How to sync your existing clients in Glide and Xero

When you connect your Glide system to your practice's Xero system any clients you subsequently create in Glide will be created in your Xero system immediately and will remain connected so that changes in Glide are replicated in Xero.

If you already have clients in both Glide and Xero that you wish to be connected or if you have clients in Glide that you wish to create in bulk in Xero then you need to carry out a few further steps as described in this article.

Please note that clients that already exist in Xero but that you wish to create in Glide can not be created in Glide using the Xero integration, this is because we do not allow Xero to create clients in Glide (as they do not provide a client type). In order to import these clients into Glide you would export them from Xero and import them using our Excel import tool. Once imported the clients will exist on both systems with the exact same name meaning you can then run the connector wizard (described below) to properly connect the clients.

Before connecting client we recommend you review these settings that will effect the data that is shared.

There are two options to connect clients:

1. Use the connection wizard (this will create clients in Xero if they are not found).
2. Enter Xero codes manually into Glide (this will not create clients in Xero).

Option 1: Using the connection wizard

This method is also covered in detail in this video:

• This is the quickest method to connect your clients that already exist in Glide, or that already in exist in both Glide and Xero.
• Two data points can be used to match clients:
  • If you store your Glide unique client code in the Xero Contact number field then this can be used to sync clients that exist on both systems where the unique codes match. This method will not create clients on Xero, it simply matches existing clients. This method is the preferred method for matching existing clients because the client code is unique.
  • If you do not store the client code on Xero you can match using the client name.
    • You can use this technique after the above to match any clients that were not matched based on client code.
    • This relies upon the names being identical in both systems, you can (and should) check for name matching issues in a preview run. For example Ltd and Limited would not match nor would Mr J Blogs and Mr Joe Blogs.
    • This method will respect the Xero integrate all clients but individuals? setting. If set to Yes then the system will not look to integrate any individual clients (sole traders will still be integrated). This is useful if you work solely for business clients, have the directors as clients in Glide but raise all bills to the businesses and thus do not want the individuals in Xero.
    • If you have clients with different names and you can not resolve this by changing the name in one system then you can not use this method.
    • Where a client with the same name is not found in Xero a new client will be created in Xero and your Glide client will be linked to the new client.

To use this method follow these steps:

1. Click on the Config menu.
2. Click on Xero integration link.
3. To use the Unique Client Code method click Link clients via Glide client code and Xero Account number. This will list those clients in Glide that have been found in Xero by matching the client code. The name of the client as seen in both systems will be shown. You can then click Connect these clients now to form the link between the clients.
4. To use the Client name method click on Link clients via client name.
   1. The preview will be shown below. The system will list all of the clients in Glide (that do not already have a link to Xero) with one of the two messages listed below:
      1. Where it states A client with this name has not been found on Xero. If you proceed Glide shall create a new client on Xero - a new client will be created on Xero.
      2. Where it states Found on Xero, we will link the existing client/contact as opposed to creating a new one on Xero - the client will be linked to an existing client on Xero.
   2. If you believe a client exists in Xero but the preview results say it will be created then you need to investigate this and then return and re-run the preview. For example the names might be slightly different.
   3. Once you are satisfied with the preview results click on Begin connection process. This will create any clients in Xero and also it will place the Xero contact unique identifier into your Glide system so that the clients are linked.
   4. This may take a little while to complete (roughly 1 second per client) - please keep your browser open during this time and do not navigate away from the page until you see a pop up confirming that the process is complete.

Option 2: Enter Xero codes manually into Glide

• You would only use this if you are not able to use option 1. This might be because you have clients in Glide that you do not want to create in Xero or because you have a large number of name discrepancies that you do not wish to correct AND do not have the client code stored in both systems.
• You have to do this individually for each client. If you have a lots of clients you need to link, but do not believe you can use option 1, please contact the Glide team for assistance.

To use this method follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the Glide client card for the relevant client. You can do this by searching for the client or by clicking on the menu labelled with your business name, then Clients and then clicking on the relevant client.
2. You will see the word Xero in a rectangle towards the top right of the client card. If the client is not linked to a Xero client then the word Xero will be struck through, e.g. Xero.
3. Click on the word Xero.
4. Paste into the pop up box the unique contact identifier for this client from your Xero system. This is found by navigating to the contact card in Xero and copying the alphanumeric component at the end of the URL.