How ExpenseFlow syncs with Xero
ExpenseFlow connects to Xero through Xero’s official OAuth 2.0 flow. A bookkeeper authorises a single connection per client organisation, and from that point the integration runs continuously. There is no CSV import, no manual upload, no batch window. Receipts captured by staff on mobile or forwarded by email land in the ExpenseFlow review queue, get categorised by the AI against the client’s actual Xero chart of accounts, and post as either a Xero bill or an expense claim once approved.
The sync is genuinely two-way. ExpenseFlow pulls the Xero chart of accounts, the list of contacts (suppliers), every active tax code, both tracking-category dimensions, and the bank-account list. The AI uses those live structures to categorise, so categorisation always lines up with what actually exists in the client’s ledger. When the AI sees a supplier it has not seen before, it creates the contact in Xero with the captured details rather than asking the bookkeeper to set it up manually. New tracking-category values are flagged for review rather than auto-created, because that decision is usually a structural one a bookkeeper wants to make consciously.
Receipts post to Xero with the original image attached. Reviewers working in Xero see the source document inline on the transaction, which means a quarter-end review or an external audit does not have to bounce between two systems. The captured image is also stored on ExpenseFlow’s side, hashed and timestamped, so the evidence chain stays intact even if the Xero attachment is later removed.
Tax codes and tracking categories preserved
The single biggest waste in bookkeeping workflows is re-coding receipts because an export stripped the tax breakdown. ExpenseFlow’s Xero sync does not do that. Each captured line on a receipt carries its own tax code on the resulting Xero transaction, so a mixed-rate receipt (for example, a UK office shop with both standard-rated stationery and zero-rated food) posts to Xero with the correct rate per line.
Tax codes are mapped per jurisdiction:
- UK: standard rate (20%), reduced rate (5%), zero-rated, exempt, out-of-scope, plus reverse-charge variants for construction and imported services
- Australia: GST on income, GST on expenses, GST-free, input-taxed, and the not-reportable variants for FBT-relevant treatments
- New Zealand: 15% GST, zero-rated, exempt, and the no-GST variants
- Canada: GST, HST per province, PST/RST/QST, plus zero-rated and exempt
- Singapore: 9% GST (current rate), zero-rated, exempt, and out-of-scope
Tracking categories are preserved on both Xero dimensions. Per-client rules in ExpenseFlow can default a tracking value from the supplier name, the staff member who captured the receipt, the GL account, or a project tag. That means reviewers rarely have to set tracking manually; the AI handles the defaulting and a human only steps in for the exceptions.
Multi-jurisdiction support
ExpenseFlow’s Xero integration works identically across every country Xero serves. Practices managing a mixed portfolio (for example, a UK firm with an Australian subsidiary, or a Canadian practice supporting a Singapore client) use the same integration with the same mechanics. The per-jurisdiction differences live in the tax-code mapping and the receipt-format conventions the AI knows about, not in the integration plumbing.
For deeper country-specific tax-rule coverage, the jurisdiction landing pages walk through the local edge cases the AI catches at capture: VAT and MTD requirements in the United Kingdom, BAS-ready GST handling for Australia, IRD-aligned GST for New Zealand, the GST/HST/PST split across Canada, and IRAS-compliant GST for Singapore.
Common Xero integration questions
Most of the practical questions about the Xero integration are covered in the FAQ below: sync direction, sync cadence, multi-currency, attachments, and what happens when a synced transaction is edited later. The short version is that the integration aims to be quiet. It runs in the background, posts cleanly, and surfaces only the exceptions a human actually needs to look at.
For practices evaluating the integration: connecting a client takes under a minute and uses Xero’s standard OAuth consent. Disconnecting is just as simple, and ExpenseFlow keeps the captured documents on its side regardless of the connection state, so the audit trail does not break if you ever change accounting platform.