Xero and QuickBooks sync: your takings and invoices in your accountant's books every night

Who is it for?

Businesses whose accountant works in Xero or QuickBooks Online and will not move. Until now you could export a file for them; this sends the figures for you, every night, in the shape accountants expect.

What does it do?

• Connects EasyTaskr to one Xero organisation or one QuickBooks Online company.
• Sends one till summary per day, plus each invoice, payment against an invoice, and credit note, to the right customer.
• Optionally sends supplier bills, or a single daily journal of everything, when you use EasyTaskr's accounting.
• Runs by itself every night after the day has ended, with Sync now for when you cannot wait.
• Lists everything sent, waiting and failed in a Sync log, with Try again on failures.

How do I switch it on?

The sync is off by default, and it needs a connection to Xero and Intuit that your EasyTaskr contact sets up. Until then, the page says "Sending to Xero or QuickBooks needs EasyTaskr support to switch it on for your account. Until then, your accountant can import a file from Accounting › Reports."

When it is on, Xero & QuickBooks appears under Money. The owner or an admin connects, matches accounts and changes settings. Finance users and accountants can see the log, press Sync now and retry failures.

What gets sent, and how?

There are two ways of sending. If you do not use EasyTaskr's accounting, it is always the first.

In the first mode you can switch each part on or off: Till takings, Invoices, Payments, Credit notes, and Supplier bills when your books are on. In journal mode, Stock and cost of sales is a switch, off unless you want it.

Invoices go with one line per VAT rate, using your invoice's own net and VAT, so the total in Xero or QuickBooks matches yours to the penny. Customers are matched by email, then by exact name, and created only if no match is found, so you do not end up with two of the same customer.

Step by step: connect and send your first night

1. Open Money, then Xero & QuickBooks.
2. Under Which software does your accountant use?, choose Xero or QuickBooks.
3. Set the First day to send. "Nothing dated before this day is ever sent, so nothing your accountant already has is counted twice." Agree the day with your accountant.
4. If your books are on, choose under What should go across?.
5. Press Connect, sign in on Xero's or Intuit's page and allow access.
6. Back in EasyTaskr, the status shows Match accounts. Open Match accounts.
7. For each of your sales accounts, VAT rates and payment methods, choose the matching account in their books. Sensible matches are filled in for you.
8. Press Save matches. You see "Matched. It sends tonight, or press Sync now."
9. Press Sync now to send straight away, or wait for the night.
10. Open the Sync log, check what was sent, and press Open in Xero or QuickBooks on one invoice to see it there.

The first sync is refused until every account in use is matched, so nothing lands in the wrong place.

What does the daily till summary contain?

A worked example: on one day a shop takes 1,840 at 20% VAT and 260 at 0%, with 1,350 paid by card and 750 in cash, and the drawer is 2 short. The summary for that day carries sales of about 1,533 net with 307 VAT at 20%, sales of 260 at 0%, 1,350 to card payments, 750 to cash, and 2 to cash over and short. It is sent only once the day has ended in your business's time zone.

If you type a card fee percentage, an estimated card fee is added too; it is labelled as an estimate.

What happens when something fails?

Each item tries again by itself, over a few hours. After five failed tries it shows as Failed in the Sync log, with Xero's or QuickBooks' own reason in plain words. Fix the cause, often a missing account match, and press Try again. A payment whose invoice did not send waits until the invoice goes.

The log has one search and filters by status (Failed, Waiting, Sent, Not sent, Taken out) and by kind.

If Xero or QuickBooks asks you to sign in again, the status shows Connect again and nothing is sent until you do. Disconnect removes EasyTaskr's access; what was sent stays in their books.

What should I agree with my accountant first?

Three things. First, the First day to send: usually the day after the last day they already have in their books, so nothing is counted twice. Second, which accounts each kind of sale and each payment method should land in; they may have their own clearing accounts for card takings. Third, whether they want till takings, invoices and payments, or one daily journal if you use EasyTaskr's accounting fully. Ten minutes on the phone before you connect saves an afternoon of corrections later, and the matching screen remembers the answers.

What does it not do yet?

• Refunds paid out and money on account not matched to an invoice are skipped, with a reason in the log.
• Foreign-currency supplier bills are skipped; everything is sent in your own currency.
• One connection per business.
• Card fees are an estimate you type, unless you use EasyTaskr's accounting and bank payouts.

Related features

The figures come from your POS till, invoices and payments and the day you close in end of day. VAT-registered businesses that keep their books in EasyTaskr can also send VAT to HMRC directly. To connect other software, see API and webhooks.