Other Regions
Next steps after conversion to Xero
We try to make your conversion as comprehensive as possible, aiming to save you as much time as we can. However, there are some things that we are not able to do because of limitations in the software process we use to enter data directly into the Xero accounting system.
This means that there will be some post-conversion tasks that you will need to perform and this document is provided as a guide to completing these tasks. The post-conversion tasks should be done as soon as possible after the conversion. If you encounter problems or think something might not be right please refer to our troubleshooting page.
Overview
These are the tasks you will need to perform post-conversion if applicable:
Tidy the Tax | Tidy bank reconciliations | Tidy foreign currency | Tidy credit cards
Tidy the Tax
We do not set your VAT ID and tax periods etc. although we do convert your taxable transactions. This is something that you will want to correct before completing your next Tax return.
Go to Accounting > Advanced> Financial Settings
You can now set your Tax details as required. To use the HST/GST Return in Xero (mentioned below) you will need to enter the Tax basis as accrual, Tax period as monthly/quarterly or annually and map any custom tax rates. More details can be found on the GST/HST page of Xero’s Help Centre.
File only the most recent Tax period you’ve already submitted. Xero will then be able to recognize any future transactions entered that are dated back into historical Tax period as “late” claims. These will then automatically be included in the next Tax Return.
Click the Accounting menu and select Sales Tax Report.
You’ll be prompted to go to the HST/GST Returns. Currently Xero doesn’t support PST Returns in which case you should use the Sales Tax Report for any provincial sales tax. If you use HST/GST select to Go to GST/HST returns option.
Select the last period for which you’ve already submitted your Tax return then click Save and go to returns.
Drill into the Tax return you’ve already submitted to the authorities.
Note that you shouldn’t expect the figures in the finalized return in Xero to agree to those in your source system. For more information see Tax Returns Don’t Agree.
Also note that when preparing your first GST/HST Return in Xero (the first to be submitted/filed), it won’t include any unfiled “late” claims relating to prior periods and may be incorrect if we’d had to use some workarounds. We recommend you carefully check the figures in any Xero Tax Return that contains converted data. If the figures provided by Xero are different to those you need to submit you may need to enter a manual journal or adjustments necessary to reflect the correct figures. This will only affect Tax Returns that include converted data. To read more about why Tax Returns may be different for the same period in the old and new software please click here.
Tidy bank reconciliations
We try our best to convert the bank reconciled status of transactions but this is not always possible. Xero prevents us from marking some transactions eg. overpayments, prepayments and bank transfers as reconciled so you will probably need to manually complete this so that the “Statement Balance” in Xero is correct.
Remember, there are potentially two balances shown on the Dashboard for each bank account – the “Balance in Xero” is the “books” balance from your old system. The “Statement” balance is the total of transactions marked as reconciled in Xero.
You now want to make sure that you enable the Mark as reconciled function via the help menu
We also recommend that, if you have a large number of transactions to mark as reconciled, you switch the page view to show 200 items. This will allow you to tick the top checkbox in the left column and mark transactions in blocks of 200 if you wish.
All you need to do now is mark the transactions you want to change to reconciled and click select Mark as Reconciled from the More button.
If your bank balance was fully reconciled in your desktop software, you will want to mark all transactions as reconciled. Then your “Balance in Xero” and “Statement Balance” will be the same.
If your account was not fully reconciled in your desktop software, you will want to leave the unreconciled items as remaining unreconciled. Then your “Statement Balance” should be correct as at the date of the last transaction in Xero.
Tidy credit card accounts (if applicable)
The recommendation below may not always be required. Please read it carefully and consider if it is relevant to you before attempting to apply it.
As mentioned in our limitations, it’s not possible for us to create credit card accounts in Xero. In order to convert these accounts and associated transactions we create bank accounts and enter the transactions within them. Follow the steps below to move the converted balance to a new credit card account so that credit card feeds can be setup.
From Accounting > Bank Accounts, click Add Bank Account to add your credit card account (Xero Support link).
Once you’ve created the credit card account, you’ll want to transfer the balance from the converted bank account to the new credit card account.
To do this, from either account, select Transfer Money and enter the amount that will empty the converted bank account and transfer the balance to the newly created credit card account per the step above.
Credit card feeds, if available, can now be connected to the credit card account
Optionally you might choose to archive (Xero Support link) the converted bank account with a nil balance. The transaction history will remain in the archived bank for reference but it won’t be selectable when entering new transactions.
Tidy foreign currency (if applicable)
The recommendations below may not always be required or optimal for your user case. Please read them carefully and consider if they are relevant to you before attempting to apply them.
All bank accounts will be in base currency so create new foreign currency bank accounts. You’ll need to have added your currency to Settings > Currencies first. Once the currencies are added, navigate to Accounting > Bank Accounts and click Add Bank Account. Follow the prompts making sure to select the correct currency for the bank account.
Once you have the new foreign currency account you may wish to transfer the CAD balance into the new foreign currency account. Do this by navigating to Accounting > Bank Accounts and selecting Transfer Money. Choose to transfer from the CAD account to the foreign currency account. Enter the date to be the same as the “convert to” date selected for the conversion. Apply an exchange rate such that the CAD account will be emptied and the deposit in the foreign currency account will reflect the correct foreign currency amount.
If there are unreconciled foreign currency transactions you may wish to transfer the unreconciled transactions as individual Transfer Money transactions. The remaining balance can then be transferred as a lump sum and manually marked as reconciled.
If you have any outstanding foreign currency invoices or bills before converting then these will also have been converted at their CAD equivalent value. You may wish to edit (or void then re-enter) these to correctly reflect the foreign currency values owed or owing.
