xero-accounts

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Use this skill when working with Xero chart of accounts - navigating account codes, creating accounts, understanding account types and classes, tax settings, and mapping MSP revenue and expense categories to the general ledger.

wyre-technology By wyre-technology schedule Updated 4/5/2026
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name: "Xero Accounts" description: > Use this skill when working with Xero chart of accounts - navigating account codes, creating accounts, understanding account types and classes, tax settings, and mapping MSP revenue and expense categories to the general ledger. when_to_use: "When navigating account codes, creating accounts, understanding account types and classes, tax settings, and mapping MSP revenue and expense categories to the general ledger" triggers: - xero account - xero chart of accounts - xero gl - xero general ledger - account code - xero coa - xero account type - xero bank account - xero revenue account - xero expense account

Xero Chart of Accounts

Overview

The chart of accounts (COA) in Xero defines the general ledger structure for your organization. Every invoice line item, payment, and bank transaction references an account code. For MSPs, a well-structured COA enables tracking revenue by service line (managed services, projects, hardware sales), expenses by vendor category, and provides the foundation for meaningful financial reporting.

Core Concepts

Account Classes

Xero organizes accounts into five standard accounting classes:

Class Description MSP Examples
ASSET Things you own Bank accounts, accounts receivable, equipment
EQUITY Owner's stake Retained earnings, owner's equity
EXPENSE Costs of business Software licenses, salaries, ISP costs
LIABILITY Things you owe Accounts payable, loans, tax liabilities
REVENUE Income earned Managed services, project revenue, hardware sales

Account Types

Each class contains specific account types:

Class Type Code Description
ASSET BANK BANK Bank accounts (used for payments)
ASSET CURRENT CURRENT Current assets (AR, inventory)
ASSET FIXED FIXED Fixed assets (equipment)
ASSET PREPAYMENT PREPAYMENT Prepaid expenses
EQUITY EQUITY EQUITY Equity accounts
EXPENSE EXPENSE EXPENSE Operating expenses
EXPENSE DIRECTCOSTS DIRECTCOSTS Cost of goods sold
EXPENSE OVERHEADS OVERHEADS Overhead expenses
LIABILITY CURRLIAB CURRLIAB Current liabilities
LIABILITY LIABILITY LIABILITY Long-term liabilities
LIABILITY TERMLIAB TERMLIAB Term liabilities
REVENUE REVENUE REVENUE Revenue accounts
REVENUE OTHERINCOME OTHERINCOME Other income
REVENUE SALES SALES Sales revenue

MSP Chart of Accounts Structure

A typical MSP chart of accounts includes:

Revenue (200-299)
  200 - Managed Services Revenue
  210 - Project Revenue
  220 - Hardware Sales
  230 - Software License Revenue
  240 - Cloud Services Revenue
  250 - Consulting Revenue

Cost of Sales (400-499)
  400 - Software License Costs
  410 - Hardware Costs
  420 - Cloud Platform Costs (Azure, AWS)
  430 - ISP/Connectivity Costs
  440 - Subcontractor Costs

Expenses (500-699)
  500 - Salaries & Wages
  510 - Employee Benefits
  520 - Office Rent
  530 - Insurance
  540 - Marketing
  550 - Professional Development
  560 - Tools & Subscriptions

Field Reference

Core Fields

Field Type Required Description
AccountID string (UUID) System Auto-generated unique identifier
Code string Yes Account code (e.g., "200", "400")
Name string Yes Account name
Type string Yes Account type (REVENUE, EXPENSE, BANK, etc.)
Status string No ACTIVE or ARCHIVED
Description string No Account description
TaxType string No Default tax type for this account
EnablePaymentsToAccount boolean No Whether payments can be made to this account
ShowInExpenseClaims boolean No Show in expense claims
Class string Read-only Account class (ASSET, LIABILITY, EQUITY, REVENUE, EXPENSE)
BankAccountNumber string No Bank account number (BANK type only)
BankAccountType string No BANK or CREDITCARD (BANK type only)
CurrencyCode string No Currency for bank accounts
ReportingCode string No Reporting code for financial statements
ReportingCodeName string Read-only Reporting code name

System Accounts (Read-Only)

Field Type Description
SystemAccount string System account type (e.g., DEBTORS, CREDITORS)

Xero creates these system accounts automatically:

System Account Description
DEBTORS Accounts Receivable
CREDITORS Accounts Payable
GST Tax collected/paid
GSTONIMPORTS Tax on imports
HISTORICAL Historical adjustment
REALISEDCURRENCYGAIN Realized currency gains
UNREALISEDCURRENCYGAIN Unrealized currency gains
ROUNDING Rounding adjustments

API Patterns

List All Accounts

curl -s -X GET "https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0/Accounts" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "xero-tenant-id: ${XERO_TENANT_ID}" \
  -H "Accept: application/json"

With Filters:

# Revenue accounts only
curl -s -X GET "https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0/Accounts?where=Class==%22REVENUE%22" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "xero-tenant-id: ${XERO_TENANT_ID}" \
  -H "Accept: application/json"

# Bank accounts only
curl -s -X GET "https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0/Accounts?where=Type==%22BANK%22" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "xero-tenant-id: ${XERO_TENANT_ID}" \
  -H "Accept: application/json"

# Active accounts only
curl -s -X GET "https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0/Accounts?where=Status==%22ACTIVE%22" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "xero-tenant-id: ${XERO_TENANT_ID}" \
  -H "Accept: application/json"

# Expense accounts
curl -s -X GET "https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0/Accounts?where=Class==%22EXPENSE%22" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "xero-tenant-id: ${XERO_TENANT_ID}" \
  -H "Accept: application/json"

Get Single Account

curl -s -X GET "https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0/Accounts/${ACCOUNT_ID}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "xero-tenant-id: ${XERO_TENANT_ID}" \
  -H "Accept: application/json"

Create Account

curl -s -X POST "https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0/Accounts" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "xero-tenant-id: ${XERO_TENANT_ID}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "Code": "245",
    "Name": "Cloud Services Revenue",
    "Type": "REVENUE",
    "Description": "Revenue from cloud hosting and Azure/AWS resale",
    "TaxType": "OUTPUT"
  }'

Update Account

curl -s -X POST "https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0/Accounts/${ACCOUNT_ID}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "xero-tenant-id: ${XERO_TENANT_ID}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "AccountID": "'${ACCOUNT_ID}'",
    "Name": "Cloud & Hosting Revenue",
    "Description": "Revenue from cloud hosting, Azure, AWS, and SaaS resale"
  }'

Archive Account

curl -s -X POST "https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0/Accounts/${ACCOUNT_ID}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "xero-tenant-id: ${XERO_TENANT_ID}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "AccountID": "'${ACCOUNT_ID}'",
    "Status": "ARCHIVED"
  }'

Delete Account

curl -s -X DELETE "https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0/Accounts/${ACCOUNT_ID}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "xero-tenant-id: ${XERO_TENANT_ID}"

Note: Accounts with transactions cannot be deleted. Archive them instead.

Common Workflows

Set Up MSP Revenue Accounts

async function setupMspRevenueAccounts() {
  const accounts = [
    { Code: '200', Name: 'Managed Services Revenue', Type: 'REVENUE', Description: 'Monthly recurring managed services contracts' },
    { Code: '210', Name: 'Project Revenue', Type: 'REVENUE', Description: 'One-time project and implementation work' },
    { Code: '220', Name: 'Hardware Sales', Type: 'REVENUE', Description: 'Hardware sales and procurement markup' },
    { Code: '230', Name: 'Software License Revenue', Type: 'REVENUE', Description: 'Software license resale (M365, security, etc.)' },
    { Code: '240', Name: 'Cloud Services Revenue', Type: 'REVENUE', Description: 'Cloud hosting and IaaS/PaaS resale' },
    { Code: '250', Name: 'Consulting Revenue', Type: 'REVENUE', Description: 'Ad-hoc consulting and advisory services' }
  ];

  const results = [];
  for (const account of accounts) {
    try {
      const result = await createAccount(account);
      results.push({ code: account.Code, status: 'created' });
    } catch (error) {
      results.push({ code: account.Code, status: 'error', message: error.message });
    }
  }

  return results;
}

Validate Account Codes for Invoice

async function validateAccountCodes(lineItems) {
  const accounts = await fetchAllAccounts();
  const accountCodes = new Set(accounts.map(a => a.Code));
  const revenueAccounts = new Set(
    accounts.filter(a => a.Class === 'REVENUE').map(a => a.Code)
  );

  const issues = [];

  for (const item of lineItems) {
    if (!accountCodes.has(item.AccountCode)) {
      issues.push(`Account code '${item.AccountCode}' does not exist`);
    } else if (!revenueAccounts.has(item.AccountCode)) {
      issues.push(`Account code '${item.AccountCode}' is not a revenue account`);
    }
  }

  return { valid: issues.length === 0, issues };
}

Revenue Breakdown by Account

async function getRevenueBreakdown(startDate, endDate) {
  const accounts = await fetchAllAccounts();
  const revenueAccounts = accounts.filter(a => a.Class === 'REVENUE');

  const invoices = await fetchAllInvoices({
    where: `Type=="ACCREC"&&Status!="VOIDED"&&Status!="DELETED"&&Date>=DateTime(${startDate})&&Date<=DateTime(${endDate})`
  });

  const breakdown = {};

  for (const account of revenueAccounts) {
    breakdown[account.Code] = {
      name: account.Name,
      total: 0,
      invoiceCount: 0
    };
  }

  for (const invoice of invoices) {
    for (const line of invoice.LineItems || []) {
      if (breakdown[line.AccountCode]) {
        breakdown[line.AccountCode].total += line.LineAmount || 0;
        breakdown[line.AccountCode].invoiceCount++;
      }
    }
  }

  return breakdown;
}

Find Bank Accounts for Payments

async function getBankAccounts() {
  const accounts = await fetchAllAccounts();
  return accounts
    .filter(a => a.Type === 'BANK' && a.Status === 'ACTIVE')
    .map(a => ({
      accountId: a.AccountID,
      code: a.Code,
      name: a.Name,
      bankAccountNumber: a.BankAccountNumber,
      currencyCode: a.CurrencyCode
    }));
}

Error Handling

Common API Errors

Code Message Resolution
400 Account code already exists Use a different code
400 Account code is required Provide Code field
400 Account name is required Provide Name field
400 Invalid account type Use valid Type value
400 Cannot delete account with transactions Archive instead
400 System accounts cannot be modified These are Xero-managed
401 Unauthorized Refresh access token

Validation Errors

Error Cause Fix
Code already exists Duplicate account code Choose unique code
Code is required Missing Code field Add Code to request
Invalid type Wrong Type value Use valid account type
Cannot delete Account has transactions Archive account instead
System account Modifying system account System accounts are read-only

Error Recovery Pattern

async function safeCreateAccount(data) {
  try {
    return await createAccount(data);
  } catch (error) {
    if (error.message?.includes('already exists')) {
      // Account exists - find and return it
      const accounts = await fetchAllAccounts();
      return accounts.find(a => a.Code === data.Code);
    }

    throw error;
  }
}

Endpoint Reference

Endpoint Method Description
/Accounts GET List all accounts (not paginated)
/Accounts POST Create an account
/Accounts/{AccountID} GET Get single account
/Accounts/{AccountID} POST Update an account
/Accounts/{AccountID} DELETE Delete an account
/Accounts/{AccountID}/Attachments GET List account attachments

Best Practices

  1. Use consistent code ranges - Revenue 200-299, COGS 400-499, Expenses 500-699
  2. Name accounts descriptively - "Managed Services Revenue" not just "Revenue"
  3. Add descriptions - Include what transactions belong in each account
  4. Set default tax types - Reduces errors when creating invoices
  5. Archive, don't delete - Preserve historical data for accounts with transactions
  6. Separate revenue streams - Track managed services, projects, and hardware separately
  7. Map to PSA categories - Align account codes with PSA service categories
  8. Review quarterly - Clean up unused accounts and verify mappings
  9. Document your COA - Maintain a reference guide for account code usage
  10. Use DIRECTCOSTS for COGS - Separate direct vendor costs from overhead expenses

Related Skills

Install via CLI
npx skills add https://github.com/wyre-technology/msp-claude-plugins --skill xero-accounts
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