Configuring your Xero Integration
If you use Xero for your practice (and love Xero as much as we do!) then leverage our direct integration to sync your Xero records with Socket for effortless client billing.
We don't bring Xero records directly into Socket, (unless it is acting as the primary CRM for the practice). Instead, we match Socket clients to Xero contacts behind the scenes, and we'll warn you on the Billing Plan if there are any Socket clients unmatched to a Xero contacts.
To get started, head over the Practice Settings > Integrations and click "Connect with Xero".
Select Your Xero Company
Choose your practice's Xero company and allow access. This will sync your Xero general ledger account codes and contacts with Socket. Once connected, you'll see the "Connected to Xero" green tick.
Set Default Account Codes
Select the default account code for recurring and one-off sales. This ensures all invoices are categorised to match your preferences, in Xero.
Choose a different Account Code for one-off pieces of work if necessary. This helps in segregating your regular revenue from ad-hoc projects in Xero.
This can also be changed within the pricing section for each service, but if left unchanged, it will use the default set above.
Go to Services & Pricing and click the 3 dots on the right hand side of your Active Pricing Menu, then select Billing & Engagement Letter Settings:
A note on VAT codes: Socket does not apply or control VAT codes on invoices. VAT is determined by the account codes you have configured in Xero. If invoices are posting to Xero with an incorrect VAT code, check the settings on the relevant account code in Xero rather than in Socket.
Consolidate Invoice Lines
Whilst this setting isn't in the Xero integration settings and it's actually in the "Billing Settings" section, it's very much related to the Xero integration.
You can choose whether to consolidate your services into one line item, or allow each service to have its own line.
Go to our help guide on how to Configure your Billing settings for more info.
Xero Tracking Category 1 on proposals
When building a proposal for a Xero client, you can assign a Tracking Category 1 value to each service line. The category is passed through to Xero automatically when the proposal is accepted, so your Xero reporting is set up correctly from day one without any manual entry after signing.
To use this, make sure your Xero Tracking Categories are set up in Xero first. Socket will pull them through once connected. You'll find the Tracking Category 1 field in the proposal editor on each service line.
The directional flow of data between Socket and Xero:
Socket | 🔁 | Xero |
Clients | 🔁 | Contacts |
Account Codes | ⬅️ | Account Codes |
Invoice Templates | ⬅️ | Branding Themes |
Tracking Categories | ⬅️ | Tracking Categories |
Invoices | ➡️ | Invoices |
The sync runs once a day, which is overnight for UK users.
Lost connection notifications
If Socket loses its connection to Xero, every practice user will receive an email letting you know so you can reconnect before your next billing run. This is to prevent invoices failing to push through or routing to the wrong integration.
To reconnect, go to Practice Settings > Integrations, disconnect Xero, and reconnect using your Xero credentials. Once reconnected the green tick will reappear and invoices will push through as normal.
If you use Adfin for invoicing and your Xero connection is lost, Socket will automatically pause Adfin invoicing until Xero is reconnected. This prevents invoices from routing incorrectly. You will receive an email notification in this situation so you can act quickly.
Troubleshooting
Invoice not pushing to Xero
If an invoice isn't appearing in Xero and everything else looks correct, check the following:
Confirm Xero is still connected with a green tick in Practice Settings > Integrations. If not, reconnect.
Check you are not in Safe Mode — integrations are read-only while Safe Mode is active.
Confirm the proposal start date has been set and is correct.
Check whether the Xero contact linked to that client has been archived. Go to the client record in Socket, open the Xero tab, and check which contact it is linked to. If the linked contact is archived in Xero the invoice will fail silently. Re-link the client to the correct active contact to resolve this.
If a client has multiple contacts in Xero with similar names, Socket may be linked to the wrong one. Search by name may not surface the archived contact — scroll through the full contact list in Xero to find and unarchive or re-link the correct record.
On acceptance invoice didn't push after fixing the Xero link
If a service was set to bill on acceptance but the invoice failed to push at the time of signing (for example because the linked Xero contact was archived), fixing the Xero link afterwards won't automatically re-trigger the invoice. On acceptance invoices only fire at the point of proposal signing. If you need the invoice sent to Xero after the fact, you will need to create it manually in Xero, or get in touch with the team and we can look at re-triggering it from our side.
If invoices still aren't pushing after working through the above, get in touch with the team via the chat icon in the bottom-right corner of Socket and we'll help you get it sorted.