Add configurations and Mappings
Lesson 4 of 12 7 min read
Tell the Xero Integration which records to send or receive, then create the Mappings that route Documents to it.
An Integration on its own does nothing. Configurations tell it which record types it handles and in which direction, and Mappings tell Supply Lens which Documents to send to it. In this lesson you'll add both, and see how tags let one configuration treat different orders differently.
Add a configuration
- Go to Settings → Integration setup → Integrations and expand your Xero Integration.
- Click Configurations, then + Add in the top-right.
- Choose a document type, such as Xero Invoice.
- Click Send, Receive or both.
- Click Create Default JSON to fill in the configuration with its defaults.
- Click Save.
Send and receive are from Supply Lens's point of view
Send means Supply Lens sends to Xero: creating invoices, bills or journals. Receive means Supply Lens reads from Xero. Almost every Xero configuration is a send; the Xero Invoice configuration can also receive.
The default JSON is the starting point. You then edit the settings in it, which is what the next two modules are about.
Route Documents to Xero with Mappings
A Mapping says: "when a Document of this type arrives from this Integration, send it to that one".
- Go to Settings → Integration setup → Mappings.
- Click + ADD.
- Set Map (the document type), From (the source Integration), As and To (your Xero Integration).
- Click SAVE.
As is usually Target Data: Supply Lens translates the Document straight into what Xero
expects and sends it. Choose Document when you need an intermediate Supply Lens Document first,
for example to produce an Invoice from a Shipment before routing it on to Xero.
Narrowing a Mapping
You can limit a Mapping to one customer, supplier, ship-to or ship-from Party or Location, or to
Documents carrying certain tags. Under Target, Target tags add tags to what's produced.
Automatic decides whether the Mapping runs as soon as a matching Document arrives; turn it
off and Documents wait in Ready until someone processes them.
Review invoices before they post
Turning Automatic off on the Mapping to Xero is a simple way to review each Document before it goes to Xero during your first weeks. It's separate from posting invoices as drafts in Xero, and you can use either or both.
How tags drive Xero settings
Many Xero settings end in Map, such as lineAccountCodeMap, bankAccountTagMap and
excludeTaxOnLinesMap. These match tags on the Document: labels such as a sales channel or
customer group. Where the settings guide says so, the first matching tag wins. Tags can arrive
with the source data, and a Mapping's Target tags can add them. That gives you a way to treat,
say, wholesale and retail orders differently in Xero with one configuration.
Hilltop Coffee's Mappings
Hilltop adds a Xero Invoice configuration set to Send. Their EDI orders become invoices once
Unleashed ships them, so the implementer creates two Mappings: the shipment from Unleashed
produces an Invoice Document, and the Invoice Document goes to Xero as Target Data. She adds the
target tag wholesale on the first Mapping so wholesale lines can be routed to their own sales
account.
Recap
- Add one configuration per record type, choose Send and/or Receive, then Create Default JSON and Save.
- Mappings route Documents to Xero: Map, From, As and To.
- Use
As: Documentfor two-hop flows, such as Shipment to Invoice to Xero. - Settings ending in
Mapmatch tags on the Document, which can come from the source or from a Mapping's Target tags.
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