Xero FAQ

The following questions and answers can help you troubleshoot some common issues with Xero:

• I've heard that the Xero integration is one-directional, or 'one-way'. What does that mean?
• Do I need to reconnect to Xero every time I post?
• Do I need a Xero sign-in for all my staff who use Actionstep Accounting?
• Why do I need to set up trust accounts within Xero to enable the mapping?
• Can Xero's 'Bank Feeds' feature be utilized for Actionstep?
• I've added the mapping for all my accounts but I'm getting an error message stating that the mapping is missing for a certain account?
• Which type of accounting do I need to set for the integration to work?
• Why aren't all my line items being pushed through to Xero?
• Why is a line of my invoice in Xero one cent different than the same invoice in Actionstep?
• I'm getting the following error message: 'API Exception Detected... '?

I've heard that the Xero integration is one-directional, or 'one-way'. What does that mean?

This is correct. The integration is referred to as 'one-way' because data can be synced from Actionstep through to Xero, but not vice-versa. As such, users commonly use Actionstep for their billing and trust accounting and then consolidate the data into Xero for their reporting and dashboards.

Do I need to reconnect to Xero every time I post?

You should stay connected to Xero unless another user disconnects Xero in Actionstep's Admin settings or signs Actionstep out of your Xero system. The notification bar in Actionstep (located along the bottom of the page) notifies you if Xero has been disconnected. If this happens, have the Xero integration administrator reconnect it for you. 

Do I need a Xero sign-in for all my staff who use Actionstep Accounting?

No, the system only needs one sign-in to operate. If your staff need access to Xero for reasons other than posting through Actionstep, they should do this independently of the Actionstep system. 

Why do I need to set up trust accounts within Xero to enable the mapping?

Some of the holding accounts that Actionstep uses to process trust transactions (such as the Trust Liability and Trust Transfers accounts) are not available in Xero by default, which is why they have to be created before the mapping is configured.

Can Xero's 'Bank Feeds' feature be utilized for Actionstep?

No, they cannot. As mentioned above, the integration is one-way and data can only be pushed from Actionstep through to Xero, not vice-versa. Since the bank feeds are only available within Xero, they will not appear within Actionstep.

I've added the mapping for all my accounts but I'm getting an error message stating that the mapping is missing for a certain account?

It may be that you've forgotten to assign a unique code to the account in Xero. While Xero allows you to create accounts without assigning these codes to them, Actionstep relies on these codes to identify the accounts, which is why you might be seeing this error message.

Which type of accounting do I need to set for the integration to work?

You need to ensure that your accounting basis in Actionstep is set to accrual. As long as that's in place, you can set Xero to whichever basis you prefer.

Why aren't all my line items being pushed through to Xero?

Actionstep summarizes the line items to the income account/code mapped between Actionstep and Xero when pushing bills through.

Why is a line of my invoice in Xero one cent different than the same invoice in Actionstep?

If a user changes the total price of a line item on an invoice, the system automatically recalculates the unit price based on the quantity, so that the total price still makes sense.

For example:

0.67 @ $100 = $67

When you adjust the total to $68, the equation will be 0.67 @ $101.492537 = $68.00 (where 67.99999979 is rounded up)

Users are allowed to use 6 decimal places for the Quantity or the Unit price and round to 2 decimal places for the total price.

However, in Xero, the quantity can only be 4 decimal places and the unit price 2 decimal places, which leads to impossible conversions.

So, the answer is to calculate as per Xero (4dp qty + 2dp price), then calculate the difference at the end of the invoice and add a "rounding errors" line for the balance.

This amount is posted to one of the income/expense accounts used in the invoice (the account with the highest amount from that transaction) and has no tax on it.

I'm getting the following error message: 'API Exception Detected... '?

Please see Troubleshooting Xero Error Messages for more information on troubleshooting Xero error messages.