How Can I Troubleshoot and Resolve Spendesk-to-Xero Integration Issues?
Integrating Spendesk with Xero can streamline your accounting workflows, but you might encounter challenges during this process. This guide provides actionable steps to resolve common issues, including department mismatches, payment status conflicts, and general export errors.
1. Departments Not Transferring During Export
When departments don’t transfer from Spendesk to Xero, even though they match and are mandatory, follow these troubleshooting steps:
Refresh the Xero Connection: - Navigate to Settings > Accounting > Accounting Integration in Spendesk. - Click on "Refresh Accounting Settings."
Verify Department Mapping: - Ensure department names in Spendesk exactly match those in Xero. - Confirm that departments are set up as tracking categories in Xero.
Re-export Transactions: - For transactions in the Export tab, send them back to the Prepare tab. - After refreshing settings, edit the transactions to verify the department field is accurate. - Mark them as ready, then re-export.
Additional Checks:
Check that departments exist in both systems with exact name matches.
Review Xero’s tracking category configuration to confirm it’s receiving department data.
2. Spendesk Payments Importing to "Bills You Need to Pay"
Understanding how Spendesk exports data to Xero can clarify why payments appear in certain sections, such as "Bills You Need to Pay."
For Card Payments:
Spendesk creates a bill in Xero with a "paid" status.
A corresponding payment is generated and automatically reconciled within Xero.
However, if you activate the "Accounting Date" feature in Spendesk, card payments might export as "unpaid."
For Invoices:
Spendesk creates a bill in Xero with an "awaiting payment" status.
Payments made through your bank need to be manually imported into Xero for reconciliation.
If you use Spendesk’s SEPA CSV file to mark invoices as paid, this action won’t update related bills as paid in Xero.
This behavior supports accrual accounting and reduces manual reconciliation steps.
3. Resolving Unknown Errors During Export
If you encounter an unknown error while exporting data from Spendesk to Xero, take the following actions:
Review Error Details: - Go to Bookkeep > Export and click the "Review" button to view the error message.
Address Specific Errors: - For Chart of Account Issues: - Send the transaction back to the Prepare tab. - Navigate to Settings > Accounting and click "Refresh Accounting Settings." - Edit the item in Bookkeep > Prepare, mark it as ready, and re-export. - For Invoice Dates in Locked Periods: - Mark the item as manually accounted. - This action removes the transaction from the Prepare and Export tabs for manual import into Xero later.
Always reference the exact error description available in Spendesk to determine the best solution.
Conclusion
By following these steps, you can address the most common Spendesk-to-Xero integration challenges. Whether the issue involves incorrect department mapping, unexpected payment statuses, or technical export errors, these solutions help streamline your workflow and ensure accurate financial reporting. If problems persist despite troubleshooting, consider reaching out to Spendesk customer support for further assistance.