Connecting your Dext and Xero accounts lets you send your items directly from Dext to your accounting software - with all the relevant details applied.
Once connected, Dext syncs your key lists from Xero and enables the Publish button, allowing you to seamlessly export your costs and sales data.
Important:
You must have an Admin role in Dext to connect to an accounting software.
If you don’t have this access, contact your account administrator or accountant/bookkeeper for help.
What connecting does
Connecting Dext and Xero will:
Sync your Chart of Accounts, Suppliers, Customers, Tax rates, Tracking Categories, Products and services, and Payment methods.
Activate the Publish button in Dext, allowing you to send your processed items straight to Xero.
Once connected, Dext will automatically sync your Xero data every 48 hours to keep your lists and categories up to date.
You can apply your synced categories and tax rates manually to items in Dext or automate this process using Supplier and Customer rules.
How to connect your Xero account
Follow these steps to connect your Dext and Xero accounts:
Go to Business settings in the sidebar, then select Connections.
Under Accounting software, click Connect next to Connect and manage software for bookkeeping.
3. Find Xero in the list and click Connect.
4. You’ll see a summary of the connection process - click Connect software.
5. You’ll be redirected to Xero, where you’ll be prompted to log in.
6. After logging in, click Allow access or Continue with [x] organisations,
depending on what appears.
7. Once redirected back to Dext, select the relevant organisation you want to
connect to, then click Next.
8. When you see the confirmation message that your organisation is connected,
click Finish.
Note: Your Chart of Accounts from Xero will be automatically imported into Dext. You can find it under Business settings in the sidebar > Lists > Categories.
Configuring your Xero integration settings
After connecting, configure how Dext publishes data to Xero from your Xero settings page.
To access these settings:
Go to Business settings > Connections.
Click Manage next to Xero, then select Settings.
From here, you can adjust publishing preferences, default destinations, tax behaviour, and more for your Xero integration.
Related articles on integration settings
These guides explain how to control what happens when you publish from Dext to Xero, including how tax is applied and where items are published.
How to publish to Xero
Once your integration settings are configured, you can start publishing your items to Xero.
Before publishing, make sure each item has the correct category, tax rate, and payment status.
Related articles on publishing
Troubleshooting publishing errors
If you experience any issues when publishing to Xero, check the Xero publishing error messages guide.
It explains the most common publishing errors and how to resolve them.
How to reconnect your Xero account
If your Xero connection expires or stops working, you’ll need to reconnect it to restore publishing.
Follow the steps in our dedicated article on how to reconnect with Xero.