What is the Xero Sync Expense feature?
The "Sync an Expense" feature for Xero enables you to synchronize any outbound payments directly from Aspire to Xero. This synchronization is initiated manually within the app.
With this feature, you can create "Spend Money" transactions in Xero, complete with all expense details and attachments. After syncing, simply reconcile the expense in Xero!
Who can use the Xero Sync expenses feature?
Any user who has access to the accounting features, i.e Admins and Finance users can access the Sync expenses feature.
Note: Xero Sync Expense feature is not available for Hong Kong-incorporated businesses.
What are the fields that will be synced with Xero, when using Sync expenses?
You will be able to review and fill all the fields that you need to create a Spend Money transaction on Xero, including the Xero account, Tax rate, and Xero tracking categories, directly from Aspire before you sync a transaction. All values along with the receipts attached to the transaction will be synced with Xero
Set up the Xero Expense Sync in Aspire
Access the Sync expenses workflow.
The Sync Expenses feature can be accessed from the Xero homepage. On your Aspire dashboard, toggle "Accounting" in the left navigation bar and select "Xero" (web app). On the mobile app, go to "Menu", choose "Accounting", and then select "Xero".
Sync your expenses
Click on the "Sync an Expense" button to synchronize your outbound payments from the Aspire app to Xero.
Map your Xero accounts to Aspire Categories
After syncing your expenses, you will then be asked to Map your Xero accounts.
You can set up a mapping between your Aspire categories and your Xero chart of accounts on this screen.
Once you map a Xero account to an Aspire category, any expense in that category will automatically be linked to the mapped Xero account. You can always update the Xero account for any individual transaction or update this mapping later.
Review and Sync your transactions
The Sync expenses workflow has two different statuses - Pending Sync and Synced. You can switch between these tabs at any time
Under Pending Sync, you can edit the transaction's expense details before they are synced to Xero. Follow this step-by-step:
Select the transaction that you want to edit
Update the field values.
Once you are done, you can click on "Sync expense". This will sync your transaction to Xero and move it to the Synced tab.
You can also select multiple transactions and sync them directly to Xero. Follow the steps by steps below:
Click on Transactions under Overview Tab
Click Sync Expenses to Xero
Under Pending Sync, select the transactions that you want to sync. Once selected, click on Sync Expenses
Once transactions are synced, they will be moved to the Synced tab
All synced transactions are created in the relevant Xero account as Spend Money transactions, along with their attachments:
Notes: When syncing your transactions to Xero, you can only select a maximum of 1000 transactions at a time.
Troubleshooting Xero Expense Feature Errors
The expenses sync feature is disabled on my Xero homepage
The expenses sync feature will only be available once you have connected at least one of your Aspire accounts to Xero. You can click on the Connect Now button to connect your bank accounts to Xero and sync your bank statements.
I am unable to find some of my Xero accounts when I try to fill them in Aspire
To sync expenses to a Xero account, you need to enable payments to the account. You can do this by going to the Xero Chart of accounts and selecting "Enable payments to this account" for the Xero account you want to use.
Why are some Xero expense transactions labelled "Updated"?
When reviewing Xero expense transactions in-app, you may see an "Updated" label on some transactions.
| Explanation |
There's an "Updated" label on one of the transactions in the Pending Sync Tab | This label indicates that a user has made changes to the transaction, such as modifying the category or attachments. You can review the transaction again and sync it with Xero when it's ready. |
There's an "Updated" label on one of the transactions in the Sync Tab | It means that a user has updated the category or attachments for a transaction that was already synced with Xero, and the transaction will be marked as updated in the Synced tab. You can review the updated details and update them on Xero if necessary. |
My transactions are not synced in Xero
We suggest disconnecting and reconnecting your Aspire account to Xero to resolve the syncing issue. If disconnecting your account doesn't work in the Aspire app, we recommend disconnecting Aspire from your Xero account directly.
When I synced a Xero Expense transaction in the Pending Sync Tab, it showed a "Sync error"
This happens when there is some error in the connection with Xero. You can go to the Expense Details pane to see the details of the error encountered. You may try to sync this transaction again after making any updates.
When I synced a Xero expense transaction in the Synced Tab, it showed a "Sync error"
This happens when the expense details are synced with Xero, but some of the attachments cannot be synced. Xero only allows attachments less than 3MB, up to a maximum of 10 attachments. You can check your expenses to see if all attachments meet these criteria.
The AccountToken, AccountNumber, or AccountId is already connected to another bank account in the selected Xero organization
This happens when you try to connect to a Xero bank account that is already connected to another Aspire account.
To resolve this issue, you will need to connect to another Xero bank account. Alternatively, you can create a new account in the Xero platform's Chart of Accounts.
The purpose of this is to connect the Aspire account with a 'fresh' account in Xero.
In Xero, create a new account in the Chart of Accounts, then go back to the Aspire app, click on 'Connect now' and choose the newly made account. Please refer to a Youtube video that may help clarify how to proceed with this method.
Afterwards, return to the integrations page, select the new bank account to sync, and connect.
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