Managing Integration With Xero

Getting Started

Before connecting your Zanda and Xero accounts, you might need to update the following settings in your Zanda account:

1. User login and permissions requirements:
   1. Enable users 2FA authentication: starting Monday, 28th August 2023, all users accessing the Xero export must enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) and authenticate within the last 24 hours. 2FA adds an extra layer of security to your account. Need help setting it up? Check our guide: Activating 2-Factor Authentication
      1. If you have no 2FA, you’ll see a prompt to set it up.
      2. If you haven’t authenticated recently, you’ll be guided to log out and authenticate.
   2. Enable Access Financial Reports permission in User Menu > Account Settings > Users > User Management for user profiles which will be used for managing Xero exports in Zanda.
2. Add tax codes you work with in User Menu > Account Settings > Billing > Tax Rates
3. Add services and products in User Menu > Account Settings > Billing > Services and User Menu > Account Settings > Billing > Products. Apply relevant tax rates to each service and product. Services and product names will be exported to Xero as Item Descriptions.

Connecting Your Zanda Account to Xero Account

To connect your Zanda and Xero accounts, follow these steps:

1. Go to Tools > Xero Export.
2. You will be prompted to connect your Xero account to Zanda.
3. Follow the steps to connect and authorize access to your Zanda account.
4. Once the connecting is complete, you will automatically return to the Tools > Xero Export page.
5. Click the Xero Settings button at the top-right and configure your Xero integration settings in Zanda.
6. Here are the key settings to review:
   1. Select a Xero branding theme – this must be set up in your Xero account first. In Zanda, you’ll simply select which theme you want to use. Instructions for adding themes in Xero are linked here as well.
   2. Select your Xero sales account – this is where Zanda invoices will be exported. It’s commonly the 200 Sales Account, but your accountant may advise using a different one. Look for underlined feature names—hovering over them will reveal helpful tips.
      1. Map to diary – if your business uses multiple calendars for different disciplines or practitioners, you can pre-map Zanda calendars to specific Xero sales accounts. This way, invoices are automatically directed based on who provided the service.
   3. Xero payments account – this is separate from the sales account. It’s where your payments from Zanda will go. The Payments Clearing account is often used, but again, consult your accountant.
   4. Xero tracking category name – this helps you categorise invoices for reporting purposes. It works similarly to Zanda’s locations. You can have two tracking categories with multiple options—for example, Location with options like Brighton Clinic, In-home Services, or Telehealth.
   5. Export Client’s Full Name – If unticked, then only the client’s first name and first letter of their last name will be exported to Xero. Untick if you need to maintain client confidentiality.
   6. Export Client Addresses – If unticked the Client’s address and email address will not be exported. Untick if you need to maintain client confidentiality.
   7. Set up tax codes – your accountant will advise which tax types to use. You can map Zanda tax rates to Xero tax types and manage tax settings under User Menu > Account Settings > Billing > Tax Rates.
   8. Once configured, don’t forget to click Save!

Exporting Clients and Invoices to Xero

1. Export the invoices
2. Then export the payments

1. To generate a list of invoices and payments, select the date range, invoice status (new, edited, already exported, or deleted), calendars, payment status (paid, unpaid, or both), and location.

Let’s break that down:

• Invoice status:

  • New: never exported
  • Edited: exported before, but changes were made
  • Exported: just to check what’s been sent
  • Deleted : returns no invoices, since invoices you’ve deleted in Zanda don’t appear anywhere on this screen

• Calendar: choose one or export for all calendars

• Payment status: all, paid only, or unpaid only

• Location: filter invoices by location if you have multiple clinics or service types

2. Click Load Data to see a list of invoices.

• Each invoice shows the appointment date (which is also the invoice date).
• You can right-click the invoice number to view, edit, refresh, or mark it as exported (if it already exists in Xero).

3. Select invoices you’d like to export to Xero. If you have a large number of invoices, use the Select Items to Export All button to quickly check all that are eligible—Zanda will skip already exported ones.

4. Set Xero Invoice Status: exported invoices can be in Draft or Approved status.

5. Click ‘Export Selected Invoices To Xero’.

Later, if you want to confirm whether an invoice was exported, open the invoice in Zanda, it will display the export date and status in the invoice screen.

Exporting Payments to Xero

1. To see the list of payments, click the ‘Payments’ option above the loaded list.

2. The Pre-Export Check table on the payments tab tells you if an invoice has been exported yet for each payment. If not, export it first, then return and export the payments.

3. Also note: payments are filtered by date applied (when the payment was added to its invoice in Zanda), not the invoice date. So if you apply a payment several days after the appointment, you’ll need to adjust the date filter to see those payments.

4. To see only the payments already exported (or only the ones still to export), use the Exported column’s own filter: hover over the column header, click the filter icon, then choose the ‘not null’ condition to show already-exported payments, or ‘null’ to show the ones still waiting.

5. Once ready, click ‘Export Selected Payments To Xero’.

The export result will show in the table, so you can track what was successfully sent.

Importing reconciled payments from Xero

Once you have connected Zanda to Xero, you can bring payments you have reconciled in Xero back into Zanda instead of recording them a second time by hand. Zanda matches each reconciled payment to the Zanda invoice it belongs to and records the payment against it automatically.

Turning on payment import

1. Go to Tools > Xero and click Show Xero Settings.
2. Under Payment Method for Imported Xero Payments, select the payment method Zanda should use for every payment it imports from Xero, for example an existing method such as Bank Transfer, or a dedicated method such as Xero Import if you would rather keep imported payments distinct from payments you enter manually. This setting defaults to Disabled: import options stay hidden until you select a method here.
3. Click Save.

Once a payment method is selected, Import Reconciled Payments and Automatic Payment Imports become available on the Xero Sync page.

Importing payments manually

Click Import Reconciled Payments at any time to bring in payments reconciled in Xero since the last sync. The button changes to show Importing while the sync runs in the background, so you can navigate away and come back later. Results appear in the Sync Activity Log once the import finishes, and the Last Sync date updates.

Importing payments automatically

Turn on Automatic Payment Imports to have Zanda check Xero for newly reconciled payments once every hour, without you needing to trigger anything yourself. Leave it switched off if you would rather import on your own schedule using the manual button instead. Automatic Payment Imports is unavailable until a payment method is selected, and switching the payment method back to Disabled turns automatic imports off as well.

The first import, whether manual or automatic, picks up payments reconciled in Xero over the previous 7 days. Every import after that picks up whatever has been reconciled since the previous successful import.

How Zanda matches imported payments to invoices

As covered above, Zanda matches a reconciled Xero payment to the Zanda invoice it was originally exported from - so only payments against already-exported invoices can import.

When a match is found, Zanda records the payment against that invoice using the payment method you selected in Xero Settings, and adds an entry to that invoice’s activity log, for example “Bank Transfer payment of $120.00 imported from Xero.” A payment is not imported, and instead appears as Skipped in the Sync Activity Log with a reason, when:

• no matching Zanda invoice is found for the payment,
• the matching invoice has been deleted in Zanda,
• that Xero payment has already been imported previously,
• an existing payment already recorded on the invoice matches it by amount, date, and payment method, or
• the payment amount is $0.

Once a payment has imported successfully, it no longer appears in your list of payments still to export to Xero, so you will not be prompted to export it back.

Reading the Sync Activity Log

The Sync Activity Log sits underneath the Export To Xero section and lists every manual and automatic import: when it ran, whether it was triggered manually or automatically, its status (Processing, Success, Error, or Skipped), and details such as how many payments were imported, or which invoices were skipped and why. If no new reconciled payments were found and synced, the last sync timestamp shown above the table will be updated to the sync date, and no new rows will be added to the activity log table.

Reconnecting to a different Xero organisation

If you disconnect from Xero and then connect to a different Xero organisation, Zanda clears the settings tied to the previous organisation, including your selected payment method, your Automatic Payment Imports setting, and your last sync date, so nothing from the old organisation carries over by mistake. Your client de-identification settings and tax code mappings are not affected. You will need to select a payment method again before payment import becomes available on the new organisation. Reconnecting to the same organisation keeps your existing settings as they are.

Understanding the Export Process

Exporting from Zanda to Xero is done in batches. Some other systems export invoices when they are created, however, we believe that it is better to do it in batches as it doesn’t slow down the normal operation of Zanda. A batch-based approach also allows you to manage invoicing and payments in Zanda and then bring it into your accounting system (Xero) at a time of your choosing.

You choose exactly when each batch runs: every export, whether invoices or payments, is triggered manually from Tools > Xero Export. You can run a batch as often as suits your practice, daily, weekly, monthly, or any other cadence, but each run starts only when you start it, with no automatic or scheduled option. This is the reverse of importing reconciled payments from Xero, where switching on Automatic Payment Imports (see above) lets Zanda check for newly reconciled payments every hour without you doing anything.

There are several business rules that Xero enforces (see below) and these could impact the way you use Zanda if the invoices and payments were exported to Xero live. For example, one rule is that an invoice can’t be modified once it has had a payment applied. We think this rule is a bit limiting, so exporting payments at the latest possible time is recommended.

As exporting is done in batches and not live, Zanda doesn’t need to store your Xero login credentials or even an access token, so you can be very confident that access to your information in Xero is secure.

Understanding Xero Rules

There are several rules enforced by Xero that we have no control over. If you find that you can’t export an invoice or payment, then you will need to manually enter it into Xero (or adjust Xero/Zanda). If you manually enter an invoice or payment, you can mark it as exported in Zanda (Right-click/Ctrl-click on the item in the list and select “Mark and Exported”).

• Invoices in Xero must have a status of Approved before a payment can be applied.
• Once payment is applied, no further changes to that invoice are permitted.
• Invoices in Xero with a status of Approved cannot be changed.
• Invoices in Xero with a status of Draft can be changed, but payments can’t be applied.
• All payments must be assigned to an invoice.
• Overpayments are not permitted by Xero (payments more than the invoice amount).

Error Messages

Please see our article here for further troubleshooting tips.

Payment Reconciliation in Xero

Credit card and EFTPOS Payment reconciliation in Xero require some special consideration because your merchant processor (credit card/EFTPOS provider) will deposit a single amount each day into your bank account, but Xero will have each payment recorded.

To get around this, you should export the payments from Zanda to a clearing account in Xero. Then when you reconcile, create a receive money transaction, coding this to the payments clearing account. This page has more detail on how to do just that.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use Zanda for UK Making Tax Digital (MTD) with Xero?

Zanda helps you prepare your financial data for Xero by exporting invoices, payments, client contact details, tax mappings, sales accounts, and tracking categories through the Xero Export workflow. Complete any MTD or VAT return submission in the accounting workflow your practice uses outside Zanda, and confirm the correct setup with your accountant or Xero adviser.

For the cleanest export, connect Xero in Tools > Xero Export, configure your Xero Settings, map your Zanda tax rates to Xero tax types, export invoices first, and then export the related payments.

Is there a limit on how many invoices or payments I can export to Xero at once?

No, you can select as many invoices or payments as you like for a single export. If your selection is large, Zanda sends it to Xero in smaller groups automatically, showing a progress bar as each group goes through. You do not need to split large selections yourself, and you will see a completion message once everything you selected has been exported.

Why can’t I see the Import Reconciled Payments button?

The button only appears once you have selected a payment method under Payment Method for Imported Xero Payments in Xero Settings. Select a method, click Save, and the button appears on the Xero Sync page. This capability is currently in Beta, so it will only be available if it has been enabled on your account.

Why hasn’t a reconciled Xero payment appeared in Zanda?

Start by confirming the payment is fully reconciled in Xero, not just recorded there. Then check the Sync Activity Log for a Skipped entry against that invoice. Import matches a reconciled Xero payment to the Zanda invoice it was originally exported from, so a payment reconciled against an invoice that was created directly in Xero, rather than exported from Zanda, will not have a matching Zanda invoice to import against.

What does an Error entry in the Sync Activity Log mean?

An Error entry usually means Zanda could not authenticate with Xero to fetch reconciled payments. Disconnect and reconnect to Xero from Tools > Xero, then use Import Reconciled Payments to try again.

What does a Skipped entry mentioning a daily limit mean?

Xero limits how many API calls Zanda can make to your organisation each day. If a sync reaches that limit partway through, it stops early rather than failing, and the Sync Activity Log records a Skipped entry noting how many payments were imported before it stopped. Nothing is lost: the payments it hadn’t reached yet stay queued and are picked up on the next sync, whether that’s your next manual import or the next automatic one.