Why do I need to set up Trust Accounts in my Xero System for mapping?
Actionstep has the ability to pay your own invoice from the Trust account in a matter - it creates an entry which affects Aged Receivables and Trust Liability and also allows the value of funds sitting in the Trust account to be higher than the Trust Liability - creating a Trust Surplus (being the amount of funds the firm has in the Trust account) for transfer later (many lawyers just transfer these funds to the practice account when they pay the wages).
It is not compulsory that you use this feature in Actionstep, we can work without you having these accounts in xero - although it may mean additional work for you as you will lose some Actionstep functionality.
Why can't I use the Bank Feeds into Xero?
The feed from Actionstep to xero is a one way feed. So when the invoice is posted in Actionstep it appears in xero. The receipt against that invoice must be entered in Actionstep - and that also feeds to xero, closing the invoice and putting an entry in the bank for reconciliation.
One of the most common issues we have with people using an Actionstep - xero integration is caused by the users letting the auto bank feed do the receipting into the xero system. This in turn will close an invoice which is still open in Actionstep. Thus leaving Actionstep with an open invoice - users can now not receipt against that invoice in xero as it is no longer open.
If users are receipting on a regular basis this is not an issue - as the auto feed will pick up the existing receipt which fed through from Actionstep.
Actionstep does not take bank feeds - although we do have Trust Transaction importers which can use a csv file from your bank which you would configure to map the importer. We do however, encourage that users do enter the receipts and payments in real time as it does mean an integrity check on entry. Our experience would show that firms who are trying to do Trust Accounting at a later date in as a bulk set of entries, do get negative results in an audit (they can be found non-compliant on the time it took to issue the receipt).
If I add Trust Accounts to xero they will appear on my balance sheet and I don't want them there.
Most firms are happy to see the Trust accounts in xero. For any of our clients who choose to not use xero, the Actionstep Financial reporting does show these accounts because the product is completely integrated.
I get the following error message:
Error: Failed posting invoice to Xero: XERO API Exception Detected #1: Invoice not of valid status for modification #2: This document cannot be edited as it has a payment or credit note allocated to it.
This can be caused by the reference you are using already being used in Xero. If have entered a reference number for the supplier invoice that is already in use in Xero then you will get this message. We recommend that you alter the reference you enter like changing INV12345 to INV12345(a).
Do not leave the reference blank. This will cause the error message above.
I get the following error message:
Xero API Exception detected: #1 Payments can only be made against Authorised documents. #2 Payment amount exceeds the amount outstanding on this document
This is caused by one of two things, both of which are a result of a user updating the corresponding invoice that is in Xero to the invoice you are trying to pay in Actionstep. A user has either:
Made a payment to the invoice in Xero, or
- Voided the invoice in Xero
You will have to log into Xero and review the invoice to see which of the two is the cause of the issue. If it is caused by the first option then simply Remove and redo the payment in Xero to remove it. Now you will be able to process the payment from Actionstep. If it is the second option then in Actionstep you will have to remove the link from that Invoice. Move the invoice to draft in Actionstep and then save it again to create a new copy of the invoice in Xero. For more details on how to unlink an invoice from Xero see Correcting Errors with a Xero configured system.