This article will show you how to connect your Phorest financial data with your Xero or QuickBooks Online account.
In this Article
Setting up the Integration
Go to Manager > Integrations
Next, choose either Xero or QuickBooks, then click Manage Integration to begin the setup. The setup configuration will open in your internet browser.
Only QuickBooks Online is supported. QuickBooks Desktop is not supported.
QuickBooks Self Employed is also not supported as it uses an API different from QuickBooks Online, which Intuit does not publicly disclose.
Xero 'Starter', 'Early' and 'Ignite' subscriptions are not supported. You must be on a higher subscription plan to use the integration with Phorest.
Letting Your Accountant or Bookkeeper Complete the Setup
If you would prefer that your accountant or bookkeeper complete the setup on your behalf, you can click the Copy Link button and share the link with them, along with the link to this help article (https://support.phorest.com/hc/en-us/articles/7555464310546).
The integration will prompt you to log into your Xero or QuickBooks account, then connect with Phorest and verify the connection. This will take a few minutes to complete. Please do not close this window while the connection is being verified.
Once you have successfully connected, you will enter the Mapping Flow. In this flow, you determine where the data gets synced to in Xero/QuickBooks.
Mapping your Service Categories and Sales Totals
Start by mapping your Service Categories as well as your different sales totals. Each of the totals pulled from Phorest will be listed in bold with a dropdown beside each total.
When you click on a dropdown, you will be presented with a list of your chart of accounts in Xero/QuickBooks.
From the dropdowns, select which account you would like to send each grouping of your financial totals. This process is called Mapping.
If you're unsure of some of the Phorest totals, you can use the Finance report in Phorest (Manager > Reports > Finance tab) to better understand each total. Change the date range of the report to the last 12 months to make sure all relevant totals are displayed. The names of the totals listed in the Accounting Integration will match the total names on the Finance report.
Note: It is important to map all fields that are relevant to your account, even if that field does not have a red asterisk* beside it. If data exists in the sync and it is not mapped to a relevant field, the sync will fail.
Mapping your Other Accounts
Next, map your other accounts.
Ideally, you or your accountant/bookkeeper will have set up custom accounts in Xero/QuickBooks to manage things like Refunds, Gift card Sales, etc., separately from overall Product or Service sales (e.g. Gift cards should be sent to a liability account).
Note: It is important to map all fields relevant to your account, even if a field does not have a red asterisk * beside it. If data exists in the sync and it is not mapped to a relevant field, the sync will fail.
Location Tracking - Multiple Locations in Phorest
If you have multiple locations in Phorest, you can enable location tracking and map your branch to the right Location in Xero/QuickBooks.
Initial Sync & Data Sync Schedule
Initial Data Sync
Once you've mapped all fields and completed the setup process, the integration will instantly attempt to sync the financial totals from the previous day to your Xero or QuickBooks account to verify the setup was successful.
This process can take a few minutes, so please be patient. Once completed, you will see a Success message on the screen. We recommend that you check your Xero or QuickBooks account after this to verify the data has synced.
Financial data prior to the initial data sync will not be synced.
Continuous Data Sync
Once your sync is set up and verified, your Phorest data will sync to your Xero or QuickBooks account automatically at 1 am (your local time) each morning. Your Phorest software does not need to be open for this to happen.
Managing the Integration
You can manage the integration at any point, including mapping to new accounts in QuickBooks, adding new Phorest components, or switching off the integration if you choose by going to Manager > Integrations > Select the Xero or QuickBooks > Manage Integration.