Using your accounting software

The Accounts export card on Export practice data prepares a download of your invoices and payments for a date range, laid out for import into your accounting software. It is included on every professional plan.

1. Choose a date rangePick the first and last day to include. The card tells you the longest range a single export can cover; for a longer period, prepare one export per part.
2. Choose your accounting softwareThe card then shows the files you will receive and the import notes for that software, including any column you may want to change before importing.
3. Decide whether to include invoice PDFsThe PDFs are useful as attachments in your ledger or for your records. Leave them out for a smaller download.
4. Prepare the exportThe card shows its progress and tells you when the export is ready to download.
5. Download itFor your security you confirm your identity before the download starts. The file stays available for a limited time, shown beside it.

• Invoices you have issued in the range, line by line, with the tax treatment of each line
• Credit notes for refunds and write-offs, each referring to the invoice it reduces
• Payments received, with the card processor’s fee where it is known
• Disbursements you recharged to clients
• A generic CSV with every field, whichever software you chose, so nothing is lost if your software’s import cannot carry part of it
• Invoice PDFs, if you asked for them

Your invoice numbers are kept in every file, so an imported invoice can be matched to the one your client received. Account codes are usually left for your software’s default; where a file needs one, the card’s import notes say which value it uses so you can change it.

Each program has its own import screen. The steps are broadly the same: open the import option for the record type, upload the file, check how the columns are matched, then review what was imported before you approve it. The links below go to each vendor’s own instructions.

Card payments from your clients are taken through your own Stripe account, which you set up when you enabled payments. It is your account, so you can connect it to your accounting software yourself. Many programs then record each card payment, each Stripe fee and each payout to your bank without an import from us.

• Xero: Stripe in the Xero App Store (opens in a new tab)
• Zoho Books: Zoho Books Stripe integration (opens in a new tab)
• FreeAgent: FreeAgent Stripe integration (opens in a new tab)
• QuickBooks Online and Sage Accounting: search for Stripe in the apps section inside your software

Stripe’s own payout reconciliation report (opens in a new tab) lists which payments and fees make up each payout, which helps when matching payouts to your bank statement.

• It does not sync automatically. Each export is a one-off file for the range you chose; prepare a new one for the next period.
• It does not read from or write to your accounting software. We never connect to your ledger to post anything.
• Payments you record only in your accounting software are not sent back to Orchard72. Record a payment here as well if you want the invoice to show as paid here.
• It does not choose your account codes or tax codes. Map them in your software, or ask your accountant.
• It is not accounting or tax advice. How you record each item is for you and your accountant.