If your accounts are in Xero and your staff claim expenses in Zoho Expense, you can connect the two so that approved expenses reach Xero without re-keying. This article explains how the integration works, how to connect it, and what to map and decide first. It replaces an earlier note from March 2019 that said the integration was in beta and enabled on request, which is no longer the position.

How it works

The data you choose to import, export, and map is synced automatically once a day, and an Instant Sync button updates it straight away.

Before you connect

Connect Zoho Expense to Xero

1. In Zoho Expense, open the Admin module, then Integrations, and choose Xero under Accounting.
2. Click Connect to Xero. You are sent to Xero's sign-in page, where you enter your credentials.
3. Select the Xero organisation to connect, and click Allow access.
4. You are returned to Zoho Expense to set up the integration.

Configure what moves in each direction

• Import from Xero. Choose to bring across accounts, customers, and tracking categories. When accounts are imported as categories, your existing Zoho Expense categories become inactive.
• Tracking categories. Map each Zoho Expense tag to a tracking category in Xero. The options in Xero are imported as the tag's options, but a tag's options in Zoho Expense are not exported to Xero. Once mapped, the tag's existing options in Zoho Expense become inactive.
• Taxes. Map the taxes in Zoho Expense to the matching taxes in Xero, so the right tax is applied on export.
• Reimbursable expenses. Choose a liability account to track what you owe employees, and set the bill date to the last expense date, the report approval date, or the report submitted date.
• Non-reimbursable expenses. Choose a default payment account from your Xero bank and credit card accounts, and set the bank transaction date.
• Employees as suppliers. To create bills, map each employee to a supplier in Xero. If you do not, a new supplier is created in Xero and automatically mapped to that employee.
• Corporate card feeds. You can associate a card in Zoho Expense with a card or bank account in Xero.
• Credits. If a report's reimbursable total is below zero because of credit expenses, it is exported as a supplier credit note.

Exporting reports

Once a report is approved, it can be exported automatically on approval, or manually by the admin who set up the integration. To export manually, go to Approvals, open the report, and click Export to Xero at the top. You can share access with other admins, who can then export, instant-sync, and map users and merchants.

Setting it up well: our advice

This section is our own advice, not Zoho's.

1. Tidy your Xero chart of accounts first, because it becomes your employees' expense categories. Hide accounts nobody should claim against.
2. Start with manual export, and check the first few bills and bank transactions in Xero with your bookkeeper, before you switch to automatic.
3. Map your employees to suppliers yourself, to avoid duplicate supplier records.
4. Check VAT carefully. In the UK and Ireland, VAT treatment on expenses, especially travel, meals, and entertainment, has specific rules. Agree the tax mapping with your accountant. This is general guidance and not tax advice.
5. Remember the currency rule. If your Xero file is not in the same base currency as Zoho Expense, you cannot connect, so check before you plan the rollout.