# How to Connect Unleashed to Xero, and What Syncs Between Them

> Install the Xero integration from the Unleashed Integration Store, link your Sales, COGS and Stock on Hand accounts, sync taxes and choose what exports.

- URL: https://logistify.ai/guides/unleashed/connect-xero/
- Section: Unleashed Guides, Xero, QuickBooks Online & ecommerce
- Applies to: Unleashed Lite, Core, Pro
- Steps checked against: Unleashed Help Centre articles, checked 23 October 2026
- Updated: 2026-10-23

**Short answer:** To connect Unleashed to Xero, go to Integration > Integration Store > Xero, click Install App and log in to Xero. Then pick your Sales, Cost of Goods Sold and Stock on Hand accounts, sync your taxes and choose what exports. Completed invoices and credits, receipted purchase orders and stock journals export to Xero. Products don't sync, and edits to transactions in Xero don't come back to Unleashed.

## Before you start

- Make the Stock on Hand account balance in Xero match the Stock Value in Unleashed's Stock on Hand Enquiry. Your opening stock value doesn't export to Xero, so if they differ, post a manual stock journal in Xero against the Stock on Hand account you'll choose in the integration.
- You need Administrator access to Xero, a chart of accounts with Revenue, Direct Cost and Current Asset accounts, and purchase and sales taxes set up in Xero.
- Your Unleashed user role needs these Settings permissions: Integration Store, Xero Configuration, Xero Export and Xero Import.
- Each Unleashed account connects to one Xero organization. Changing it later means removing and reinstalling the integration, so check you're connecting the right one.
- Give every customer and supplier contact a unique email address. Contacts sync to Xero by email, and one email can't be both a customer and a supplier.

## Step 1: Install the Xero integration

1. From the main menu, go to Integration > Integration Store > Xero.
2. In the Overview tab, click Install App.
3. On the Xero page that opens, log in to your Xero account.
4. You're sent back to Unleashed's Xero page to configure the integration.

## Step 2: Link your Xero accounts

1. In the Configuration tab, go to Link your Xero accounts to Unleashed.
2. Choose the Sales account (a Revenue account in Xero). Sales Invoices and Credits export to it.
3. Choose the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) account (a Direct Cost account). Shipments, credit returns and adjustment journals export to it.
4. Choose the Stock on Hand (SOH) account (a Current Asset account). Purchase Orders and stock movement journals export to it.
5. If a new account you created in Xero doesn't appear, go to the Manage Your Data tab and select Import Accounts.

You can override these defaults. A product's Sales and COGS accounts win over the customer's and the integration's. A customer's Sales account wins over the integration's default. To set accounts on many products at once, export the Products import template, fill in the account fields and re-import it. Changing a default only affects future transactions.

## Step 3: Set up your Xero taxes

1. In the Configuration tab, go to Setup your Xero taxes.
2. Click Auto Sync Tax Codes. Unleashed imports Xero's taxes and matches or creates taxes to fit.
3. Or click "Let me manually do this" and set the Accounting Tax on each tax in the Taxes page.
4. Set the default 0% taxes in the "Purchase Tax - No Tax (0%)" and "Sales Tax - No Tax (0%)" menus.

## Step 4: Choose what exports to Xero

1. In the Configuration tab, go to What exports to Xero?.
2. Turn on each setting you want under Sales, Purchasing and Production. Where a Configure link appears, set the Export Status, for example Draft, Awaiting Approval or Awaiting Payment.
3. For Export Sales Journals, choose Individually (one journal per Shipment) or Batched Daily (one journal for the day, exported at 2 A.M. local time).
4. Click Save Configuration.

| In Unleashed | Exports when | What it creates in Xero |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sales Invoice | Completed | Invoice |
| Credit Note or Free Credit | Completed | Credit Invoice, plus a stock journal if stock is returned |
| Shipment | Dispatched | Stock journal (SOH down, COGS up) |
| Purchase Order | Receipted or Completed | Bill to Pay |
| Purchase Order cost lines | With a different supplier or cost date | A separate Bill to Pay |
| Supplier Return | Completed | Credit Bill to Pay |
| Stock Adjustment, Stock Count, Stock Revaluation | Completed | Stock journal |
| Customers and Suppliers | When created or saved | Contact, matched by email address |
| Products | Never | Nothing: product details go on transaction lines only |

*From Unleashed's Xero help articles, checked October 23, 2026.*

## Step 5: Check that transactions are exporting

1. Go to Integration > Integration Store > Xero and select Export Data.
2. Pick a transaction tab, such as Sales Invoices or Purchase Orders, and set a date range.
3. Tick Only Show Problem Exports to see transactions that failed or haven't been tried.
4. Click Export on a row to send that transaction again.
5. Open the Connection Log and set Log Level to ERROR to read why an export failed. The log keeps 7 days of activity.

## If something doesn't look right

- An account is missing from the drop-down: Xero only offers Revenue, Direct Cost and Current Asset accounts. Check the account type in Xero, then use Import Accounts.
- Exports fail on tax: a tax in Unleashed with both Sales and Purchases ticked can't be mapped to a Xero tax. Set each one to either Sales or Purchase.
- Rounding exports fail: don't delete or change Xero's Account 860, which Xero uses for rounding.
- A contact won't sync: two records share an email address, or a customer and supplier share one. Make each email unique.
- Re-exporting fails: a transaction with the same number already exists in Xero. The integration blocks duplicates on purpose.
- You edited a transaction in Xero and Unleashed didn't change: the sync is one way. Make changes in Unleashed.

If the stock values drift apart, see [Why stock on hand in Unleashed doesn't match Xero](https://logistify.ai/guides/unleashed/stock-on-hand-not-matching-xero/).

## Where Unleashed leaves the work to you

- Matching the opening stock value. Unleashed doesn't send it, so someone posts the journal in Xero by hand.
- Approving drafts. Journals and bills that export as Draft don't change Xero's balances until someone approves them.
- Reconciling. Unleashed suggests running Reconcile Transactions every one to two weeks so month-end isn't a hunt.
- Re-exporting. From the Export Data page, failed transactions go one at a time. The View Failed Exports page has an Export All button.
- Goods received not invoiced. The integration has no GRNI holding state: a receipted purchase order posts to Xero straight away.
- Attachments stay in Unleashed's File Library. They don't export to Xero.

## Where Logistify fits

Logistify is a managed service. The [Sales Order Service](https://logistify.ai/agents/sales-order/) enters customer orders that arrive by email, PDF, Excel or EDI into Unleashed as sales orders, and creates sales quotes for quote requests. Invoicing, and everything this guide covers, stays with your team in Unleashed. Once invoices are out, the [Accounts Receivable Service](https://logistify.ai/agents/accounts-receivable/) matches payments from your bank file to open invoices and records them in Xero. If you've turned on the Payment Received flag sync in the Xero integration's Advanced Features, Unleashed then marks those invoices as Payment Received. If you're still deciding whether you need Unleashed at all, see [Unleashed or Xero's own inventory](https://logistify.ai/compare/unleashed-vs-xero-inventory/).

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Does Unleashed sync products to Xero?

No. Unleashed doesn't export product records. Product descriptions appear on the invoice lines, and stock value moves through journals to your Stock on Hand and COGS accounts.

### If I change an invoice in Xero, does Unleashed update?

No. Transactions flow one way, from Unleashed to Xero. Edits in Xero don't sync back and show up as variances, so make changes in Unleashed.

### Can I connect two Xero organizations to one Unleashed account?

No. Each Unleashed account connects to one Xero organization. Switching means removing and reinstalling the integration.

### Why is the shipment journal a different amount from the invoice?

The shipment journal carries the cost of the stock that left, at average landed cost. The invoice carries the price you charged the customer.

### Can Unleashed hold dispatch for customers over their credit limit?

Yes, if you turn on Enable Customer Credit Limits under Advanced Features. Credit limits and balances then sync with Xero, and customers over their limit can't have Shipments dispatched.

### Does Unleashed know when a Xero invoice has been paid?

Only if you turn on the Payment Received flag sync under Advanced Features. Unleashed then checks Xero hourly by default, or every 6 hours or daily, and flags Sales Invoices with a payment as Payment Received. The flag doesn't show whether the invoice was paid in full.

## Sources

- [Unleashed: Xero integration setup](https://help-unleashed.theaccessgroup.com/en/articles/11582212-xero-integration-setup)
- [Unleashed: Xero after the integration setup](https://help-unleashed.theaccessgroup.com/en/articles/11582214-xero-after-the-integration-setup)
- [Unleashed: Xero before the integration setup](https://help-unleashed.theaccessgroup.com/en/articles/11582211-xero-before-the-integration-setup)
- [Unleashed: Xero Integration Introduction](https://help-unleashed.theaccessgroup.com/en/articles/11582210-xero-integration-introduction)
- [Unleashed: Check for variances and reconcile with Xero](https://help-unleashed.theaccessgroup.com/en/articles/11582223-check-for-variances-and-reconcile-with-xero)
- [Unleashed: Reconcile with Xero and export transactions](https://help-unleashed.theaccessgroup.com/en/articles/11582216-reconcile-with-xero-and-export-transactions)