By connecting Xero to Rentman, you can let Rentman automatically export your invoices to Xero. This saves effort and is faster than exporting to an Excel-file from within the Invoices module.
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What data is exported?
- Ledgers - In Rentman, invoices are split into multiple ledger rows which show the total amounts of each category. Read our article about managing ledgers in Rentman.
Note: Only ledgers are exported to Xero. So in the invoices exported to Xero you will not find every piece of equipment or function you planned, only the ledgers which the equipment is assigned to. - Invoice information - Invoices contain all financial information that you add in Rentman, and which is necessary for a complete overview and correct functioning in your accounting software. This includes VAT-rates, payment terms, invoice moments and invoice numbers.
- The PDF file of the invoice
- "Subject" field of the invoice - The "Subject" field is exported to the "Ref" field in Xero
- Information of relevant contacts - The information of relevant contacts for your invoice is also exported. This includes, for example, the company name, address, and phone number.
Xero matches your Rentman contacts based on the contacts' names. To prevent creating duplicate contacts, remember to match your contact names in Rentman to the contact names in Xero. - The payment status of the invoice - The payment status is updated whenever the invoice is marked as paid in Xero.
What data is not exported?
- The project name and/or number - Xero focuses mainly on client information, but this information could go into the "Subject" field by way of variables.
- The exact equipment items planned on the project - only equipment ledgers are exported to Xero
- The contact person - only information from the Data tab of the contact is exported to Xero.
Connect to Xero
To connect Rentman and Xero:
- Go to settings Configuration module > Account > Extensions.
- Under External extensions, go to Xero and click on the "Connect" button.
Make sure your browser allows pop-ups. - Log in with your account details in the pop-up.
- After logging in, you can proceed with setting up automatic exporting.
Setting up
- Go to the settings Configuration module > Account > Extensions.
- For the option Export automatically, choose one of the following:
If you choose "Start manually", you must click on the "Start export" button to send your new invoices to Xero. Note: when there aren't any new invoices, this button is not available.
If you choose "On the following day(s)", Rentman can automatically send new invoices to Xero. You select all days that this should happen on. New invoices are always exported at 02:00 AM, on the days you choose here. - Next, you must match your ledgers, VAT rates and accounting software journal in Rentman to those in Xero. Click on one of the buttons to do so. This is necessary, because their names may be slightly different.
To set up your ledgers in Xero go to Accounting > Chart of accounts. - Save your changes when you've matched all fields.
If you can't click Save , the fields were probably not correctly matched. Try this step again.
You can view the status of your invoices in the subfolder Invoices from the monetization_on Financial module (see the section below).
View the status of your invoices
When your invoices have been exported to Xero, you can check in Rentman whether this was done correctly. You do this as follows:
- Go to the subfolder Invoices from the monetization_on Financial module.
- Add the column "Export status" to the overview.
Read how to add a column here. - In this newly added column, you can see the status of your invoices.
Update the payment status of your invoices
Invoices that are marked as paid in Xero will automatically have their payment status updated in Rentman. How it works:
- Receive your payment in Xero. The payment status of your invoice in Xero should be marked as paid.
- Your invoice will now automatically be marked as paid in Rentman.
Please note that this information will be updated in Rentman the next time invoices are exported from your Rentman account to Xero.
This feature is only available with Rentman’s Quoting and Invoicing add-on. You will need to have an active connection between Rentman and Xero.
Solving problems
My invoice was exported, but doesn't show up in Xero.
It can occur that an invoice could not be exported to your accounting software. In some cases, we can determine why this happens. You can check this as follows:
- Go to the subfolder Invoices from the monetization_on Financial module.
- Add the column "Export remark" to the overview.
Read how to add a column here. - In this newly added column, you can see the status of your invoices.
Unfortunately, we cannot always determine a clear cause for exported invoices that don't show up in Xero. See below for a list of known errors when generating invoices.
Known errors
- There is no client added to the invoice