Set up Win! with Xero

1. 1

   Open your business profile

   Go to Connections and stay on the Business profile tab.
2. 2

   Enter your business name

   This is the name your customers see at the top of every payment page and email. Save it.
3. 3

   Choose your legal business state

   Pick the state your business is legally located in, tick the box certifying that it is your legal business location, then click Save business state. It takes about 30 seconds.

1. 1

   Open Connections and choose Xero

   Go to Connections. If no platform is connected yet, Win! asks Which accounting platform do you use? Pick Xero.
2. 2

   Click “Connect Xero”

   Xero's consent screen opens in a new browser tab.
3. 3

   Authorise Win!

   Sign in to Xero, pick the organisation you want to link, and click Allow access. If your login belongs to several organisations, Win! may also show Choose your Xero organisation: pick one and click Connect. Win! reads your invoices and contacts, and records the payments, Stripe fees, payout transfers, and surcharges it creates, in the accounts you choose on the Connections page.
4. 4

   Back on Connections

   The Xero card shows Connected with your organisation name. Click the refresh icon in the card header (tooltip Sync Xero now) to import your open invoices straight away.

1. 1

   Open Connections and click “Connect Stripe”

   Find the Stripe card on Connections.
2. 2

   Tell Win! which kind of account you have

   A dialog titled Connect your Stripe account offers two choices: I'm new to Stripe creates an account for you, and I already have a Stripe account lets you sign in and click Authorize on Stripe's own site. Stripe opens in a new tab.
3. 3

   Finish Stripe's onboarding if you are new

   Complete business type, address, owner identity, and the bank account for payouts. Existing accounts skip straight to authorising.
4. 4

   Come back to Win!

   The Stripe card shows Connected, your Stripe account ID, and checkmarks for Charges, Payouts, and ACH once Stripe has verified your details.

1. 1

   Open Invoices

   Go to Invoices. Your open invoices have already been imported.
2. 2

   Click “Send link” on an unpaid invoice

   Confirm the Send payment link? prompt. The customer needs an email address saved on their record.
3. 3

   Your customer pays

   They receive an email from your business with a Pay Now button. They can pay by card (Apple Pay and Google Pay appear where their device supports them) or by US bank account, with no account to create.
4. 4

   Your books update

   A card payment is written back to the invoice within seconds. A bank (ACH) payment is written back once the debit clears, which can take up to 4 business days.

Stripe pays you in one lump sum, but your customers pay one invoice at a time. That is why your bank feed never lines up with your invoices. Win! fixes this with a simple holding account. Set it up once and Xero can match each Stripe deposit for you.

Part 1. Create the accounts in Xero

1. 1

   A bank account called “Stripe Clearing”

   In Xero go to Accounting, then Bank accounts, then Add Bank Account. Add it without a bank feed and name it Stripe Clearing. It has to be a bank account (not a regular asset account), because Xero only accepts payments into bank accounts. Never connect a feed to it. It is only a holding place. Xero's own steps for adding a bank account.
2. 2

   Your real bank account

   This is the account Stripe pays into. You already have it, so there is nothing to create. Just know which one it is.
3. 3

   An expense account called “Stripe Fees”

   Go to Accounting, then Chart of accounts, then Add Account. Choose the type Expense and name it Stripe Fees. Stripe keeps a small fee from every payment, and this is where Win! records it.
4. 4

   An income account called “Card Service Fee Revenue” (optional)

   Same place. Choose the type Revenue. You only need this if you add a card surcharge to your invoices. It is where Win! records the surcharge as income.

Part 2. Tell Win! which account is which

1. 1

   Open Connections and find your Xero card

   Open Connections and scroll to the settings under your Xero connection.
2. 2

   Pick one account for each setting

   • Clearing account (where payments land): Stripe Clearing
   • Payout destination: your real bank account
   • Stripe fee account: Stripe Fees
   • Surcharge revenue account: Card Service Fee Revenue

   Click Save next to each one. The clearing account and the payout destination must be two different accounts.

3. 3

   If you connected Xero a while ago, click “Refresh connection” once

   Xero asks you to approve one extra permission so Win! can record the payout transfer. Refresh connection keeps all your settings. It does not disconnect anything.

Part 3. Check that it works

1. 1

   Wait for your next Stripe payout

   Payouts arrive on Stripe's normal schedule, usually within a few business days of a payment.
2. 2

   Reconcile your bank account in Xero

   Open Accounting, then Bank accounts, then Reconcile for your real bank. The Stripe deposit should show a suggested match: one transfer from Stripe Clearing, with the Stripe payout number in its reference. Click OK. If you turned on Xero's auto-reconcile, it may already be done.

Common mistakes

• Using your everyday bank account as the clearing account. Deposits would then be counted twice. Use a separate Stripe Clearing account.
• Creating Stripe Clearing as a regular asset account. It will not appear in the list. It has to be a bank account.
• Connecting a bank feed to Stripe Clearing. That creates duplicate entries. Leave it without a feed.
• Skipping the fee account. Stripe's fees would stay in Stripe Clearing, and its balance would never settle.

1. 1

   Open the sender card

   On Connections, open the Custom Domain tab and find the email sender card.
2. 2

   Enter your address and name

   For example [email protected], and the name customers should see.
3. 3

   Add the three DNS records

   Win! shows one CNAME for mail and two DKIM CNAMEs. Add them at your DNS provider.
4. 4

   Wait for the green light

   Win! re-checks every hour and emails you when the address goes live. You can also use the check button on the card to test straight away.

1. 1

   Autopay (optional)

   On Invoices, click Autopay on an invoice, or use Send Unpaid Invoices from a client. The customer saves a card or bank account once on the page that opens. Invoices they pick are charged right away, and future invoices are charged on their due date. If a charge fails, Win! retries daily (up to five attempts in total for a card, three for a bank account, to stay within Nacha's retry rules) and emails you and the customer after a failure.
2. 2

   Reminders and the Pay Now email

   On Automation you can email the Pay Now link when a new invoice appears, switch on polite reminders, pick a schedule (Gentle, Standard, Firm, Aggressive, or Custom), and set your business timezone. New clients wait for your approval before the first automatic email.
3. 3

   Send Unpaid Invoices in one email

   Open a client from Clients and click Send Unpaid Invoices. One email lists every outstanding invoice with a Pay link next to each and a Pay Invoices button, all leading to the autopay-enabled checkout.
4. 4

   Brand your pages and emails

   On Connections, in the Business profile tab, upload your Customer portal logo and Square icon and pick your Primary brand color. They appear on your payment pages and customer emails.