Dubsado's Xero integration lets you send your invoices and payments to Xero automatically, so you can keep your bookkeeping in the accounting software you already use. This article explains how the connection works and what to expect before you set it up.
Why connect to Xero
Dubsado's built-in bookkeeping tools are enough for many small businesses. If you already use Xero, or you have more extensive accounting needs, you can manage bookkeeping inside Dubsado or connect Xero to send your invoices and payments there instead.
Your clients still pay you through the Dubsado invoices you send. After a payment comes in, you head over to Xero to reconcile the transaction against your bank records.
How the data flows
The connection between Dubsado and Xero is essentially one-way. Dubsado syncs invoices and payments to Xero, but Xero does not send invoices or transactions back to Dubsado.
When you connect your Xero account, you map your Dubsado income categories to your Xero chart of accounts, and your Dubsado tax items to your Xero tax rates. You can find your income categories at Home ➔ Finance Reports ➔ Chart of Accounts.
Because the sync is one-way, anything you enter or change directly in Xero stays in Xero. It won't appear back in Dubsado.
How invoices sync
Here's what to know about the timing and rules behind how a Dubsado invoice reaches Xero:
Invoices sync to Xero after the client makes a payment, not immediately when the invoice is created.
Xero does not sync invoices, invoice changes, or transactions back to Dubsado.
Invoices and payments created before you connected Xero won't sync automatically, but you can sync them manually.
Changes you make to an invoice in Dubsado don't sync automatically. The invoice updates in Xero only when the client makes a payment or when you sync it manually.
Xero doesn't become your payment processor. Clients still pay in Dubsado using the payment processor you connected: Dubsado Payments, Square, or PayPal.
Sync options
When you connect your Xero account, you choose how much of this process to automate: automatically sync invoices and payments, automatically sync invoices only, or sync everything manually. That's also where you pick the Xero payment account invoices sync to.
What a Dubsado invoice looks like in Xero
Most of an invoice's details carry over to Xero as you'd expect, but a few things work differently once they land there.
What stays the same
Invoice numbers
The invoice date (called Issue date in Xero)
Line item name, quantity, and amount
The income category (called Account in Xero)
Taxes
The date and amount of each payment
What's different
Dubsado line item descriptions don't appear on the Xero invoice.
The due date on the Xero invoice matches the Dubsado invoice date, not the payment plan due date. Payment plan due dates only show on the Dubsado invoice, and Dubsado still sends payment reminders as scheduled.
A discount is distributed proportionately across all line items as dollar amounts. The original percentage or fixed discount line item doesn't show up on the Xero side.
Dubsado invoices are always tax-exclusive. Even if you use tax-inclusive invoicing in Xero, invoices synced from Dubsado use tax-exclusive calculations.
The income category and tax item mappings that drive this behavior are set when you connect your Xero account.
How Dubsado matches clients to Xero contacts
When an invoice syncs, Dubsado tries to match the client to an existing Xero contact, vendor, or employee by email address. Dubsado doesn't change or add to existing Xero contact information.
If no match is found, Dubsado creates a new Xero contact using only the client's first name, last name, and email address. The Xero Contact is set to the client's first and last name. Other client-profile details in Dubsado, like company name, phone number, and address, aren't added to the Xero contact.
FAQ
Does Xero send data back to Dubsado?
No. The sync only goes one direction. Dubsado pushes invoices and payments to Xero, but nothing comes back the other way, including edits you make directly in Xero.
When exactly does an invoice sync to Xero?
An invoice syncs after the client makes a payment, not when you first create the invoice. You can also sync an invoice manually at any time.
Will my old invoices sync when I connect Xero?
No. Invoices and payments from before you connected Xero don't sync automatically. You'll need to sync them manually.