A Xero App Connection can be established in Consignly to push Client Partner Financial Schedules to Xero as invoices.
- Getting started
- Invoices and Credit Notes
- Export Triggers
- Sales Accounts
- Cost Centre Tracking
- Tax Rates
- Pushing an invoice to Xero
- FAQ
Illustration of data mapping between Consignly and Xero. Partners, Revenue Accounts, and Cost Centres are linked, schedules are created as invoices.
Getting started
To establish a connection, add the app into Consignly and authorise with Xero.
You will be redirected to the Xero login page to authenticate with Xero, and you will be prompted to choose the organisation to allow Consignly to work with.
After you have authorised with Xero, you will be returned to Consignly to configure your Xero connection.
Invoices and Credit Notes
In the Xero configuration, choose the Invoice Status that invoices to Xero will be pushed in. By default invoices go in a Draft status.
You can also define the Invoice Item Description and the Credit Note Item Description. When schedules are pushed to Xero, line items are summarised into the narratives defined here.
Export Triggers
The Xero configuration supports Export Triggers. There is currently one export trigger, and it's based on Schedule Status.
Export triggers in the Xero configuration
You can activate a trigger for the Approved status. If you check this trigger, then when a Client Partner Schedule moves into an Approved status, it will automatically trigger an export to Xero.
If you choose not to activate a trigger, then Exports to Xero will be a manual operation.
If you have activated the trigger for the Approved status, you can optionally choose to support updates to the Xero invoice. If you have enabled updates, then changes to the schedule whilst it is in an Approved status will cause a re-export of the schedule to Xero.
Sales Accounts
The Xero configuration requires a default Sales Account to be selected. The default account is used when Consignly hasn't got a Revenue Account mapped to the transaction.
Choose the default Sales Account in Xero that you'd like to use in Consignly when one is not specified.
Revenue Account Mapping
Advanced Consignly subscriptions support Revenue Accounts. If your subscription of Consignly has Revenue Accounts defined, you can map your Consignly Revenue Accounts to Xero Sales Accounts.
This lets you push invoice lines to Xero with appropriate lines coded against the correct Sales Account.
If a schedule contains transactions that map to different Sales Accounts, then the Xero invoice will contain a line per Sales Account.
An example of Sales Account mapping to Xero from Consignly
Cost Centre Tracking
Advanced Consignly subscriptions support Cost Centre Codes. If your subscription of Consignly has Cost Centres defined, you can map your Consignly Cost Centres to Xero Tracking Categories.
This lets you push invoice lines to Xero with appropriate lines tracked against the correct Tracking Category.
If a Tracking Category cannot be matched in Xero, then the invoice line will not be tracked.
If a schedule contains transactions that are tracked to different Tracking Categories, then the Xero invoice will contain a line per Tracking Category.
An example of Cost Centre mapping to Xero from Consignly
Tax Rates
Tax Rates in Consignly can also be mapped to Tax Rates in Xero. If a Tax Rate in Consignly is mapped to a Tax Rate in Xero, then when an invoice line is pushed to Xero it will get the tax rate assigned to the transaction. If there is no Tax Rate mapping, then Xero will use the default tax rate that is set up for the Sales Account that the invoice line is being recorded against.
An example of Tax Rate mapping to Xero from Consignly
Pushing an invoice to Xero
Transactions for a Client Partner will build up as activity is charged on consignment, and as storage charges are raised.
When it is time to invoice a Client Partner, head over to the Schedules menu item under Client Partner on the sidebar.
If you have created any schedules previously, they'll appear here.
To create an invoice to a client in Xero, create a new schedule of transactions or select an existing schedule that has not yet been sent to Xero.
In the schedule detail view, if you have an export trigger set up, your Xero export will take place automatically - as soon as the schedule moves into the appropriate status.
The Reference Number that you have entered in the schedule will be used as the Reference Number in the Xero invoice that is created.
An example Client Partner Schedule
Manually Exporting to Xero
If you have not set up an export trigger, then you will need to export the invoice to Xero manually.
To start this process, visit the Apps tab in the schedule.
The Apps tab on a schedule.
The Apps tab will show you all connected apps for this schedule. If you have a Xero connection established, you will see Xero in the list of connected apps.
A list of connected apps for the schedule
To export to Xero, select the action menu at the end of the app record and choose Export to Xero.
This will trigger the export of the schedule as an invoice to Xero.
Failed Exports
If the export fails, a notification will appear. Choose the bell icon to show the notifications and select the notification to view the details.
You'll be presented with a screen that shows details of the error encountered, with a button to take you back to the schedule that encountered the failure.
Correct the problem and consider re-exporting the invoice manually to get the data into Xero.
A failure notification
Choosing the notification will provide detail on why the export failed, with a button to take you to the offending schedule
Successful Exports
The Xero invoice will have a line per Revenue Account/Cost Centre/Tax Rate combination.
An example invoice pushed to Xero from Consignly with lines for each Revenue Account/Cost Centre/Tax combination
When a schedule is successfully pushed to Xero, the schedule status will update to indicate this.
Frequently asked questions
How do I disconnect from Xero?
You can disconnect Consignly from Xero by navigating to the Xero integration within Consignly.
Tap into the integration configuration, and find the Remove Connection button. Tap the button to disconnect the app.
The connected Xero integration with a Remove Connection button