How to Connect Xero to Google Sheets with Automated Updates

How to Connect Xero to Google Sheets with Automated Updates

Published in Use cases on , last updated .

Xero is a fantastic accounting tool for businesses, as it’s ideal for quickly processing bills, invoices, and all things finance from a single space. But, when you need to report on the latest financial data, there’s nothing like having a clearly detailed and accurate spreadsheet handy.

This guide will show you how to connect your Xero account to Google Sheets so that bills and invoices populate your spreadsheet rows automatically. This will apply to all historical data, as well as any new bills or invoices – once the integration is complete. From there, any changes made to those same invoices or bills in Xero will automatically update in your spreadsheet (but not the other way around).

In this article:

Here’s a look at how Unito syncs Xero data to Google Sheets:

A screenshot of Xero invoices synced to Google Sheets with Unito
A screenshot of Xero invoices synced to Google Sheets with Unito
A screenshot of Xero invoices synced to Google Sheets with Unito
Skip ahead to the guide

Each row in Google Sheets represents a Xero invoice or bill, while the columns represent the various fields (e.g., amount paid, invoice number, amount due, etc.). So you’ll need a header row at the top of each sheet you plan on syncing.

Watch Unito’s 2-way Google Sheets integration in action:

Why Connect Xero to Google Sheets with Unito?

This workflow is designed for a finance team that’s struggling to keep up with the constant flow of new documents that need to be added to a spreadsheet report. Or, perhaps you want to extend visibility to managers or executives without giving everyone access to Xero.

The idea is to simplify your day by getting your Xero data into specific spreadsheets automatically so that you don’t have to worry about exporting and importing CSVs or manually copy pasting details.

Instead, if anyone needs information about a specific time period’s worth of bills or invoices, you can sync them over instead and save yourself a lot of manual effort.

Is Unito secure?

Yes! All your financial data is encrypted when synced by Unito. We’re proud to be GDPR-Compliant and SOC 2 Type 2 Certified. You can find out more on Unito’s security page.

The process is simple, and the principles apply to any of Unito’s Google Sheets integrations from project management apps to software development tools and more. Before you can sync your spreadsheets though, you’ll need to visit the Google Workspace Marketplace to install Unito Spreadsheet Sync. This Google Sheets extension enables your data to flow back and forth between tables and your other data sources.

Preparing your spreadsheet to sync invoices and bills

So before you get started, you need to set up your spreadsheet in advance so that Unito knows where to sync your bills and invoices from Xero.

In other words, your rows will represent bills and invoices, while your columns represent the fields, or details, of each.

Add a header row to your spreadsheet

There are 17 fields Unito can sync from Xero, and each will need a column in your spreadsheet:

Syncable Invoice FieldsSyncable Bill Fields
Amount Paid
Contact email address
Contact ID
Contact name
Currency Code
Date
Description
Due date
Invoice ID
Invoice Number
Status
Sub total
Total
Total tax
Updated Date UTC
URL of the invoice		Amount due
Amount paid
Contact email address
Contact id
Contact name
Currency code
Date
Due date
ID
Item names
Number
Subtotal
Total
Total tax
Update date (UTC)
URL of the invoice
  1. Decide if you’re syncing invoices or bills in your first Unito flow.
  2. Copy the fields you want to see in your spreadsheet from the list above.
  3. Paste them into the first row (the header row)

Install the Unito Spreadsheet Sync extension for Google Sheets

Head over to the Google Workspace Marketplace so you can install Unito Spreadsheet Sync, which is required in order to sync your spreadsheets.

Here is an example of a header row. You’ll need to label the first and last columns of your sheet: “UnitoID” and “Last Modified”. The Unito Spreadsheet Sync extension does this automatically, or you can create these cells manually.

Step 1: Connect Google Sheets and Xero to Unito

Now you’re ready to start syncing.

  1. Login to Unito Sync Platform and click +Create Flow.
  2. Click Start Here.
  3. Select +Add a tool to this flow in either column, then Xero or Google Sheets.
  4. +Choose account to specify the account you want to use.
  5. Xero: Select the organization you’ll be connecting, then choose bills or invoices.
  6. Google Sheets:Pick the sheet you want to connect to Unito.
    • Tip: You can copy-paste the URL of your Google Sheet into the search box to speed up this process.
  7. Click Confirm.

Here’s what our demo flow looks like after we connected Xero and Google Sheets:

A screenshot of the Unito interface showing a user connecting a Xero account to Google Sheets.
Make sure you’ve installed Unito Spreadsheet Sync, and added the two columns: UnitoID and Last Modified in your sheet at the beginning and end of the columns you want to sync, otherwise Unito will tell you that the add-on is not yet fully configured.

When you’re ready, select Confirm.

Step 2: Filter data to export from Xero to Google Sheets

Here you can establish triggers to determine which Xero bills or invoices to sync over to Google Sheets. Since this is a new integration, the options are somewhat limited. For now you can only filter bills and invoices by fields that have “any value” or an “empty value”. In other words, if that field has been filled in in Xero or not.

Here’s an example of our basic rules after connecting Xero and Google Sheets

A screenshot of a user syncing Xero invoices to Google Sheets and setting rules in Unito
In the actions section, you can tell Unito whether to keep “inactive” rows in Google Sheets or delete them automatically once your bills or invoices have been processed. Choose “Preserve” if you want to keep records of all bills and invoices, and choose “Remove” if you prefer to just keep track of all active Xero bills or invoices in Google Sheets.

You can learn more about setting up rules here.

Step 3. Choose which Xero fields to sync to your spreadsheet

After opening this screen, you’ll have two options to choose from. Since we’re working with spreadsheets (which don’t have pre-defined fields), you’ll have to Start from scratch.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Asana-master-project-mappings-method-selection.png

The field names you added to your Google Sheets header row will now appear here for you to pair them up individually with your fields in Xero. They don’t need to have exactly the same names, as long as you know which information from Xero should link to which columns in your spreadsheet.

Here’s an example:

A list of paired fields between Xero and Google Sheets including: invoice ID, tax, subtotal, total, email address, amount paid, status, invoice number, contact name, due date, description, currency code, and amount due.

Any time information is modified in Xero, those changes will be reflected in your spreadsheet.

If you forgot to include a specific field in Google Sheets when you get to this stage, you can modify your sheet (including adding new columns), but you won’t see those new field names appear in Unito unless you close your browser tab and re-open it.

Note: If you change a column name in a spreadsheet that is actively syncing, be sure to update your flow’s field mappings in Unito or else your flow will stop syncing.

Click Confirm when you’re satisfied with your field mappings.

Step 4: Save, launch, and export your Xero bills or invoices to Google Sheets!

And that’s it! You’ve just built a flow between Xero and Google Sheets! Congratulations!

If you followed the steps above, your flow will now:

  • Automatically create new Google Sheets rows based on specific Xero bills or invoices.
  • Keep your spreadsheet automatically updated as you modify details of your bills or invoices, or add new ones.

Here’s an example of our demo’s completed integration between Xero and Google Sheets:

A screenshot of a Xero invoice synced to Google Sheets with Unito
A screenshot of a Xero invoice synced to Google Sheets with Unito
A screenshot of a Xero invoice synced to Google Sheets with Unito

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know.

What’s next after connecting Xero and Google Sheets to Unito?

If you want to know what else you can do with Unito after you connect Xero and Google Sheets, here’s some inspiration to help you power up your workflows:

Best practices and troubleshooting for Unito’s Google Sheets integration

Common error messages

If you see either of the error messages below, it likely indicates that one or both of the columns: “UnitoID” and “Last Modified” have been deleted or modified from your sheet. You’ll need to re-insert them (either manually or with the add-on) before your data will sync again.

“We’ve detected that mandatory columns have been removed from your Google Sheet. Let’s get you back up and running.”

“The container configuration does not allow us to sync.”

Getting around with Google Sheets and Unito

You can find more information on the following topics in Unito’s knowledge base: