Syncing your client list from Xero Practice Manager

Syncing your client list from Xero Practice Manager

Due to Xero's security standards, all users in a firm with an active connection from  Xero Practice Manager (XPM) to The Gap Portal must be secured with Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

Attention
You must have administrator rights to access the portal areas referenced in this article.
Note
The Gap Portal only integrates with Xero Practice Manager, not standard Xero (blue Xero).

Connecting to Xero Practice Manager

To start, navigate to Main menu >  > Manage Clients.

Attention
All firm users must enable Multi-Factor Authentication to utilise this feature.
  1. Click the Xero Sync button in the top right corner.
  2. A Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) popover prompt will appear as it is required to utilise the Xero Practice Manager connection. Click Continue to proceed.
  3. A redirection popover prompt will appear, warning you that you will be redirected to the Xero Practice Manager login page. Click Continue to proceed.
  4. Log in to Xero.
  5. Click the Allow access button to allow The Gap Portal to access your XPM data. If your MFA is enabled, you will be redirected back to the Manage Clients area of the portal; otherwise, you will be redirected to the User Settings > Configure MFA page.
A summary of the XPM sync results will be emailed to you once the sync is complete. XPM will then sync data daily.

All other firm users that do not have MFA enabled will receive an email reminding them to enable MFA. Their access to the portal will be restricted until it is enabled and they will be prompted to enable MFA upon next login.

Note
The XPM integration is a one-way only sync from XPM to The Gap.

How to sync clients and their contacts from Xero Practice Manager

Warning!
When your firm has an active XPM connection, we recommend treating your client database in XPM as your source of truth.
Always add new clients to XPM, not to The Gap, to prevent duplicate client profiles. Furthermore, always update client details in XPM, otherwise, these details will be overwritten after the next automated sync.
Important info
As client profiles in The Gap Portal aways have  one primary contact, the contact flagged as primary in XPM will sync. If no contact is flagged as primary, the first contact alphabetically by Salutation will be set as primary contact. If Salutation is blank, the first contact will be set alphabetically by First Name .

To sync a client or a client's contacts, you can either:
  1. Run a manual sync by clicking the Sync Now button on the popover prompt under the Main menu >  > Manage Clients > Xero Sync button
  2. Wait until the next automated XPM sync runs; these occur daily
All Clients from XPM sync, including prospects; only archived clients are not synced. If a client in Xero has multiple contacts, the portal will sync all contacts, which will show in the client's Contacts tab .

Note
If you want to load a smaller list of clients to the portal, use the CSV Import button in the Clients area (for all users) or the Manage Clients area (for portal administrators) instead. However, you'll potentially have two databases you need to keep up to date.

Disconnecting from Xero Practice Manager

  1. Click the Xero Sync button in the top right corner, below the Main menu toolbar.
  2. A Xero Sync popover prompt will appear; click on the Disconnect from Xero button. XPM will disconnect immediately.

Known issues involving Xero Practice Manager

If you face access issues while connecting your Xero Practice Manager account:
  1. Open XPM > Business > Settings > Staff > select user.
  2. Ensure you have the 'Authorize 3rd Party Full Access' option enabled at the bottom of the page.

    • Related Articles

    • Setting up multi-factor authentication

      Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is an extra layer of security you can add to your portal account. Attention If your portal administrator connects your firm to Xero Practice Manager (XPM) to sync clients via the  Xero Sync feature, you are required ...

    • Managing firm users

      The Manage Users area is where you can search, add or remove your firm's users, and verify their Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) status. This area also displays the number of users your firm's membership allows; if you need more users, contact us ...

    • Ensuring a client has an associated email address

      If you experience the below error message when emailing from the portal, your selected client is missing their email address in their Xero Practice Manager (XPM) profile.   There are two ways to fix this issue: Update the client's profile in Xero ...

    • Customising your personal settings

      Personal Settings allows you to customise the settings personal to you, e.g. name, email, greeting and sign off, email signature, password, etc. You can also enable/disable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) in this area. Navigate to App bar > > My ...

    • Creating documents for leads when using the XPM integration

      The current integration that syncs your client list from Xero Practice Manager (XPM) to The Gap Portal only includes clients, not prospects (i.e. leads).  If you need to send a portal form, e.g. pre-work or a proposal, to a lead via the portal, there ...