "Tax exempt; 0%" in Storeganise, ensure it is set to "Tax exempt (0%)" in Xero also.

Key points

Every account code added in Xero must have

• A matching code in Storeganise
• A Tax rate - defined using the drop-down selector
• Checked "Enable payments to this account"

Once you have confirmed that each account code meets the above criteria, move on to Configuring your payment methods.

Configure payment methods

You must enable a payment method on your Xero account.

Bank accounts can be added to your Xero account so you can view your bank feeds and link bank account payments made in Storeganise to invoice records.

If you manually mark invoices as paid in Storeganise using a bank transfer, follow these steps:

Add a bank account in Xero:

• Go to Accounting → Bank Accounts → Add a Bank Account.
  • Search for your bank and follow the prompts to add it.
• Set up the Bank account code in Xero:
  • Once added, navigate to Accounting → Chart of Accounts.
  • Find the newly added bank account and click on it.
  • In the Code field, enter a relevant identifier (e.g., hsbc for an HSBC account)
• Add a manual payment method in Storeganise:
  • Go to Storeganise → Accounting → Manual Payment Methods.
  • Create a new manual payment method and set the Code to match the one used in Xero (e.g., hsbc )
• Mark payments in Storeganise:
  • When manually marking an invoice as paid in Storeganise, select the code (e.g., hsbc ).
  • The payment will now be linked to the corresponding bank account in Xero.

Connect a Stripe account

If you use automatic payments via Stripe, follow these steps:

1. Add Stripe feeds to Xero:
   • Note: Stripe feeds sync to Xero per transaction, not in bulk.
   • Follow these steps to link your Stripe account to Xero.
2. After you've connected your account
   1. Stripe will appear in your Chart of Accounts list
   2. Open the account and add Stripe to the "Code" field (case sensitive)
3. In the Add-on settings:
   1. Set Account code for automated payments to Stripe

Other automatic payment methods

If you're using other automatic payment methods with Storeganise, such as Cybersource, follow the same steps as outlined above for Stripe. You can find the code by:

1. Navigating to an automatically paid invoice in Storeganise
2. Scroll to the "Payments" section
3. The code is in bold often above a long alphanumeric number.

Add manual payments

1. Any manual payments added in Storeganise such as Cash, Cheque or other must also be mapped to Xero's payment accounts.
   1. In Storeganise: Main settings → Accounting → Manual payment methods .
   2. In Xero: Accounting → Chart of Accounts .
   3. Example: If the payment method is "Cash" in Storeganise with code cash , create a new account in Xero with code cash and check "Enable payments to this account"

Inclusive Vs exclusive tax

To ensure accurate tax calculations, match the tax settings in Storeganise and Xero to either inclusive or exclusive pricing.

In Storeganise

• Go to -> Main settings → Accounting → Self-storage tax settings
• Check whether the tax setting for your account is set to Inclusive or Exclusive :
  • Inclusive: The total price of the line item includes the tax amount.
  • Exclusive: The tax is added on top of the line item’s price.

In Xero

• Navigate to Settings → Invoice settings.
• Edit the invoice theme:
  • Find the invoice theme you want to modify.
  • Click Options , then select Edit .
• Match the tax setting:
  • Look for the option labelled "Show taxes as".
  • Choose either Exclusive or Inclusive , ensuring it matches the setting in Storeganise.

Site tracking (optional)

Site tracking allows you to configure tracking categories in Xero, enabling you to monitor multiple site records within a single Xero account. This feature helps you segment financial data by site for more detailed reporting.

Setting up site tracking in Xero

1. Create a tracking category in Xero:
   • Navigate to Xero → Advanced Accounting → Tracking Categories or click here.
   • Set up a Tracking Category Name, such as "Site," to organize all your site records.
   • Within the tracking category, add each site as a Category option , e.g., "Broadway storage."

Configuring site tracking in Storeganise

1. Access Xero Add-on settings for each site:
   • Open Storeganise and navigate to the Xero Add-on settings for the desired site.
   • Click the pencil icon to open the settings section.
2. Enter tracking information:
   • In the Tracking category name field, enter the category name from Xero (e.g., Site ).
   • In the Category option field, input the site-specific details in the required format:

{"site1ID": "Site1 name", "site2ID": "Site2 name"}

• The siteID is a unique alphanumeric identifier, which can be found by doing a CSV site export from your Storeganise site list (ensure "siteID" and "title.en" are selected during export).
• The Category option should match the entry in Xero exactly (e.g., "Broadway storage" ).

Testing site tracking

If any issues arise during setup, verify that:

• The category option in Storeganise exactly matches the Xero entry (case-sensitive).
• The formatting of the JSON structure in the Add-on settings is correct, ensuring proper use of {}, :, "" . Incorrect syntax will prevent the Add-on from functioning correctly.

Once all settings are confirmed, click "Update."

Viewing site tracking in Xero

After setup, invoices in Xero will display the site to which they are attributed. This allows you to structure financial reports and track performance by site efficiently.

Successful invoice sync example

1. Name of the customer and alphanumerical code which refers to the customer's Storeganise ID number
2. Storeganise invoice date and due date
3. Sequential invoice number found on the invoice in Storeganise
4. Storeganise long invoice ID number. Which can also be used to search for invoices in Storeganise
5. The account code for each line item
6. The tax rate for each line item
7. Whether taxes in Xero are inclusive or exclusive
8. Link to view the payment method

Viewing payments

Payments on invoices can be viewed in the payment view, not in the invoice view. Click the payment link in the invoice to see its details.

In Chart of Accounts, you can view all payments made on a specific payment type by clicking on the amount listed for that method on the Chart of Accounts page.

Troubleshooting common errors

1. Account code or tax code errors
   1. Ensure codes exactly match between Storeganise and Xero (case-sensitive).
   2. Check that all accounts in Xero have "Enable payments to this account" selected.
2. Missing payment methods in Xero
   1. Verify that all payment methods in Storeganise are mapped to Xero accounts.
   2. Bank accounts and Stripe feeds are automatically mapped when added to your Xero account.
3. Invoices not syncing
   1. Only non-draft invoices created after the Add-on is enabled will sync.
   2. Use the default account code in the Add-on settings as a fallback. Any unmapped line items will sync to the default account.
4. Tax errors:
   1. Refer to the "Map account codes and tax rates" section above.
   2. Default tax type should be left blank during setup.
   3. Verify tax settings (inclusive/exclusive) are consistent across Storeganise and Xero.
   4. Ensure all account codes and tax rates in Xero align with Storeganise.
   5. If troubleshooting, set Default tax type to OUTPUT in the Add-on settings and re-test.
   6. Avoid using INPUT , which causes sync failures for sent and paid invoices.
5. Paused Add-on:
   1. The Add-on pauses automatically after 10 errors.
   2. Resolve errors and reactivate the add-on.
   3. Errors are posted on the failed invoice

Limitations

• Changes to invoices already synced as paid in Xero (e.g., reverting to draft in Storeganise) will not sync to Xero.
• Draft invoices and invoices created before enabling the Add-on will not sync.
• Changes to paid invoices in Storeganise (e.g., reverting to draft) do not reflect in Xero.

If you need further assistance, contact support@storeganise.com .