Reports and posting back

Post journals and records from Excel

Create or change many records at once in Excel with the bulk editor, then post them to Xero or QuickBooks Online. The example is a manual journal on Xero.

  • Less than 3 minutes
  • Xero and QuickBooks Online
  • Excel for Windows and Mac
On this page
  1. Before you start
  2. Steps
    1. 1. Open the Manual Journals editor
    2. 2. Fill in the journal lines
    3. 3. Check that it balances
    4. 4. Choose what to send
    5. 5. Post and confirm
    6. 6. See what was posted
  3. On QuickBooks Online
  4. Other records you can post
  5. If something goes wrong
  6. Talk to a person

Before you start

From Excel to your books

  1. Open the Manual Journals editor

    In Excel

    On the Dashboard, select Create & Edit Data (the bulk editor), then the download arrow beside Manual Journals. The editor opens in a new workbook.

    Create & Edit Data (17) in the Rows pane for Demo Company (Global): a search box, then the Invoices, Bills & Payments and Manual Journals editors, each with a download arrow
    Rows pane, Create & Edit Data

  2. Fill in the journal lines

    In Excel

    On Manual Journal Template, each row is one journal line, and rows with the same My Unique Reference make one journal. Account, tracking and Tax Rate are drop-downs loaded from your entity. Columns with a star are required, and an empty one turns red.

    Six journal lines in the Manual Journal Template, all with Post? set to Yes: depreciation on office and computer equipment and a software subscription, with accounts, Region, Tax Exempt (0%), debits and credits
    Excel, two journals of six lines

  1. Check that it balances

    In Excel

    Open Notes & Controls. The Controls box adds up the lines you're about to send. Difference (debits - credits) must be 0 before you post.

    Controls box for the two journals
    ControlsLinesAmount
    Debit lines to send31,570.00
    Credit lines to send31,570.00
    Difference (debits - credits)0
    Check: debits equal credits
    Notes & Controls, the Controls box

  1. Choose what to send

    In Excel

    Only rows with Post? set to Yes are sent. In Post Type, Save as Draft sends a draft to review in Xero, and Post posts it straight away.

    Attach your workings. Set Upload Sheet? to Yes and Rows attaches the sheet with your workings, say how the office rent was calculated, to the journal in Xero. Name that sheet exactly as the journal's My Unique Reference: the workings for RENT-2026-10 go on a sheet called RENT-2026-10.

    The left of the Manual Journal Template: Post? set to Yes on six rows, Upload Sheet? set to No, references DEP-2026-10 and PRE-2026-10, and Post Type set to Save as Draft
    Excel, Post? and Post Type

  2. Post and confirm

    In Excel

    In the Rows pane, select Post. Confirm upload lists the Xero tables that will change. Nothing has changed yet: select Proceed to send the lines.

    Manual Journal Template in the Rows pane: Post, Clear, Refresh and Attach buttons, and a Do you want to edit existing data? card with Get Data to Edit
    Rows pane, Post
    Confirm upload in the Rows pane: This upload will change the following tables in Xero: Manual Journal. Are you sure you want to continue? with a Proceed button
    Rows pane, Confirm upload

  1. See what was posted

    In Excel

    After Proceed, a popup shows the results. Each posted row's Post? turns back to No, so the same lines can't go twice. Drafts wait in Xero until someone posts them there.

    The six rows after posting
    Post?My Unique ReferenceAccountDebitCredit
    NoDEP-2026-10416 - Depreciation450.000
    NoDEP-2026-10711 - Less Accumulated Depreciation on Office Equipment450.000
    NoDEP-2026-10416 - Depreciation820.000
    NoDEP-2026-10721 - Less Accumulated Depreciation on Computer Equipment820.000
    NoPRE-2026-10485 - Subscriptions300.000
    NoPRE-2026-10620 - Prepayments300.000
    Excel, after posting

On QuickBooks Online

The Journal Entries editor works the same way, except:

  • No drafts: Post creates the journal entries straight away.
  • Post? is Yes, No or Delete, to remove an entry brought in with Get Data to Edit.
  • Lines can carry a customer, vendor, location and class.
The Journal Entries editor for Malta Ltd: four lines with Post? set to Yes, journal numbers DEMO-JE-01 and DEMO-JE-02, and accounts
Excel, the Journal Entries editor

Other records you can post

Every editor works like Manual Journals. Invoices post to both Xero and QuickBooks Online: on Xero you choose Draft, Awaiting approval or Authorised, and on QuickBooks Online they post straight away, as it has no statuses. Each editor shows between 1,000 and 10,000 rows, and you can unhide more: there's no hard limit.

Xero, 17 editors

See all 17 editors

Invoices, Bills & Payments · Manual Journals · Bank Transactions · Chart of Accounts · Xero Conversion Tool · Bank Transfers · Contacts · Tracking Categories · Purchase Orders · Items · Batch Payments · Contact Groups · Quotes · Projects · UK Payroll Timesheets · AU Payroll Timesheets · Repeating Invoices

QuickBooks Online, 11 editors

See all 11 editors

Invoices and Bills · Journal Entries · Chart of Accounts · Purchase & Sales Receipt · Vendors & Customers · Inventory Items · Classes & Departments · Time Activities · Purchase Order · Employees · Estimates

Posting to Zoho Books isn't available yet.

If something goes wrong

A cell turned red

A required column is empty on a row set to Yes. Fill it in from its drop-down. If the drop-down is empty, select the refresh icon in the Rows pane.

Debits and credits don't match

Look at Difference (debits - credits) on Notes & Controls. Each journal must balance: give every line a debit or a credit, not both, and one My Unique Reference per journal.

I posted the wrong line

Bring it back with Get Data to Edit, correct it or set Post? to Void (Delete on QuickBooks Online), and post again. Or void it in Xero. Journals before your lock date can't be changed.

Nothing seemed to happen after Post

Rows only sends the lines once you select Proceed on Confirm upload, and then shows a popup with the results. If you closed it, check Post?: a line that reached Xero has turned back to No.

Next step

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