When a company’s books are in Xero, Tax Optimiser syncs its trial balance straight from Xero. That link doesn’t last forever. When it lapses, a sync can’t reach Xero until someone reconnects. Reconnecting takes a couple of minutes, and nothing you have already done in Tax Optimiser is lost. This article also covers checking the connection and disconnecting Xero when you no longer need it.
Why you need to reconnect
You’ll need to reconnect when:
- The connection hasn’t been used for a week. Xero limits how many organisations an app can hold open at once, so Tax Optimiser automatically lets go of a Xero connection that hasn’t been used for 7 days. This is the most common reason, and it’s expected. Most companies only need Xero at year end.
- Access was removed in Xero. Someone disconnected Tax Optimiser under Settings → Connected apps in Xero, or the Xero user who made the connection lost access to the organisation.
- Xero’s permission expired. Xero sign-ins time out if they go unused for a long time.
How you’ll know
The quickest check is the Xero card. From the sidebar, open Organisation (accountants: the organisation’s Details), then the System & Defaults tab. The card shows the Xero organisation, when it last synced, the Xero lock date, and one of three statuses:
- Connected: everything is working.
- Needs reconnecting: Xero has stopped letting Tax Optimiser in. The card says why, for example that Tax Optimiser was removed under Connected apps in Xero.
- Not connected: the connection was released, for example after 7 days without use. The card says so, and any figures you synced before are still there.
The Trial Balance tells you too. Opening a period that hasn’t been synced shows the warning “Your Xero connection has expired or was removed in Xero. Please reconnect Xero to continue”. It has a Reconnect to Xero button beside it. A sync started from the Trial Balance’s Actions menu stops with the same message.
If the connection was released after a week unused, the Trial Balance start screen offers the Connect to Xero button again, as it did the first time.
Other Xero problems get their own message rather than a request to reconnect. If Xero is busy or briefly unavailable, Tax Optimiser tries once more, then tells you how long to wait before syncing again.
Reconnect to Xero
Use whichever of these is in front of you. They all start the same sign-in, in the same browser tab:
- the Connect to Xero button on the Xero card (Organisation → System & Defaults)
- the Reconnect to Xero button in the Trial Balance warning, or the Connect to Xero button on the Trial Balance start screen
- on a Trial Balance that already has figures: Actions → Connect to Xero
- on the System & Defaults tab: Connect to Accounting System → Connect to Xero
Then:
- Sign in to Xero. You’re taken to Xero’s own login page. Sign in with a Xero login that can see the company’s organisation. That’s usually the business owner’s or the accountant’s, and Xero may ask for your two-step authentication code.
- Choose the organisation and allow access. If your login can see more than one Xero organisation, tick this company’s. Xero lists what Tax Optimiser can see: your organisation settings and chart of accounts, the balance sheet and profit and loss reports, and manual journals (so the year-end adjustments you approve can be posted to Xero). Click Allow access.
- Confirm the Xero company. Back in Tax Optimiser, the Confirm Xero Account page lists the Xero organisations you just allowed. Make sure the one selected is this company, then click Confirm. If you ticked other organisations by mistake, Tax Optimiser releases them again, so they don’t stay connected.
That’s it. Tax Optimiser refreshes the company name and lock date from Xero and syncs the first period that isn’t complete, then returns you to where you started. The Xero card now shows Connected, with the Xero organisation, the time of the last sync and the Xero lock date.
If you press Cancel on Xero’s page instead, nothing changes. You’re brought back to Tax Optimiser and can connect again at any time.
After reconnecting
Open the Trial Balance for the period you’re working on. A period with nothing synced yet pulls its balances in automatically. For one that already has figures, use Actions → Sync with Xero to bring in anything that has changed. Actions → Sync Date Range syncs different dates from the period’s own, for example a short first period.
If a sync finishes with a warning that some Xero account balances couldn’t be matched, check those accounts still exist in Xero’s chart of accounts, then sync again.
The connection now stays open while it’s being used. If you come back after a quiet spell and it has lapsed again, reconnect the same way.
Disconnect from Xero
When you no longer want Tax Optimiser to read the company’s Xero data, click Disconnect from Xero on the Xero card, then confirm. Tax Optimiser:
- removes its connection to that organisation in Xero, so it no longer appears under Connected apps there
- stops syncing from Xero, and sets the organisation back to entering figures by import
- keeps everything already in Tax Optimiser: the synced trial balance, journals, accounts and Corporation Tax computation
Deleting or archiving an organisation in Tax Optimiser disconnects its Xero connection automatically. You can also remove Tax Optimiser from inside Xero, under Settings → Connected apps. The card then shows Needs reconnecting the next time Tax Optimiser tries to sync.
Frequently asked questions
Will I lose my figures or journals if the connection lapses?
No. A lapsed connection only stops new syncs. The trial balance you already synced, your journals, the accounts and the Corporation Tax computation all stay as they are until you sync again.
Why does Xero keep disconnecting?
Xero caps the number of organisations one app can keep connected, so Tax Optimiser releases connections that haven’t been used for 7 days to leave room for companies that are being worked on. It’s normal for a company that only syncs at year end to need reconnecting each time.
Who has to sign in to Xero, me or my accountant?
Anyone with a Xero login that can see the company’s organisation. If your accountant prepares your accounts in Tax Optimiser, they can usually reconnect with their own Xero login.
I connected the wrong Xero organisation. How do I fix it?
Click Disconnect from Xero on the Xero card, then connect again and pick the right company on the Confirm Xero Account page. Sync the Trial Balance again so the figures come from the right books.
How do I stop Tax Optimiser accessing my Xero data?
Click Disconnect from Xero on the organisation’s Xero card, or remove Tax Optimiser under Settings → Connected apps in Xero. Either way, Tax Optimiser can no longer read your Xero data, and the figures already in Tax Optimiser are kept.
Can I switch from Xero to QuickBooks?
Yes. Choose Connect to QuickBooks from the same menus and sign in to QuickBooks. The organisation then syncs from QuickBooks instead. See Reconnect Tax Optimiser to QuickBooks.
Related: Getting your figures in: Simple Entry, import, connect or manual entry.
