Xero integration: Process & Data flow

All of the information you need to successfully integrate Projectworks and Xero.

This section provides an overview of the integration, covering the process and data flow so you understand what happens when using the integration.

The integration is simple, doing two things:

• Exporting invoices from Projectworks to Xero
• Reconciling payment of invoices in Xero to Projectworks

Process Flow

The high level process flow that transfers data between Projectworks and Xero is shown below. Invoices which are published in Projectworks can be exported either individually, in groups or all for an office.

When importing the invoices into Xero, The Projectworks company name will be matched to the Xero Customer name. If they match, the invoices will be loaded against that customer. If there isn't a match, a new Xero customer will be created as part of the process. If a customer is duplicated in Xero (eg if the names are slightly different to Projectworks) you can merge the customers within Xero.

The invoices are imported as Drafts and then managed by the normal processes within Xero. the Debtors screen in Projectworks lists all invoices which have not been marked as paid, either manually within Projectworks, or through the reconciliation with Xero. The "reconcile from Xero" process within Projectworks checks the Invoice Number in Xero looking for payment details. If payment details (amount and date) are located, the invoice payment details will be updated in Projectworks. When an invoice has no money outstanding it will no longer be shown on the Debtors screen in Projectworks.

Data Flow Diagram

The integration of Projectworks and Xero is relatively simple, focusing on exporting Invoices (and associated data) from Projectworks through to Xero. Invoice payment data is pushed from Xero to Projectworks to allow the issued invoices in Projectworks to be reconciled with Xero. 

Reference data used

As part of the integration some data from Xero needs to be aligned to corresponding values in Projectworks. The following data from Xero will be presented to Projectworks for mapping to be established.

Transaction data

The process of exporting invoices from Projectworks to Xero, and reconciling invoice payments from Xero to Projectworks requires a 2-way flow of data. Essentially, the export of invoices from Projectworks will result in invoices being created within customers in Xero.

Should an exported invoice be for a customer that does not exist (or can't be matched) in Xero, a new customer and contact will be created in Xero. The only data that flows from Xero to Projectworks is the payment details for exported invoices (payment date and amount).and a Xero reference.