Xero
xpna is a certified Xero Connected App Partner, which means we have gone through a multi-step process with Xero where they have validated our offering and certified it for use with Xero organisations data.
Connectivity & Security
A Xero data source within xpna is secured using the Xero OAuth2 security flow.
This is a highly secure process provided by Xero, which allows Xero users to grant access to one or more Xero organiations, (that the user has access), to a verified third-party application, like xpna, with specific permissions.
On adding a new Xero data source, when the user clicks on the Connect action button, the following flow will occur to allow the user to grant xpna access and return us a token we can use on behalf of the user to retrieve their Xero data:
| Actor | Action |
|---|---|
| xpna | Opens a browser window in the user's default browser to Xero |
| Xero | Gets the user to login with their Xero credentials |
| Xero | Shows the user the permissions that xpna is asking for and asks for which Xero Organisation they are granting it to |
| Xero | Redirects the page back to xpna |
| xpna | Receives the authorization and attempts to connect to retrieve the information about the organisations connected |
| xpna | Displays a message to the user about the success or failure of the connection |
Initial Load Duration
To extract and process the data into the xpna data warehouse may take anywhere from 1 minute to several hours, depending on the number of transactions stored in Xero.
A basic rule of thumb is that every 10,000 transactions will take two minutes to load.
Data Synchronization
xpna does incremental loads from Xero on a daily schedule set by the user and will also load on demand when the Refresh data action button is used, (this looks like a 'Play' button).
Expect data refreshes to complete in less than a minute.
Managing the Connection
At any time, a user can disconnect their connection between xpna and Xero from within xpna on the Connections page.
They can also disconnect directly from Xero at: https://apps.xero.com/connected.
On disconnection, the user's Xero data is not removed from xpna; only the connection that is used to update data is severed.
If removal of the data is also required, the user can open up a support ticket with us.
Tracking Category Mapping
If an organisation is using tracking categories, the option to create dimensions for each category will be given. This is optional.
For each tracking category listed, a dimension from the dropdown can be chosen. If there is no appropriate dimension, one can be added using the "Add new dimension" button.
If multiple organisations are using similar tracking categories, the same dimensions can be reused across many of them. Names and tracking options don't need to match, as hierarchy management allows modification of the behavior as needed.
Planning Data
Xero budgets are retrieved as a part of data synchronization, and each is stored in a separate scenario derived from the name in Xero.
xpna does not write planning data back into Xero because it allows planning data to be created against accounts that do not exist in Xero. For example, non-financial accounts such as headcount cannot be created in Xero, so if planning occurs against this account, reporting can only be done from xpna.
Nothing prevents the building of custom Xero imports from xpna data for loading back into Xero if that is desired by users.
Data Flows
xpna extracts a number of data sets from Xero. These are listed below.
xpna does not push data back into Xero for any data set.
| Xero | xpna |
|---|---|
| Accounts | Account dimension and hierarchies |
| Currencies | Currencies |
| Invoices | Accounts receivable amount |
| Journals | General ledger amount |
| Organisation | Entity |
| Payments | Accounts receivable amount |
| Reports | Foreign currency balance sheet true-ups |
| Tracking categories | Dimensions and members |
| Budgets | Scenarios |