Heather Smith - Xero For Dummies

If, however, your spreadsheets have been maintained in a random fashion, transforming them to a suitable layout for importing data into Xero may be time-consuming.

It may be that you need to manually enter data, following the guidelines provided in Chapter 2. Alternatively, you may be able to adopt a hybrid approach, importing some data and manually entering the remaining data.

At Christmas, our extended family gather to celebrate the festive season, and one of the highlights is the Ray Cresswell jigsaw marathon. The first jigsaw puzzle comes out on Christmas Eve — this is a 200-piece puzzle with large pieces, which suits the beginners and the kids. The family gathers, the kids get involved, pieces of the puzzle are turned over, the corners are found, the border is formed, scenes are created, and the puzzle is completed. The next puzzle commences on Christmas Day (in that space after the presents have been opened and the bucks fizz drunk, and before Christmas dinner is served). This puzzle has a few more pieces, and these pieces are a bit smaller, but our approach is exactly the same. This scene repeats over the next few days, until the biggest, toughest and meanest puzzle, with 2,000 teeny-tiny pieces, is unboxed. We gather, eager and well-prepared for the marathon challenge. Applying our well-practised approach, we tackle and conquer the puzzle. Success is ours!

Essentially, all accounting systems are the same as jigsaw puzzles — you just need to work out where all the pieces are supposed to go. Accounting systems are simply databases, or lists (or pieces) of data in different tables. To convert between solutions, you just need to export the data lists from the original system, review the format of the data, and import the data into the new system — in this case, Xero. With a systematic approach, you can work through each stage of the process.

The first part of the conversion is setting up your file framework for the imported data. Once you’ve done this, the conversion process moves through the following stages, regardless of the system you’re converting from:

Export data: Export available data from your previous accounting system and save it to your computer (see the section ‘ Setting up file directories’, later in this chapter, for information on how to set up your files).

Prepare data for importing: Use the conversion as an opportunity to tidy up your data lists and trim dead wood. Delete unused accounts and contacts that are no longer around. If historical data is imported, associated records, such as contacts, can’t be edited or deleted — otherwise, the records won’t match. Save updated files in CSV text file format (see the section ‘ Understanding the CSV file format’, later in this chapter, for more).

Import/update data into Xero: The Xero file needs to be created before data can be imported into it. Work through Chapter 2before embarking on this section. Because some of the data you need to import is reliant on or linked to other data, you should also import/update data in the following order:Tax Rates (review and manually update existing rates if necessary — the tax rates cannot be imported)Chart of AccountsContactsInventory ItemsSales InvoicesPurchases BillsBank TransactionsManual JournalsFixed Assets

Review and manually clean up imported data where necessary: If erroneous data is imported in error, select it to be archived. (And then review the process to identify what went wrong.)

Repeat until finished.

You can’t save a back-up of your Xero file prior to import. While this may seem a bit scary, in most processes you have the opportunity to review data before finally importing it.

Table 3-1provides a conversion checklist, and includes example file names for exported and imported data.

TABLE 3-1Conversion Checklist — Summary

The conversion from your existing computerised accounting system to Xero is an exciting and immensely satisfying challenge. In the following sections, I provide information about the conversion process that can be applied to all conversions, regardless of what system you’re converting from. Once data has been exported and prepared from your old accounting system, the process for importing that data into Xero is the same — see the section ‘ Importing Data into Xero’, later in this chapter, for more.

If you know Xero will be connected to another business solution, research how the app syncs with Xero and establish if you need to be aware of any peculiarities. For example, when the commercial property management solution Re-Leased syncs with Xero, your contacts’ information is pushed into Xero, so the optimal Xero–Re-Leased set-up involves entering your contacts’ details into Re-Leased first and not entering them into Xero, and so avoiding duplication of work. For more information on app solutions, see Chapter 16.

Before starting a conversion, you need to prepare yourself to ensure the process runs smoothly and you stay organised. The areas you need to understand initially are how to set up your file directories and how to access Xero templates. The following sections take you through these areas.

Before starting your data conversion, work through Chapter 2and create a Xero file the data can be imported into. When you get to the point where you’re ready to import your own chart of accounts, you can jump back to this chapter.

Lots of files are created and used during the conversion process. Keep track of them by creating a simple file directory system that works for you. For example, you could create a high-level file directory called ‘CONVERSION-BusinessName’ and three sub-folders called ‘DataReadyForImporting’ ‘ExportedData’ ‘XeroTemplates’. You can then save all files used during the conversion to the relevant subdirectory.

When working with virtual teams, using an online storage solution makes it easy for all members of the team to access the conversion files. Simply set up a specific online storage folder and save a link to the folder in the ‘CONVERSION-BusinessName’ file. Online storage options include Dropbox, Google Drive and SugarSync.