In Metis you are able to download a Xero-friendly extract of your company's expenses, which you can import directly into Xero to aid with your reconciliations.
This article will show you how to do this in two different ways. You can either watch a short animation (gif) ► which auto-replays in case you missed anything, or read a conventional list of actions [?] with accompanying screenshots.
This article contains:
- Ensuring Metis VAT rate names are mapped to Xero ► [?]
- Ensuring Metis External nominal codes for expenses are mapped to Xero ► [?]
- Which expense items are contained in the extract?
- How do I download the extract from Metis?
- How do I import this into Xero? ► [?]
Ensuring Metis VAT rate names are mapped to Xero ► [?]
Before downloading an extract, you need to ensure that the Expense codes in Metis and Xero match. To do this, you need to navigate to the Company Settings (Zones > Settings) in Metis.
Scroll down the page to the section on VAT rates. You need to make sure that your VAT shortcodes match the names of the VAT rates in Xero.
Amend the name of the shortcode if necessary, and then copy the shortcode.
Then, open your Xero window and navigate to Settings > General Settings > Tax Rates. Search the page for the equivalent code in Xero, and click the name to update.
Paste the shortcode from Metis as the new name of the code and press Save.
Ensuring Metis External nominal codes for expenses are mapped to Xero ► [?]
Next, you need to match up the External Nominal Codes in Metis with the equivalent codes on your Chart of Accounts in Xero. In Metis, navigate to Zones > Settings > Expenses.
Then, check the code of each expense category in Xero, and update this as the External Nominal Code for the same category in Metis. If you've already got the codes you need in Metis, you can alternatively update the Xero codes.
In Xero, you can find the code for the categories by going to Settings > Chart of Accounts.
Once there, search for the categories that exist in Metis, and find the associated code. Then update this in Metis as the External Nominal Code.
Once you've completed these two steps, your export will be ready to map directly into Xero!
Which expense items are contained in the extract?
Expense items inside the Xero-friendly extract are only approved claims. Claims shown as submitted and awaiting approval will not be exported.
Xero extracts are only created once for each claim, and once you've downloaded it, the Xero Export column will update with the export file date.
If you need to re-download the file for a previously extracted claim, you can do so by clicking View Extract History.
Using the Filters on Metis will not work here, as the Xero extract takes all Approved claims that have not yet been exported.
How do I download the extract from Metis?
Downloading the extract from Metis is very simple. Navigate to Zones > Manage > People Expenses, and you'll see the Xero icon at the top right of the page.
Click the link that says Run Xero Bill Extract.
You'll then download a csv file which will look like this:
Each expense item will be shown on a separate line, and they can be grouped by the InvoiceNumber, which is unique to each claim submitted. Therefore, you can several line items with the same invoice number, which means they were submitted as part of the same expense claim in Metis.
The Description column will give you the description of the expense as described in Metis, along with any additional details (exchange rates, original amounts).
To re-download an export of claims that already have been exported, click View Extract History on Metis, where you can see a list of all previous exports for you to re-download.
How do I import this into Xero? ► [?]
To import your expenses extract into Xero, in Xero navigate to Accounts > Purchases. Then click Import.
On the next screen, you can select the export file you've downloaded, and make sure you choose Tax Inclusive as the option. Metis uses values which are tax inclusive (as Metis calculates VAT for you), so make sure you reflect this in the Import settings.
Continue and Complete the Import, and then voila! You'll see your expenses in Xero as draft bills in Purchases which you can edit as you normally would.
Didn't find what you need in this article? You can submit a support ticket or send an email to [email protected].