Set up

Get started with Rows

Six steps from signing up to a profit and loss in Excel that you refresh in one click.

  • Less than 2 minutes
  • Xero, QuickBooks Online, Zoho Books and more
  • Excel for Windows and Mac
On this page
  1. Before you start
  2. Steps
    1. 1. Start your free trial
    2. 2. Connect your books
    3. 3. Add Rows to Excel
    4. 4. Sign in and pick your entity
    5. 5. Run your first report
    6. 6. Refresh when the books change
  3. If something goes wrong
  4. Talk to a person

Before you start

  • A login for Xero, QuickBooks Online or Zoho Books with access to the entity you want to use. In Xero, a standard or adviser role is enough.
  • Any recent version of Excel for Windows or Mac that can install add-ins.
  • On a work computer, permission to add Excel add-ins. If you're not sure, ask your IT team before step 3.

From blank workbook to live report

  1. Start your free trial

    In your browser

    Go to the Rows sign-up page and register with your email, or continue with Xero, Google, Microsoft or Intuit. You'll sign in to Excel the same way, and the Rows pane in Excel has no Zoho sign-in, so pick one of these even if your books are in Zoho Books. The trial runs for 14 days and needs no card. You land in the Rows portal, where a short checklist shows what's left to set up. Online sign-up opens on 20 November. Until then, request a trial and we'll set your account up within one working day.

    The Rows sign-up page: Try Rows for free, buttons to continue with Xero, Google, Microsoft, Intuit or Zoho, and a form to register with an email address
    Rows sign-up page
    The Rows portal Home: Your accounting data, live in Excel, with a checklist to connect an entity, invite your team, get the Rows add-in for Excel, run your first report and post to Xero with a template
    Rows portal, Home

  2. Connect your books

    In your browser

    In the Rows portal, open Entities and select Connect entity. Pick Xero, QuickBooks Online or Zoho Books, log in there and allow Rows access to the entity you want. Step by step: Connect Xero to Excel or Connect QuickBooks Online to Excel. On Zoho Books, choose the Zoho Books tile, sign in to Zoho and allow access the same way. The entity then shows as Connected under Entities.

    The Choose your accounting system tiles in the Rows portal: Xero, QuickBooks, Cin7 and Zoho Books
    Rows portal, Connect an entity

Leave the portal open. Now switch to Excel.

  1. Add Rows to Excel

    In Excel

    Open Excel. On the Home tab, select Add-ins, then More Add-ins. Search for Rows and select Add. Rows opens on the right and adds Launch Rows add-in to the Home tab. Stuck here? See Install the Excel add-in.

    The right end of the Home tab in Excel for Mac: Sort and Filter, Find and Select, Sensitivity, Add-ins and Launch Rows add-in
    Excel for Mac, Home tab
    The search box in the add-in store with Rows typed in it
    Add-in store, search

  2. Sign in and pick your entity

    In Excel

    If the Rows pane isn't open, select Launch Rows add-in on the Home tab. Sign in the same way you signed up in step 1, then pick your entity under Choose your Entity and select Continue.

    The Rows pane signed out: sign-in buttons for Xero, Google, Microsoft, Intuit and email, then email and password fields and Login
    Rows pane, sign in
    Choose your Entity in the Rows pane: Demo typed in the search box, four Demo Company entities listed, and Continue and Add entity below
    Rows pane, Choose your Entity

  3. Run your first report

    In Excel

    Select Run Report, search for profit and pick Profit and Loss - Multiple Periods. Choose your dates, then select Run Report. The figures land as ordinary Excel cells, so your own formulas and formats work on them. More in Pull your first report.

    Run Report in the Rows pane: profit typed in the search box, with Profit and Loss - Account Details and Profit and Loss - Multiple Periods under Rows Reports, and Profit and Loss under Standard Xero Reports
    Rows pane, Run Report
    Profit and Loss - Multiple Periods settings in the Rows pane: Total Periods, Period set to Year to Date, Order, then the Run Report button and the Run Report on a new Sheet link
    Rows pane, report settings
    A profit and loss report in Excel with Account and Currency columns and year-to-date figures for September, October and November 2026 side by side: sales, cost of sales, gross profit and operating expenses
    Excel for Mac, Profit and Loss - Multiple Periods

  4. Refresh when the books change

    In Excel

    When new transactions reach your books, select Refresh in the Rows pane. The figures update in place and the card shows the time of the last sync. To update several reports at once, tick their cards and select Refresh selected sheets.

    The Rows pane for a profit and loss report: Refresh, PDF, Attach and Drill above a report card with a tick box, the entity and the last sync time
    Rows pane, report card

If something goes wrong

There's no Add-ins button on my Home tab

In some versions of Excel it's on the Insert tab, under Get Add-ins. Start there, then carry on from step 3.

Rows doesn't come up when I search Add-ins

On a work computer, your IT team may have turned off add-ins from the store. They can allow Rows, or add it for everyone from the Microsoft 365 admin centre.

I signed in but see no entities

You probably signed in a different way from step 1, so Rows opened another account. Open the pane menu, select Logout and sign in again the way you signed up.

I signed up with Zoho and can't sign in to Excel

The Rows pane in Excel has no Zoho sign-in. Email support from the address you signed up with, and the team will set you up with a sign-in that works in Excel.

My entity isn't in the list in Excel

Entities are connected in your browser first, in step 2. Check the entity shows under Entities in the Rows portal, then select the refresh arrow next to Search Entities in the Rows pane.

Rows says the entity needs reconnecting

Open Entities in the Rows portal. The Connection column shows Reconnect next to that entity: select it and allow access in Xero, QuickBooks Online or Zoho Books again.

Can colleagues use the same entity?

In the Rows portal, open Users and select Add user. Each person signs in with their own login and sees only the entities you give them.

Next step

Next guideUse a report templateOpen a ready-made workbook from the Templates Library, in the Rows portal or the Rows pane, and fill it with your own entity's data.

Looking for something else? Browse every guide in the Help centre.

Talk to a person.

Email support

Tell us what you see on screen. We reply within 24 hours on working days.

support@rowsapp.com

Book an onboarding call

Free during your trial. We'll connect your entities with you and set up your first live report.

Book a call

Log in to your account

Change your plan, add users or manage entities in the Rows portal.

Log in