Connect Xero and fix sync problems

Connect your business to Xero and VPA Connect sends each payment you're paid to Xero automatically: an invoice for the job, the payment against it, and the platform fee if there is one. It happens when the agency releases your payment.

Don't raise your own invoice in Xero for VPA Connect jobs. VPA Connect issues the invoice when your payment is released, and with Xero connected it appears in your Xero automatically, already paid. Raising your own as well records the income twice.

Your bank feed shows VPA Connect deposits but Xero has no matching invoices? If Xero isn't connected or set up yet, an Admin connects it (Part 1), chooses the accounts (Part 2), then pushes past payments (see Payments from before you connected). If it's already connected, check Sync activity for a Failed or Skipped payment (see Sync problems).

Only your business's Admins can connect and manage Xero. Members don't see Integrations in the sidebar; ask an Admin (see Your team). Anyone on the team can use the export.

Xero is the only accounting package that connects directly. For MYOB AccountRight or QuickBooks, use the export instead (see Export your jobs for your accountant).

Part 1: Connect#

Select Integrations in the sidebar.

1. Your business shows Not connected.
2. Select Connect Xero, sign in to Xero and allow access. You come back to VPA Connect with the message "Xero connected — Choose your account mapping to start syncing."

Part 2: Choose your accounts#

Nothing syncs until you choose which Xero accounts to use. Ask your accountant if you're unsure.

1. Xero organisation: only asked if you allowed access to more than one.
2. Income account: where your job income goes. The list has your Revenue accounts and your Other income accounts; a business that treats VPA Connect money as non-operating usually picks Other Income.
3. Which account are releases paid into? Choose The bank account Stripe pays out to and pick that Payout bank account, or choose A separate clearing account (see "Which should I choose?" below).
4. Platform fee expense account: required, even if you're never charged a fee, so any payment that carries one can be recorded.
5. Select Save mapping. "Xero account mapping saved" appears.

Which should I choose?

• The bank account Stripe pays out to suits a business that pays no platform fee and whose deposits usually cover one job: Xero suggests the match for each deposit and you confirm it.
• A separate clearing account suits deposits that often combine several jobs or carry fees, a payout bank that isn't connected to Xero, or keeping VPA Connect money out of your operating accounts. Each deposit is then one transfer instead of ticking lines. VPA Connect creates VPA Stripe Clearing, which Xero shows as a bank account, only if you choose this.

You can change your choice later with Edit account mapping. It applies to payments synced from then on; payments already in Xero stay where they are.

Payments from before you connected#

Payments released before you connected aren't sent automatically. They're listed under Past payments not in Xero. Select Push to Xero to send one, dated on its original payment date. Don't push a payment you've already entered in Xero yourself, or it will be recorded twice.

Reconciling your payouts in Xero#

Which property is this deposit for?#

Your bank line shows only Stripe's payout reference (for example "Direct Credit VPAConnectPtyLtd VPAConnec_…"), never the property. To find out, open your Payouts page and select the deposit with the same date and amount.

1. The payout date: match it to the date of the bank line.
2. The deposit amount: match it to the bank line's amount.
3. Items in this deposit lists each job the deposit paid, with its invoice number and property.
4. A deposit may combine several jobs released around the same time, as here, so a deposit won't always equal one job.

If two deposits have the same amount, tell them apart by date. See also The Payouts page.

What's in Xero for each job#

Every payment that synced is already in Xero, so don't code the bank deposits to income again. Each synced job is a paid sales invoice:

• its contact is the seller (the property owner billed for the job);
• its invoice number is the same as the invoice PDF's number, which the Payouts page shows for each job;
• the Xero invoice's Reference field is the property address, so you can search by property in Xero;
• its line reads the service, the property and your legal name, for example "Property Styling — 2 Macquarie St, Sydney NSW 2000 (Tessaly Styling Pty Ltd)";
• it's dated the day the agency released the payment, and amounts include GST: coded GST on Income if you're registered for GST, BAS Excluded if not.

A platform fee, if any, is a separate spend money line (GST on Expenses).

Some payments aren't in Xero yet: one released before you connected (use Push to Xero, above), one marked Failed in Sync activity (use Retry), and one marked Skipped (use Push now); see Sync problems.

Reconcile the deposit#

Reconcile each deposit against the account you chose in Part 2:

• A separate clearing account: the payments sit in VPA Stripe Clearing. Reconcile each bank deposit as a Transfer from VPA Stripe Clearing for the deposit's amount. The clearing balance covers only the payments recorded there: check Past payments not in Xero and Sync activity for any that aren't. If you switch to your bank account later, payments already in VPA Stripe Clearing still need a transfer each. Archive VPA Stripe Clearing only once its balance is $0.00 and no business is mapped to it, or payments will fail to sync.
• The bank account Stripe pays out to: the payments are already in that bank account. Where one job makes up the deposit, Xero suggests the match and shows the invoice and its Reference. Otherwise use Find & Match and tick the payments (and any fee lines) the deposit covers, using the Payouts page to see which.

Payments are dated the day the agency released them; the deposit reaches your bank a few days later (your Payouts page shows its date), so the dates differ.

For your accountant, the export (see Export your jobs for your accountant) has payout-summary.csv, which lists each deposit with the invoice numbers it paid, and payout-data-raw.csv, which lists each invoice with its property, fee and net payout.

Sync problems#

Sync activity lists every payment sent to Xero, with its status.

A Xero problem never stops you being paid. The payment still reaches your Stripe account; only the Xero record is missing.

To stop syncing, select Disconnect, then confirm.

Related#

• Export your jobs for your accountant
• Completed jobs, invoices and GST