Xero Practice Manager (XPM)
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      1. ChangeGPS Knowledge Base and Support Articles
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      How to setup client data in Xero Practice Manager OR Xero Tax for integration with ChangeGPS

      Setup your client groups and relationship data in Xero

      ChangeGPS helps accountants communicate and deliver their services better, but we also help you leverage the CRM and Client Group data in Xero Practice Manager (XPM) so you can be more efficient and proactive.

      In this article:

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      What Xero data we can read and use

      Through the Xero Practice Manager API we read and make best use of your Group, Client, Contact and Relationship data. Below is a list of the data we leverage throughout all the ChangeGPS products.

      GROUPS    CLIENTS    CONTACTS RELATIONSHIPS
      ID ID ID ID
      Name Name (First, Last, Other, Title) Addressee Relationship Type
      Taxable Account Manager (ID, Name) Email

      Related Client (ID, Name)
      List of Clients Job Manager (ID, Name) Is Primary (Y/N)      No. of Shares
        Address Lines (City, Country, PC, Region) Phone No. Percentage
        Postal Lines (City, Country, PC, Region) Mobile No.  
        Business Number Position  
        Business Structure Type Salutation  
        Company Number    
        Date of Birth    
        Email    
        Gender    
        Is Archived (Y/N)    
        Is Deleted (Y/N)    
        Phone    
        Fax    
        List of Contacts    
        List of Groups    
        List of Relationships    

      Frequently Asked Questions

      Do you support custom fields in Xero?

      We don't support custom fields as they can be unstable through the API connection.

      Can we pull in Xero Tax data, such as tax return information?

      Due to ATO regulations Xero has to exclude the tax and financial data from the Xero Tax API available to third party connections like ChangeGPS. 

      Do changes I make to client details in ChangeGPS update my Xero data?

      No, the data that comes into ChangeGPS is live from XPM but "read-only" - a one-way connection. We want to maintain the integrity of your database. Any changes you need to make should be done in Xero and, once done, simply save where you are at in ChangeGPS, then reload the saved report to see your changes instantly. 

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      Groups, how to set them up for best use

      Client Groups in Xero Practice Manager/Tax make everything much faster in ChangeGPS, saving you a lot of data entry and time!

      Simply select your Group when starting a TaxPlan, Progress Report or Service Plan to find your client names searchable, and all connected contact information made available to select where needed.

      They are also the key identifier used in saving, and loading reports.

      Note: Clients can belong to more than one group in XPM and you can add as many clients to a group as you want.

      Click here for the Xero guide on how to set up client groups.

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      Relationships, how to set them up for best use

      The Relationships you are able to add are based on the business structure of the client.

      However, when reading the relationships through the API, you can run into errors if they are set up incorrectly, basically creates a endless looping effect through the group.

      Relationship Types

      Our table below shows all possible relationships you can set up within Xero Practice Manager/Tax. 

      The relationships in purple are those we use across the ChangeGPS Platform and recommended way of adding them to your clients.

      COMPANY       INDIVIDUAL         PARTNERSHIP         TRUST         SMSF
      Auditor Of   Appointor Of   Partner   Appointor   Auditor
      Director   Auditor Of       Beneficiary   Director
      Member Of   Beneficiary Of       Beneficiary Of   Director Of
      Partner Of   Child Of       Partner Of   Member
      Public Officer   Director Of       Settlor   Member Of
      Secretary   Husband       Shareholder Of   Trustee
      Shareholder   Member Of       Trustee   Trustee Of
      Shareholder Of   Owner Of            
      Trustee Of   Parent Of            
          Partner Of            
          Public Office Of            
          Secretary Of            
          Settlor Of            
          Shareholder Of            
          Spouse            
          Trustee Of            
          Wife            

       

      Tips for setting up Relationships

      For the smoothest experience with our apps and the XPM connection, it's important to add client relationships in the right direction - bottom to top!

      Start at the bottom of your group structure, adding your "member of", "shareholder of" and "beneficiary of" etc and work your way to the top being your "trustee of", "partner of", "director of" relationships. Then add any additional family relationships you need like child of, husband, wife, spouse.

      We recommend starting with your all Individuals, then your Companies, finishing with your Trusts. It will be rare you'll be adding "xxxx of" relationships from a Partnership or Fund to another client.

      Xero will automatically add the relationship to the receiving entity, so you only have to add each relationship once.

      For example, if you open the individual Joe Bean and add a "Director Of" relationship to company Joe's Coffee Pty Ltd, when you open Joe's Coffee Pty Ltd you will see Joe Bean listed as a "Director".

      Or, on Joe Bean you were to add "husband" to Mary Bean, Mary will instantly show up as "wife" to Joe.

      Click here for the Xero guide on how to set up a client relationship.

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      Client Contacts, how to set them up for best use

      Clients and Contacts defined in Xero Practice Manager:

      • Clients are the organisations or individuals your practice does business with.
      • Contacts are the individuals associated with a client that you deal with, such as the business owner, bookkeeper or administrator.

      How they work in Xero Practice Manager:

      • Every contact must be associated with a client. To associate a contact with more than one client, create the contact for each client separately. 
      • A client can have multiple contacts, but only one can be the primary contact. The primary contact appears first in the contact list. If you don’t select a primary contact, the first contact you enter becomes the primary.

      How you see them in ChangeGPS

      Every App in ChangeGPS pulls in and makes available the Client's Address and their Contact's information for selection and use within the Client Group you are working with.

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      Using Custom Business Structure Types for the API

      Business Structures are the legal forms that your client organisations can take. Practice Manager offers standard structures, or you can create a new structure to suit your client's needs.

      You can add as structure names as you like to XPM, across these 7 types:

      • Company
      • Individual
      • Other
      • Partnership
      • Self Managed Superannuation Fund
      • Superannuation Fund
      • Trust

      Why the NAME of your Business Structures are important

      In BLUEPRINT, for example, we use the Business Structure type to determine which shape is used in your diagram. However, we have conditions that need to be met - and it is all based on the NAME of your business structure. 

      For example, if you have a business structure called "Trustee" with a business type of "Company" - your Blueprints will be incomplete, but change the name of your business structure to "Trustee Company" - all will align!

      Click here for the Xero guide on how to manage your business structure types.

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