Connecting to an Accounting System

Last updated on 2025-11-07

Overview

You can establish a direct data connection to an accounting system to pull in accounting data into xP&A.

The following applies:

  • All integrations with accounting systems are established using Merge, a third-party platform that enables (API) integrations with different systems. 
  • In order to set up the integration, you must follow individual authentication procedures to link to your accounting system account with xP&A.
  • Independent of the system, there is a set of default fields (variables and dimensions) that are pulled in.

 

Supported Accounting Systems

Currently, xP&A supports connections to the following accounting systems: 

  • QuickBooks
  • Xero
List of Default Fields

The following default fields are pulled in from each accounting system that is integrated via Merge. They can be selected during the configuration process:

  • Variables: One variable per GL Account

  • Dimensions: Two tracking dimensions

Prerequisites for the Setup

Necessary Authentications

You will need to ensure that you set up all necessary authentications that are requested in the connection flow.

These authentications differ slightly by accounting system -- open this link to see a full breakdown (by our API provider, Merge).

Connecting to an Accounting System

To connect to an accounting system:

Choose one of the following options:

  • Open the Data workspace from the overview on the start page and click + New.
  • Open the model into which you would like to integrate the data, click the + sign next to Data in the overview, and choose New data source.

In the Data sources dialog, open the Accounting tab and choose the system from which you want to integrate data.

Shows the 'Accounting' tab in the Data sources dialog
'Accounting' tab

Choose if you want to:

  • Use xP&A's P&L and Runway report
  • Use xP&A's Full P&L and balance sheet report
  • Create the data source manually and link the data to your models by yourself (Advanced)

Configure the steps of the New Data Source dialog as described in the following section.

Click Create data source.

Set-up Steps

The New Data Source dialog is displayed as follows, for example:

'New Data Source' dialog 'New Data Source' dialog

Step

Description

Choose a connection

If you have not configured a connection yet, click New Connection and follow the steps in the connection set-up dialog, which depend on the selected system. 

A detailed description on how to authenticate with each system can be found in Merge's Help Center.

 

Select a dataset

Select the data set you would like to connect. The following options are available:

  • Profit and Loss
  • Balance Sheet

Select an accounting method

Select the accounting method to be used when generating the report. The following options are available:

  • Accrual
  • Cash

Advanced configu­ration

Select if you want to pull classes and/or departments or if you want to pull vendors and customers.

  • Pulling in vendors and customers allows you to pull in departments, classes, vendors, customers, etc. as dimensions in xP&A, enabling you to model at a more granular level.
  • Even if you do not select this option, you will still be able to drill down to see actuals at this level of detail.
  • Only select the dimensions you actually need, as refreshing the data source will take significantly longer if you have many tracking dimension items.
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