Integrate with Xero

Xero is an easy-to-use online accounting software that's designed specifically for small businesses. For more information, please visit Xero.

How to connect your Zettle account with Xero?

Using Zettle with your PayPal Business account? Please consider:
To avoid duplicated bookkeeping, it’s important that you only choose one source to integrate with accountancy platforms such as Xero.

If your business accepts most payments in-store through Zettle POS, consider integrating from my.zettle.com.

If your business tends to use more products offered by PayPal, such as the PayPal Business Mastercard, or takes mostly online transactions with few payments accepted in-store through Zettle, consider integrating from PayPal.com.

We’d always recommend chatting with your accountant if you’re unsure how to proceed.

1. Sign in to your Zettle account at my.zettle.com. 
2. Go to Integrations and find the Xero integration. 
3. Click Connect. 
4. Enter your Xero login details, then select which Xero organisation Zettle can access and select Authorise. You can connect only one Zettle account to one Xero organisation. 
5. Map the Zettle Accounts to your Xero Accounts. 
6. Choose a start date for when you want to retroactively export data. 
7. Click Save.  

Done! If everything is set up correctly, you will see your Zettle data in Xero the following day.

Unsupported plans

Certain Xero plans are not supported on Zettle because of their limited functionalities. Check if you need to change your plan before connecting to Zettle.

Not supported on Zettle:

• Xero Ledger
• Xero Cashbook

All other Xero plans are supported. Make sure you’re on one of the supported plans in order to connect to Zettle.

How does the integration work?

Zettle lets you import your sales and payments data daily into your Xero account. The integration is easy and simple to set up, and once you've connected your Xero account, Zettle will automatically import your data into the bookkeeping accounts of your choice.
In order to get a better understanding of your Zettle payments and fees, we suggest that you create separate bookkeeping accounts for each set of data, making it easier to get a clear overview of transactions going in and out of your Zettle account and your bank account.
The guide below is a suggestion on how to set up your connection with Xero in the most straightforward way.

Xero account type mapping

For the import to work seamlessly, you need to specify which Zettle data goes into which Xero account. Each transaction type can have a dedicated account in Xero. Read more about account mapping under "How does the data mapping between Zettle and Xero work exactly"?

 

Xero contacts

Zettle will create a contact "Zettle by PayPal" that will be used to book all transactions related to the integration.

If you have previously used a Zettle integration you may need to ensure these customers and suppliers are not archived within Xero before successfully setting up the configuration. To do this navigate to the Contacts sections in Xero, in the list view select the Archived tab. Select the "Zettle by PayPal" contact and click restore. Select before attempting to setup your integration again.

Frequently asked questions

Can I connect multiple Zettle accounts to Xero?

You can only connect one Zettle business account to one Xero organisation. 

When does the import happen?

When you set up the integration, you can select any date in the past to start the import. This will retroactively import data from Zettle to Xero for each day since the date selected. We recommend selecting a date within your current fiscal year in order to not alter any data in the period before the last closing of your books.

Zettle automatically imports data to Xero once every day at 00:00 GMT. Once you set up the integration, the first Zettle data will appear in Xero the next day. 

Can I change the start date after setting up the integration?

After the first successful data import between Zettle and Xero you cannot change the start date, as it would result in duplicated data for overlapping days.

What data is shared between Zettle and Xero?

When you authorise the connection between Zettle and Xero you give permission to Xero to read your Zettle sales and financial data. You also give permission to Zettle to read your Xero organisation’s company, accounts, tax rates, customers, suppliers, invoices, bills, payments, balance sheets and bank statements.

How can I avoid double-counting purchases if I am using a POS other tha Zettle and have already integrated with Xero?

If you are using a point-of-sale app other tha Zettle that is already connected to Xero, switch off the “‘Synchronise sales data” option in order to avoid double-counting. In this case, you only need to sync Zettle fees data to Xero. You can do this by selecting an account for “Zettle fees” to record fees as an expense (bill), and you should also select an account for “Zettle Card Payments” to record payments for the expense. The Zettle fees are subtracted from card payments upon payout from Zettle to your bank account.

Does the integration offer tax rate advice for my business? 

The integration does not provide tax rate advice, and it doesn't automatically populate tax rates that are suitable for your business. This is due to the fact that your business type, products and services type are not validated by Zettle, and you need to consult the tax rules and / or your accountant to be accurate with the tax rates. Please also be aware that tax rates are subject to permanent or temporary changes by the applicable tax rules. It is strongly recommended that you adjust the tax rates for your business in your Zettle and Xero account, when there is a tax rate change from the tax rules.

What should I do when I get errors regarding a missing tax rate?

This is often due to a mismatch of tax rate settings between your Zettle account and Xero account. If you are actively using one or more tax rates, please make sure to set up the tax rates in both your Zettle and Xero accounts. You can then view and configure the tax rates in your Zettle account and map them to your Xero account. 

Bank reconciliation 

In order for Xero to reconcile your Zettle payments, you may need to do an initial "Match" for your Zettle deposits. Once a deposit has been made into your bank account, this transaction will show up under your bank statement lines in your bank reconciliation page in Xero.

The first time Zettle makes a deposit you may find Xero doesn't automatically match it to the Zettle transfer used to represent deposits. In this case please use the "Match" tab, under "match with your transactions in Xero" and search for the transactions "Bank Transfer to ... from [your selected Zettle liquid account]". The next time you visit your Xero bank reconciliation page, Xero should automatically suggest the Bank Transfer transaction - you just need to click "OK".

The data sync has stopped and I’m missing Zettle data in Xero. What can I do?

Log in to my.zettle.com and navigate to "Integrations". Verify that your connection to Xero is still active, if not, your connection to Xero has been deauthorised – usually due to password or permission change in Xero – and you have to connect again.

If your connection is active, navigate to the Xero settings page and verify that you have a valid account selected for each required field. If an account is missing or has become archived in Xero, you will see an error message on the field. Make sure to select a new account and save the new settings. The integration will automatically backfill data for the missing period with the new settings from the next day. 

If all settings look good on the Xero page in Zettle, please check your Xero account and make sure that your subscription is active and you have not reached the maximum amount of invoices allowed within your subscription.

In case all of the above checks up, but the issue persists, please contact our support.

Zettle Sales 

Account mapping

Switch on to sync Zettle sales data in Xero if you are using Zettle Go as your point of sale. Switch off if you are using another point-of-sale system (e.g. Lightspeed, The Good Till, Revel) that already syncs sales data in Xero to prevent double counting. With the daily sales recording switched off, the Zettle integration needs only to record the fees and fee refunds (see below).

Sales are booked on a nominal account in the “Revenue” category.

How does this data appear in Xero?

With daily sales recording switched on, Zettle pushes a single sales invoice to Xero each day. This invoice represents all sales made over the course of that day. The invoice will contain one line item for each tax rate, with this line item representing the total of all sales at that tax rate. If no sales have been made for a given tax rate on that day, the corresponding line item will be omitted. The sale will be recorded against the Zettle customer, and the sales account for all line items will be set to the Zettle sales account.

The sales invoice will be linked to a number of invoices (see Zettle Invoices for more information). If all payments are received the invoice will be marked as “paid”.

Zettle Refunds

Account mapping

Refunds are also booked on a nominal account of type “Revenue” and will appear on the Income section of a profit and loss report. When purchase refunds are recorded in Xero, the negative revenue will be booked to this account. It is typical to select the same account as for the Zettle sales account (see “Sales” above). However, a different account could be used if you want to report refunds separately within Xero.

How does this data appear in Xero?

Zettle pushes a single sales credit note to Xero each day. This invoice represents all refunds made over the course of that day. The credit note will contain one line item for each tax rate, with this line item representing the total of all refunds at that tax rate. If no refunds have been made for a given tax rate on that day, the corresponding line item will be omitted. The credit note will be recorded against the Zettle customer (see “Sales” above), and the sales account for all line items will be set to the Zettle refund account.

Zettle pushes refund payment data as “cash refunds”. A transaction will be recorded against the credit note for each payment type refunded. This refund will be taken from the selected account to receive payments for each payment type (see payment types below). 

Zettle Tipping

Account mapping

Your customers can add an extra amount to their bill when taking payments via a Zettle reader. Tips (also known as a gratuity) are booked on a nominal account in the “Liability” category.

How this data appears in Xero

Gratuity is pushed to Xero as part of the daily sales invoice as a separate line item.

Zettle Gift Cards

Account mapping

• Gift card sales: a nominal account of type ‘Liability’ or ‘Revenue’. The value of this account represents the amount of outstanding gift cards. Selling a gift card goes to the Prepaid account in Xero, which is set up as a liability account. When a customer pays with a gift card, it will be debited from the selected liability account.
• Gift card payment: The payment representing selling an item with a gift card is the Prepaid Payment account.  

How this data appears in Xero

The gift card sold will appear as a line item on the daily sales invoice.

Items paid by gift card will be represented on the daily sales invoice:

Items paid by gift card will be also represented as a bank transaction:

Zettle Fees

Zettle takes a percentage commission on every card transaction processed by the Zettle card reader. Zettle also charges fees for Zettle invoice payments and Cash Advance, if these are applicable to you. The fees affect the amount deposited in your bank account, as they are subtracted from the card payment amounts upon payout. Due to this, the Current (Zettle liquid account) account would not be zero after completing reconciliation against the bank feed. The integration, therefore, creates a bill in Xero to account for Zettle fees. The payment for Zettle fees will be applied to the account used for Zettle card payments (Zettle liquid account).

Account mapping

• Zettle fees account – This is a nominal account of type “Expenses”, and will appear in the Expense section of a profit and loss report. When fees are recorded in Xero, they will be booked against this account.
• Zettle fees supplier – Accounts Payable in Xero must be booked against a contact, representing the supplier to which the cash is paid.

How this data appears in Xero

Zettle pushes a single purchase invoice (bill) to Xero each day. This bill represents all fees taken by Zettle over the course of that day. The bill will contain a single line.

The bill will be recorded against the Zettle fees supplier, and the expense account for the line item will be set to the Zettle fees account.

A single payment is pushed for the full payment of the bill, representing the transfer of money out of the liquid account to pay the fees. This payment is taken from the account selected to receive Zettle card payments.

For fee refunds, a single bill credit note is pushed each day representing all fee refunds processed that day. A “cash refund” payment for the whole value of the credit note is simultaneously pushed, so the bill credit note is fully paid (as no further cash is owed by Zettle). This payment is paid into the same account selected to receive Zettle card payments.

Zettle deposits 

Deposits are the revenue from your sales after deducting any fees owed to Zettle.
When your funds are paid out, your bank will process and deposit it in your bank account. You must reconcile the Zettle deposit transaction against the deposit amount from your bank statement on Xero.

Accounting mapping

On the Xero integration, Deposits can take place where 
 

• Zettle Liquid Account is a Bank Account or a Nominal Account on Xero 
• Zettle Deposit Account is always a Bank Account on Xero. 

 

Zettle Liquid and Zettle Deposit account mappings cannot be the same. 
Please ensure that the account selected as the Deposit account represents your real bank account where funds are to be paid out.  

How this data appears on Xero

Transfer 

The data will show up as a transfer if your selected Zettle liquid account was a bank account in Xero.  

 

Receive Money Transaction 

Alternatively, the data will show up as a receive money transaction, if your selected Zettle liquid account was a nominal account in Xero.  

 

Bank Feed Reconciliation 

Once the sync is complete, a transfer or receive money transaction has been created. If automated bank feeds are set up in Xero from your bank account, then, the bank statement transaction can be reconciled against the entries made on the general ledger as shown below.

 

Zettle liquid account

The account configured for Zettle payments by card, Alipay and QR represents the Zettle liquid account.

Account mapping

You can assign your liquid account to either a bank account or a nominal account in Xero. For best accounting consistency, we recommend using a Xero bank account. 
Your payments data will appear in the current assets section of the balance sheet report.  

How this data appears in Xero

Zettle pushes a single payment to Xero per day per payment type which has been used that day. So if you process ten card payments and twenty cash payments in one day, two payments are pushed. These payments are recorded against the daily sales invoice.

Zettle Online Card Payments

Customers can pay with Zettle Online Card Payments either via “Pay by link” in Zettle Go or in Zettle’s e-commerce platform. In Xero, online card payments work the same way as in-store card payments. We recommend you select the same nominal or bank account as for card payments.

Zettle Invoice

Account mapping

• Invoice payments account – This is an account of type Revenue or Liability (where checked for “enable payments to this account” in Xero) where payments against invoices are received. As invoice payments are handled by Zettle, this account should represent the Zettle liquid account, and thus be the same as the card payment account.
 
• Invoice fees account – This is a nominal account of type "Expenses", and will appear on the expenses section of a profit and loss report. Payment fee transactions will be reconciled against this account.
 
• Invoice sales account - This is the sale account as selected for all "Zettle Sales Data". See Zettle Sales for more information.

How this data appears in Xero

An invoice is pushed to Xero as normal when an invoice purchase is made. However, a payment is not immediately pushed against the invoice, so the invoice is displayed with an outstanding balance.

When the customer makes a payment against the invoice, the payment is pushed against the original invoice. This payment is booked against the Invoice payments account, which should match the Zettle liquid account as this is where invoice payments are paid into. If the payment pays the invoice in full, the invoice will be marked as paid in Xero.

Please note: There are cases where a payment for an invoice is never received. Zettle will check for 30 days after the due date of the invoice. After this time its recommended, if payment has not been collected you will need to manually update in QBO (as paid or as a write-off). 


Invoice fees are pushed in a similar way to standard Zettle card fees (see "Fees" above). A bill is pushed, recorded against the Zettle fees supplier as a single line item, with the expense account set to the Invoice fees account. A single payment is simultaneously pushed for the full payment of the bill, representing the transfer of money out of the liquid account to pay the fees. This payment is taken from the Invoice payments account.

Zettle Cash Advance

Account mapping

• Cash Advance account – a nominal account of type ‘Liability’ (Current or non-current). This account will appear in the Liabilities section of a balance sheet report. The value of this account represents the amount of the loan principal that is yet to be repaid. 
• Cash Advance fees account – This is the same account as selected for Zettle fee. 
• Cash advance payment account – This is the same account as configured for Zettle card payments.

How this data appears in Xero

The advance transaction is pushed to Xero as a “receive money” transaction into the card payment bank account (the liquid account). This transaction is reconciled to the Cash Advance liability account, and thus increases the value on that account.

Repayments of the advance are pushed as “spend money” transactions into the card payment bank account (the liquid account). These transactions are reconciled to the Cash Advance liability account, and thus decrease the value on that account (representing the outstanding principal going down).

Advance fees are likewise pushed as ‘Spend money’ transactions in the liquid account, but are reconciled against the Cash Advance fees expense account, representing a one-off cost to the business.