Sharing your Xero data

How to securely share your Xero data with Validis

You've been invited to share your accounting data. This is a modern way of sharing financial information: rather than exporting reports, attaching spreadsheets to emails, and answering follow-up questions for weeks afterwards, you give permission and your data is sent across securely in the background.

Xero is a cloud accounting package, so there's nothing to install. The whole process happens in your browser and takes about five minutes.

• There is nothing to export, attach, or email.
• Far less back and forth, because the right information arrives first time.
• Access is read-only, and you can withdraw it whenever you want.

Before you start

Check these things before you begin:

• Make sure you're online. You'll need a stable internet connection throughout.
• Have a Xero account and access to the data you want to share.
• Be an Administrator in Xero, or a Standard user with permission to set up and disconnect connected apps. A Xero administrator in your business can grant this if you're not sure.
• Make sure your Xero role includes access to Reports. Administrators have this already. For Standard users, it's an optional permission that has to be switched on.
• Know your Xero email address and password. You'll enter these on Xero's own login page, not the Validis portal.

If you're not sure about any of these, your IT team or whoever administers your Xero account will be able to help.

Step 1

Get started with your engagement

Log in to the Validis portal, select the relevant Engagement, then select Share Data Now.

Step 2

Choose your accounting package

Search for or select your accounting package from the list, choose Xero, then continue. Your browser will redirect you to Xero to log in and give permission.

Step 3

Log in to Xero

You'll land on Xero's own login page. Before you type anything, check that the address bar shows a xero.com web address and that the page names the app you're expecting (Validis).

Enter your Xero email address and password, then select Log in. If you use two-step authentication, Xero will ask for your code as usual.

Step 4

Choose the organisation to share

Xero shows you the organisations linked to your login. Select the one you've been asked to share. If you only have one organisation in Xero, it may already be selected for you.

Sharing more than one company? Each Xero organisation is shared separately. If you need to share several companies, repeat this process for each one.

Step 5

Allow access

Xero shows you exactly what's being requested before anything is shared: Reports, Organisation settings, General ledger, Business transactions, and Contacts. Read the list, check the organisation name is correct, then select Allow access.

Step 6

Let the transfer finish

Xero confirms the connection and sends you back to the portal, where you may be asked to confirm the company once more. After that, the two systems talk to each other directly in the background.

Depending on how much data your company file holds, this can take anywhere from a few minutes to considerably longer. You don't need to wait: because the transfer happens system to system, you can carry on with other work, close your browser, or shut your computer down entirely. The transfer will continue without you.

We recommend logging out of Validis once you've allowed access and your share status changes to "Loading."

After you've shared your data

You can follow progress in the portal:

Your Engagement Manager or Client Manager will be notified by email once your share is complete.

What you're sharing

Xero lists the categories of data being requested on the consent screen. For this share, they are:

• Reports
• Organisation settings
• General ledger
• Business transactions
• Contacts

Everything requested is read-only. The connection can read your accounting data. It cannot post, edit, or delete anything in Xero.

You stay in control. To withdraw access, go to Settings in Xero, then Connected apps, and select Disconnect next to the app. Nothing further will be sent, although data already shared will still be held by whoever you shared it with.

Frequently asked questions

My organisation isn't in the list.

This is usually one of three things: your Xero role for that organisation doesn't have permission to connect apps, the organisation is already connected, or you're signed in as an adviser rather than with the client organisation's own login. Xero recommends that businesses connect apps to their own organisation themselves.

Xero says I don't have permission.

You need to be an Administrator, or a Standard user who has been given permission to set up and disconnect connected apps. A Xero administrator in your business can change this for you.

The status has been showing Loading for a long time.

For larger company files this is normal. Xero caps how much data can be retrieved in a day, so a very large ledger can take a long time, occasionally more than a day. Leave it running. If it hasn't moved on after several hours, or if it stops, contact the person who asked you to share.

I picked the wrong organisation.

Nothing in Xero is affected. Before you try again, disconnect the app in Xero under Settings, then Connected apps. If you skip this, Xero may grey out the organisation or take you straight past the selection screen. Then start a new share and choose the correct one. Let the person who asked you to share know, so they can tidy up the data you didn't mean to send.

I've been asked to log in to Xero again.

The connection renews itself in the background, but from time to time it needs re-authorising. When that happens, Xero asks you to log in and allow access again. Follow the same steps as before.

The figures don't look like my Xero reports.

Small differences can occur where foreign currency is involved. Xero revalues unpaid invoices, unpaid bills, and foreign currency bank balances at the point it generates a report, so a report can differ from the underlying transactions. Raise it with the person who asked you to share and they can look into it.

Any other questions?

Contact whoever asked you to share your data. They can look into it for you.