Xero integration guide

Overview

Using the Xero integration with ServiceTitan integrates journal entries for all Accounts Receivable (AR) transactions. Inventory bills are also included for Accounts Payable (AP) so you can manage payments more efficiently through Xero, ensuring that bills are accurately tracked and paid.

You can connect one Xero organization or several. When you connect more than one, you assign each business unit to the organization its financial data belongs in.

Things to know

• Journal entries are synced to Xero in real time or manually based on a sync action taken by the user. When using this integration, we recommend:        

  • Setting the Export Type of all transactions to Journal Entry Summary except for vendor bills in the Journal Entries and Auto-Batching settings screen.

  • Setting the Export Type of vendor bills to Document - General Ledger in the Journal Entries and Auto-Batching settings screen.

• A ServiceTitan journal entry summary record maps to a Xero manual journal record.

• You can use the Export Error Report to generate a report on export errors for this integration.

• Each business unit syncs to one Xero organization. Several business units can share the same organization.

• Transactions from a business unit that is not assigned to an organization stay in the queue. They export once you assign the business unit.

• Tracking category mappings and the GST setting apply per organization. Settings for one organization do not affect another.

• Each organization syncs independently. If one connection has an error, the others keep syncing, and only the business units on the affected organization show a reconnect state.

• If you already have a Xero connection, your existing organization, GST setting, and tracking mappings carry over. Your active business units are assigned to that organization automatically.

What I need to get started

To use this integration, you must have the following features enabled:

• Journal Entries

• Accounting Periods

Step 1: Connect ServiceTitan to Xero

Connect each Xero organization your business uses, and assign business units to it as you connect.

1. On the navigation bar, go to Settings .

2. In the side panel, go to Integrations > Xero.

3. On the Xero Connections screen, click Connect. 

4. Select the business units to assign to this organization.

5. Sign in to Xero and authorize ServiceTitan.

6. If your Xero login has access to more than one organization, select the organization to connect. If it has access to one organization, ServiceTitan selects it for you.

Manage your Xero organizations

Go to Settings > Integrations > Xero to manage connected organizations.

Connect another organization

Click Connect and follow the steps in Step 1. Select the business units that belong to the organization you are adding.

Move a business unit to a different organization

Assign the business unit to the organization you want it to sync to. ServiceTitan removes it from its previous organization. Transactions queued before the change export to the organization the business unit is assigned to at the time of export.

Reconnect an organization

If an organization shows a reconnect state, reconnect it to restore access. Your business unit assignments, GST setting, and tracking mappings are kept.

Disconnect or delete an organization

Disconnect stops syncing for that organization only. Other organizations keep syncing. The business units assigned to the disconnected organization become unassigned, and ServiceTitan does not move them to another organization.

Delete removes the organization and its mappings.

Caution: Deleting an organization removes its tracking category mappings. Reconnecting the organization later requires mapping it again.

Optional step: Map business unit to tracking category

A tracking category in Xero is a customizable label that groups and reports on transactions. Similar to business units in ServiceTitan, tracking categories help you break down financial data by departments, locations, or services.

This gives you a clearer breakdown of income and expenses, so you can see which parts of the business are making the most money, costing the most to run, or affecting your bottom line.

If you are using tracking categories in Xero, you can map ServiceTitan business units to a Tracking Category and Tracking Option in Xero. Map each business unit within the organization it is assigned to. You can only map one tracking category to a business unit in ServiceTitan.

Caution: The Tracking Category and Tracking Option columns must exactly match the tracking category and tracking option in Xero.

To do this:

1. On the navigation bar, go to Settings.

2. In the side panel, go to Integrations > Xero.

3. Select the Xero organization to map.

4. On the Xero Connections screen, go to Tracking options mapping.

5. For each ServiceTitan business unit, select a Tracking Category and Tracking Option.

Step 2: Map general ledger accounts between ServiceTitan and Xero

Map the Chart of Accounts in Xero to the General Ledger (GL) accounts in ServiceTitan. Account names must exactly match between the two platforms. For more on creating Chart of Accounts in Xero, go here.

Note: Xero has control accounts to which manual journals cannot be posted. New accounts need to be created and ensure they match on name to the ServiceTitan accounts. For more, go here.

Caution: Make sure the account names between ServiceTitan and Xero match exactly.

Note: If you connect more than one organization, account names must match in each organization you connect.

Step 3: Make sure pricebook items have correct GL accounts

Once you've mapped the GL accounts between ServiceTitan and Xero, make sure all your services, materials, and equipment in Pricebook are mapped to the correct GL accounts. For more, see Edit pricebook items.

Step 4: Configure journal entries and auto-batching settings

Go to Settings > Accounting > Journal Entries and Auto-Batching to access the Journal Entries and Auto-Batching settings screen to enable the settings.

The table below outlines recommended settings, assuming you have the Purchasing or Inventory modules enabled.

*We strongly recommend you manually sync journal entries using Actions > Start Syncing on the Journal Entries screen on a daily cadence due to API limits on Xero. You can use the Real Time auto-export frequency if you are sure you won't hit the API limits.

Xero applies API limits per organization. Consider this when you set the sync cadence for each connected organization.

**Synced to Xero using the Batch Transactions screen.

Auto-Export Start Date

Add the Auto-Export Start Date. This date should be the date when you want to start auto-exporting your journal entries. If any historical journal entries need to be synced, you can apply a past date in this field.

Note: You will not be able to manually sync journal entries if they are set before the date specified in this field.

Auto-Batching Start Date

Add the Auto-Batching Start Date. Batches are automatically created and can be found on the Batch Transactions screen.

Step 5: Manually sync your journal entries

When you are ready to sync the journal entries, use the manual sync action in the Journal Entries screen.

1. Go to the navigation bar and click Accounting .

2. In the side menu, click Journal Entries.

3. On the Journal Entries screen, select journal entries you want to sync.

4. Click Actions > Start Syncing.

5. When the journal entries are updated and need to be resynced, the status on the Sync Status column appears as OutofSync.

Each journal entry syncs to the Xero organization assigned to its business unit.

Calculating GST in Xero

This integration allows Xero to calculate Goods and Services Tax (GST) directly, instead of receiving GST as a separate line item from ServiceTitan.

This ensures GST is calculated accurately per line item based on Xero tax rates, aligns exported data with Xero's accounting rules, and enables proper Business Activity Statement (BAS) reporting for Australian businesses.

How it works

When Calculate GST taxes in Xero is enabled:

• ServiceTitan stops sending GST as a separate line item

• GST is calculated across each line item

• Xero calculates GST using the tax rate assigned to each GL account

• Journal entries, vendor bills, and credits align with Xero's GST calculation

When the setting is disabled:

• ServiceTitan reverts to the previous behavior

• Exports will fail if Xero GL accounts tax rate is not BAS Excluded

• Enable GST taxes to be calculated in Xero

To enable this feature:

1. In ServiceTitan, go to the top toolbar and click Settings.

2. In the side panel, go to Integrations > Xero.

3. Select the Xero organization to configure.

4. Select Calculate GST taxes in Xero.

5. Select a GST start date. This date determines when ServiceTitan begins applying the GST calculation.

6. Click Save.

Note: Set GST for each organization that requires it. Enabling GST for one organization does not enable it for another.

After the feature is enabled:

• AR and revenue journal entries        

  • Xero calculates GST automatically using GL tax rates

• Vendor bills and credits        

  • GST follows the same per-line calculation logic

  • Avoids reliance on a single GST line item

• Exports        

  • Journals balance correctly

  • Exports are accepted by Xero without GST errors

If an export fails

If exports fail because the Xero GL accounts tax rate is not BAS Excluded:

• Change the tax rate on Xero GL account

• Retry the export

Impact on accounting workflows

When using the Xero integration with ServiceTitan, the following changes take place:

• ServiceTitan becomes the Accounts Receivable sub-ledger.

• ServiceTitan provides the total sales tax liability, and sales tax by jurisdiction for compliance and remittance is available in ServiceTitan reporting.

• All inventory counts and individual SKUs are managed in ServiceTitan. The inventory value is available on the financial statements in Xero.

Want to learn more?

• See Accounting Integrations.