You sign in to Xero and choose the organisations Naarvin may read. Naarvin then reads their journals, invoices, bills, credit notes, contacts and tracking categories, plus Xero's own Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet for checking. Once an admin grants write access and turns sending on, approved journals arrive in Xero as manual journals, as drafts or posted.
What does Naarvin read from Xero?
For each organisation you choose, Naarvin reads:
- The chart of accounts, typed from Xero's account types and system accounts.
- Xero's journals: every posted double entry, in the organisation's base currency.
- Sales invoices and bills, with what is still due and the day each was fully paid, and credit notes.
- Overpayments and prepayments not yet allocated, which show as money on account in the aging.
- Contacts, with VAT number, e-mail, phone and country, plus the bank account and bill payment terms Xero holds for suppliers.
- Tracking categories on journal lines, as departments, projects or cost centres.
- Xero's own Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet, per account and month, so the loaded books can be checked against Xero.
A supplier bank account read from Xero is shown for comparison only. Naarvin pays only bank details a second person has verified in Naarvin.
How do you connect Xero?
There is no key to copy. You sign in on Xero's own page, and Naarvin asks for read-only access. Sign-in connectors like Xero are switched on for your installation during onboarding, and our team connects your systems with you on every plan.
- Start the Xero connection in NaarvinYou are taken to Xero's sign-in page.
- Sign in and choose the organisationsPick every organisation Naarvin may read. Each one is a company.
- Link each organisationLink it to a new or existing company in Naarvin in the same base currency.
- Set the scheduleFrom every 15 minutes to once a week, in your time zone, or on demand only.
- Confirm the account mappingNaarvin suggests where each Xero account belongs in the finance model, and a person confirms it.
How does a sync keep up with Xero?
Naarvin reads Xero's journals in number order, so each sync carries on after the last journal it loaded. Changes and voids reach Naarvin as the new journals Xero records for them, so nothing has to be guessed.
Invoices, bills and credit notes changed since the last sync are read again. A full sync also stores twelve months of Xero's statements; later syncs refresh the current month and the one before. When Xero asks callers to slow down, Naarvin waits and carries on. If an organisation was connected before Naarvin asked for the reports permission, the sync warns you to reconnect it rather than fail.
Can Naarvin send approved journals to Xero?
Yes, once two things happen. An admin renews the connection's Xero sign-in to grant write access, and turns sending on for the connection, choosing drafts or posted journals. Until then the connection stays read-only. Each journal still needs its own approval in Naarvin, and a signed-off month takes no new journals.
| In the Naarvin journal | In Xero |
|---|---|
| The journal | A manual journal, saved as a draft or posted, as the admin chose |
| Date and description | The journal date and narration, ending with a Naarvin reference |
| Account | The Xero account the line was synced from |
| Customer or supplier | Written into the line description, since the manual journal carries no contact |
| Cost centre | A tracking option, written as "Category: Option" or found in exactly one active category |
| Amounts | In the organisation's base currency, with no tax on the lines |
Before creating, Naarvin searches Xero for the reference, so a retry never makes a second journal. A cost centre that matches no tracking option, or more than one, stops the journal rather than dropping the tag. If Xero refuses a line, for example one on a receivables or payables control account, Naarvin shows the reason and creates nothing. While sending is off, approved journals can be exported as a CSV file to import.
How are organisations and currencies handled?
One sign-in can cover several organisations, each a separate company in Naarvin with its own base currency. The ledger loads in that currency. Invoices, bills and credit notes in other currencies keep their own currency and Xero's rate, so the aging shows both. Group figures across organisations are built in Reporting AI.
What does the Xero connection not do?
- It does not read exchange rates from Xero. Translation uses the exchange rates kept in Naarvin.
- It is built and is checked in a first sync with your own organisation before you rely on it. Compare that first month with Xero's reports, and try sending on Xero's demo company first.
Questions people ask
Does Naarvin get write access to Xero when we connect?
No. The first sign-in asks for read-only access. Write access is asked for only when an admin renews the sign-in to send approved journals.
Can we connect several Xero organisations?
Yes. Choose them all in one sign-in. Each becomes its own company in Naarvin, in its own base currency.
How are Xero tracking categories used?
Tracking options on journal lines become departments, projects or cost centres in Naarvin, so reports can be split the way you already tag in Xero. Sent journals carry the cost centre back as a tracking option.
What if Xero changes its permissions or we connected long ago?
When Naarvin needs a permission an older connection lacks, such as reports, the sync warns you and keeps loading everything else. Reconnecting the organisation grants it.