Xero guide

Software Setup

To acquire your own Xero instance, you must create a Xero account and sign up for a free trial.

To get realistic data, you can use a Xero demo company.

Rutter does not provide a Xero instance.

Xero App Partnership

Work out which Xero approval path applies to you before you start building. Xero limits how many organizations a developer app can connect to, and how you raise that limit depends on who you are and how far you need to scale:

• Up to Xero's self-service ceiling, you can raise the limit yourself by moving up a Xero developer pricing tier. No approval is involved — you pay and the limit rises.
• Past that ceiling, you enter an approval process. Xero reviews your app and the scopes you request from your users before granting the higher limit.
• If you are a financial service provider, you go through Xero's Financial Services Partnership queue regardless of your connection count — see below.

Entering the wrong path is the most common cause of a launch delay.

Which path applies to you?

In practice, most Rutter customers integrating Xero fall into the financial services category. If you are unsure which path applies to you, ask your Rutter Customer Success Manager before applying — entering the wrong queue means starting over in the right one.

What Xero will ask for

Set up your Xero developer app first (see Developer Account Setup below), because the application asks which app the access should be provisioned to. Have the following ready:

• The name and Client ID of the Xero developer app whose credentials you have configured in the Rutter Dashboard.
• Which Xero data you read and write, and what your platform does with it.
• For Bank Feeds, whether you sync transactions from bank accounts, credit cards, or both, so that Xero provisions your app for the right account types.
• A walkthrough of your end-user journey. Xero reviews the actual product experience before granting full access, so expect to demo account mapping, connection management, and disconnection flows.

Developer Account Setup

Create a Xero app

1. Log in to Xero Developer with your Xero credentials.

2. Click New App at the top right

3. Fill out the Add a new app popup window.

   • App name: The name for the Xero application. This is shown to users when they authorize your access to their accounting data.
   • Integration type: Select Web App.
   • Company or application URL: Enter the URL to your company’s website.
   • Redirect URI: Enter https://production.rutterapi.com/xero/proxy/redirect-url

   Agree to the terms and conditions and click Create App.

4. Your app should now be visible on the My Apps page.

Retrieve your app’s secure keys

1. Click My Apps in the top navigation bar, then select your application.
2. Click Configuration in the left pane.
3. Click Generate a secret.
4. Copy the Client secret and store it in a safe place. If you leave the configuration page, the client secret won’t be visible anymore and you’ll have to generate a new one if you forget it.

Share your Client Id and Client Secret with Rutter

1. Log in to the Rutter Dashboard.
2. Navigate to Platforms → Accounting and click on Xero.
3. Enter your Xero app’s Client ID and Client Secret in the Xero configuration page.

Connect to your Xero app

1. Log in to the Rutter Dashboard.
2. Navigate to Connections and click on Create New Connection in the top right.
3. Copy the Shareable Url.
4. This url will open up the auth flow.
5. Click Continue and select Xero as your platform.
6. Click Xero and then click _Connect Xero.
7. You should be redirected to a login page for Xero. Enter your credentials and click Log in.
8. Click on Allow access.
9. You should be redirected to a page indicating a successful connection.

Reference

FAQ

How are Xero contacts classified as Vendors or Customers?

In Xero, contacts only become a customer or a vendor once an AP or AR transaction is applied to them e.g. an invoice or a bill. Up until this point, they remain as just a contact and not a customer or a supplier within Xero. If a contact has no transactions applied ot them, they will appear in the Rutter API as both a vendor and a customer so you can use them with any new transactions you would like to create.

What accounts can be used in transactions with Xero?

Some accounts cannot be used in Xero transactions.

How do I know whether Xero considers us a financial service provider?

Xero treats you as a financial service provider if you pull bills or invoices out of Xero to be paid on your platform, need Xero Bank Feeds, or use Xero data for underwriting, lending, or credit decisioning. Most Rutter customers integrating Xero meet at least one of these. If you do, apply through Xero's Financial Services Partnership form rather than the standard app partner tier upgrade. See Xero App Partnership for the full comparison.

We applied to be a Xero partner so that we can raise our connection limit but haven’t gotten a response. Do you all know if we’re missing something here? What do you suggest?

First, confirm you are in the right queue. If you are a financial service provider (see the question above), the standard self-service app partner tier upgrade is not your path — you need to apply through Xero's Financial Services Partnership form instead, and time spent waiting in the self-service queue does not carry over.

Also check whether you actually need an approval at all. If you are below Xero's self-service ceiling, you can raise your limit immediately by moving up a Xero developer pricing tier — no approval required. The approval process only applies above that ceiling.

If you are in the right queue and genuinely need the approval, we recommend that you continue to pursue it, but this can take time — the Financial Services path routinely takes several months. In the meantime, you can create an additional Xero app in your developer portal and replace the OAuth credentials in the Rutter dashboard with the new ones, which gives you that app's connection allowance on top of what you already have. The old connections will continue to function, and you will be able to make new connections with the new credentials. Treat this as a stopgap for testing and early customers, not a substitute for the partnership process.

Can Rutter or Xero expedite our tier upgrade if we are close to launch?

No. Xero's Financial Services review involves contract review and a review of your end-user journey, and Xero does not shorten it to meet a launch date. This is why we ask you to file the application at the start of your integration work rather than when you run out of connections. If you are already blocked, contact your Rutter Customer Success Manager — we can help you confirm your application is in the correct queue and set up the additional-app stopgap above, but neither we nor Xero can accelerate the review itself.

My user has reached the maximum number of uncertified apps they can install, what should we do?

Xero has a rule that users can only install up to 2 uncertified apps. They need to remove an existing one to install your app if it's uncertified. If you go through the Xero certification process successfully, you will not face this problem.

I am reconnecting my Xero organization to my Xero app, but Xero says the organization is Already Connected? How can I resolve?

In Xero, an organisation can only be connected to one app instance at a time. If the org is already connected, it shows up in the dropdown as “Already connected” and is greyed out, so users won’t be able to select it during re-auth.

To manually disconnect an existing organization from an app in Xero, you need to:

1. Log in to Xero with the account that has access to the organization.
2. In the top-left corner, select the organization they want to disconnect.
3. Select the profile icon (or organization name) and go to Settings.
4. Under Connected Apps, find the app you want to disconnect (in this case, your Xero app that is being used by Rutter).
5. Select Disconnect.

Once disconnected, the organization will no longer be linked to your Xero app. Now, the dropdown in the Rutter Link authentication screen will allow you to reselect and reconnect your desired organization.

Naming Conventions

Accounting platforms can refer to Rutter objects by different names internally.

Bills

Xero refers to both Bills and Invoices as "Invoices".

Vendors & Customers

Xero refers to both Vendors and Customers as "Contacts".

Expenses

Xero represents Expenses as "Bank Transactions" of type "Spend" (visible through "Bank Transactions", not the "Expenses" product).