After many months of hard work, we're finally ready to share some exciting invoicing upgrades with you, including the ability to integrate Xero Tracking Categories with Accelo and set Tax Rates on a client-by-client basis! For more details regarding these updates, please keep reading, or reach out to [email protected] with any immediate questions or concerns. 

Xero Tracking Categories

For anyone using our integration with Xero, we now have the ability to link Tracking Categories configured in Xero to line items in your Accelo invoices - giving account managers a more efficient way to filter information and report on various parts of the business.

Existing Categories, which might represent department codes or cost centers in Xero, can be automatically imported into Accelo from the Integrations page. Simply open the page, select the Xero tab, and click “Import” on the Tracking Categories item - it's that easy!

Configuring Default Tracking Categories

Since the Tracking Categories are created and configured in Xero, we haven't included an admin listing page to view or edit these Categories within Accelo, but you will find them when managing any template Material or Service Items (Configuration -> Materials & Services -> Materials List / Services List).

Simply add or edit a new Item, and look for the Tracking Category fields to find the list of available Categories. You can then select the Tracking Categories which are applied to each Material or Service Item by default, saving you even more time when invoicing your services and materials.

Creating Invoices and Making Ad Hoc Category Changes

Once you’ve imported your Tracking Categories from Xero, you can use them when creating your invoices in Accelo to set the Category for each line item, ensuring the right category information syncs with Xero.  

When creating an invoice, simply place your cursor over a line item, and locate the Tracking Categories area of the More Details window. There you can see the Tracking Category which has already been applied via Service or Material Items, as well as change that Category. A different Tracking Category can be applied to each line item separately.

Note: At this stage, editing the Tracking Category detail for invoice line items in Xero will not sync back into Accelo, so changes should be made in Accelo which will then re-sync to Xero.

Client Billing Preferences & Tax Overrides

For all Accelo accounts that make use of the Invoices/Billing module, this update adds a handy new Preferences bar to the top of the Billing tab when viewing a company. This bar gives you a quick indication of whether any special billing overrides are enabled - including tax rates, tracking categories (Xero only) and the default billing contact. Mouse-over the blue icons to see the override setting.

This ability to define a special tax rate on a client-by-client basis eliminates a few painful steps for Accelo users who have clients in multiple states or countries whom they sell to on a regular basis. Previously, you would have to either create a different invoice template for different states/countries or edit each invoice's line items manually when billing. Now, you can simply click Change to open the preferences pop-up and set a tax rate at the company level - once - and you're done! Moreover, if you only need to override the tax on services (not materials), you have the flexibility to do so.

Within the pop-up, you can add, change or remove the default billing contact - which will now be used when invoicing tickets, projects or invoicing directly on the company. You can also specify other contacts of the client who should be Cc'd on invoice emails sent from Accelo.

As you would expect, the tax settings configured in this pop-up will override all other tax settings that an invoice might otherwise use, such as the invoice template settings or the material & service item code's settings. Also, they'll only apply to invoices created after the preferences are updated.

Coming soon: Applying these Tracking Categories to Purchases in Accelo will also be possible in the coming weeks.