Xero Integration: Common Queries and Solutions

Q: How do I disconnect from Xero?

A: There is a Xero option to disconnect in the user interface settings in BigChange.

Q: How do payment processing fees appear in Xero?

A: Payments are made against invoices in BigChange which are reflected in Xero. A payment is made against the Xero invoice and recorded in Xero as a receipt against the bank. 

If no bank account is specified against the invoice in BigChange, the process will use the default bank account specified in the Xero user interface in BigChange.

Q: How do I reconcile sales data synced to Xero?

A: There are reports in Xero that analyse the invoices between two ranges based on status, currency etc.  You would run this report and cross-reference the postings made to confirm the data between the two systems.

Q: When and how does data sync occur? Is it manual, automatic, on login, in real-time? Are there any settings related to synchronizing?

A: When changes are made to a contact, invoice, purchase order, payment for example, a message is created and queued in our system ready to be processed. 

The synchronisation occurs when the message is cleared.  This process depends on how much traffic but normally takes anywhere up to 10 seconds to process.

Q: Can I synchronise multiple contact records? 

A: The program responds to the saving of a contact record which is created/updated and exists in one of the groups defined in the settings.  It is possible to use the import function which will create records in Xero for each contact record that is imported.

However, it is important to note that there is a daily 5000 API limit on the number of calls that can be made and we would recommend speaking to your implementer before using this method.

Q: What information is carried across when creating a contact in BigChange? 

A: The contact name, contact street, city, country and postcode is read from BigChange and populates the corresponding Xero postal address fields.

Q: I have created a person in BigChange, but it wasn't carried across.  Why?

A: The software has no concept of whether the person in BigChange is a financial person or not.  In most instances, the Primary Person within BigChange will not be the person responsible for finances.

Q: Why do I need to organise my contacts into groups?

A: Contact records must be organised into groups to ensure that the interface only creates/updates contact records that are account contacts.  You can create multiple groups but all contacts within each group must be of the same type only ie you can't mix parent and site (child) contacts.

Q: There are fields for credit limit and payment terms in BigChange, can these be populated? 

A: There are currently no fields available for credit limit or payment terms in Xero. This may be something that can be added in future if the features are available.

Q: Why can't I create contacts in both systems? 

A: The integration interface responds to changes made in BigChange and Xero when a record is saved. 

If a record is saved in BigChange, it would respond by then saving the same record in Xero and so attempting to use both would result in multiple entries for the same contact in a perpetual circle of changes.  Whilst certain safeguards have been added to BigChange, there are no equivalent mechanisms in the Xero API.

Q: Why is synchronisation from Xero to BigChange not instantaneous?

A: The interface looks for changes that are made to Xero but the frequency of triggering these events is controlled by Xero and only takes place periodically.

Q: When I create the invoice in BigChange and synchronised it to Xero,  can I view the PDF copy of the invoice in Xero?

A: The BigChange invoice, credit note, or purchase order can only be printed from BigChange.

Q: I have completed a job for a site, but I want to invoice the parent contact.  How does this work?

A: The site contact record must be linked to a valid parent contact (a contact record that has a valid account reference). 

Once synchronised, the invoice will be created against the site contact, but the invoice will be posted to the parent contact record in Xero.  

Q: Do tracking categories populate the department code field in BigChange?

A: No.  When switching to a Xero integration, the department field is no longer visible in BigChange. 

The tracking categories are stored in two separate fields in the user interface.  Users will not have access to modify their contents.  Additional tracking categories will need to be imported through the user interface.

Q: I cannot add nominal or tax codes, why?

A: When synchronising with Xero, the functions to add tax and nominal codes are controlled by the import options in the user interface. 

This creates a link between the two systems.  Any new nominal or tax codes must be imported via the user interface.

Q: What happens if something goes wrong.  How will I know?

A: Sometimes things do go wrong.  Whenever an issue occurs, a contact note is created for the error. 

The contact note subject refers to the type of error. For example; where an invoice has an incorrect tax type, a contact note type with the subject Invoice Error will show a dialogue entry explaining which invoice failed and why?

Q: Is a contact note created each time an error occurs?

A: A contact note is created for a contact where no contact note exists for the type of error or the contact note for a previous error has already been marked as completed.

Where there is an open contact note for the type of error, the dialogue box is updated with the new error message.

Conclusion

Integrating Xero with BigChange offers numerous benefits, but understanding the process is crucial. This guide provides solutions to common queries, ensuring a smoother integration experience. For further assistance, consult your implementer or BigChange support.