Overview
Flow puts your Xero data where you actually work: Excel.
If you spend time exporting CSVs from Xero, copying numbers into spreadsheets, or wrestling with clunky reporting tools, Flow removes that friction. It connects your Xero organisations to a live Excel workbook powered by Power Query. Your data stays fresh. Your reports update automatically. You stay focused on what matters.
How Flow Works
Flow syncs your Xero financial data into a secure cloud database. You download a pre-built Excel template with Power Query connections already configured. Open the workbook, sign in with your Flow credentials, and your live Xero data is right there in Excel. When you click Refresh All in Excel, Flow automatically triggers a fresh sync of your connected organisations. Your data is pulled from Xero, updated in the database, and loaded into your workbook, typically within one to two minutes.
What Data Flows Into Excel
Flow syncs a comprehensive set of Xero data every day at 2am, with on-demand refresh available whenever you need it:
- Invoices — accounts payable and accounts receivable, all statuses
- Credit notes — supplier and customer credit notes
- Overpayments — spend and receive overpayments
- Chart of accounts — your full Xero account structure
- Trial balance snapshots — month-end balances with up to two years of history
All of this lands in structured Excel tables, ready for pivot tables, lookups, charts, and custom reporting.
Who Flow Is Built For
Flow is designed for accountants, bookkeepers, and finance teams who prefer Excel for analysis and reporting. Whether you manage a single company or oversee dozens of client organisations, Flow scales to fit your workflow.
- Small businesses that want live financial data in Excel without manual exports
- Accounting practices managing multiple Xero clients from one account
- Finance teams building custom dashboards, forecasts, and board packs in Excel
- Anyone who finds Xero's built-in reporting too rigid for their needs
Multi-Organisation Support
Connect up to five Xero organisations on the Standard plan or up to one hundred on the Pro plan. All organisations sync into the same Excel workbook, making consolidated reporting and cross-entity comparisons straightforward.
Simple, Transparent Pricing
Flow offers a 14-day free trial with full access to all features. After that, choose the plan that fits your needs. No long-term contracts. Cancel anytime. No hidden fees.
Flow + Xero
A Secure, Automated Data Pipeline
Flow integrates with Xero through the official Xero OAuth 2.0 API. When you connect an organisation, Flow establishes a secure, encrypted link that keeps your financial data synchronised automatically. No manual exports. No file uploads. No copy-pasting.
How the Sync Works
Flow runs a full data sync every day at 2am UTC. Each sync pulls the latest invoices, credit notes, overpayments, chart of accounts, and trial balance snapshots from Xero into Flow's secure Azure SQL database. The sync is incremental — Flow only fetches records that have changed since the last run. This keeps API usage low and sync times fast.
On top of the daily sync, Flow features a sprint mode that activates automatically when you refresh your Excel workbook. As soon as Power Query connects, Flow detects the activity and triggers a live sync of your organisations in the background. Your data is fetched from Xero and ready in Excel within one to two minutes. No need to visit the Flow dashboard or trigger anything manually. Just hit Refresh All and your numbers are up to date.
Data Delivery via Power Query
Flow does not display your data in a web dashboard. Instead, it delivers everything through a pre-configured Excel workbook using Power Query. Power Query connects directly to Flow's cloud database, pulling your Xero data into structured Excel tables that you control completely.
This approach gives you full flexibility. Build your own reports, create pivot tables, write formulas, design charts, and share workbooks with colleagues. You are not locked into a fixed report layout. Excel is your canvas.
When you open the workbook and click Refresh, Power Query pulls the latest synced data. You can also schedule automatic refreshes if your version of Excel supports it.
Security and Data Protection
Your data is protected at every stage of the pipeline:
- Xero OAuth 2.0 authentication — Flow never sees or stores your Xero password. You authorise access directly through Xero's secure login.
- Encrypted token storage — all API credentials are encrypted at rest using AES-256 encryption in Azure Key Vault.
- Secure database hosting — your synced data is stored in Azure SQL with enterprise-grade security, firewalling, and encryption in transit.
- Scoped access — Flow requests only the minimum Xero API scopes needed to read your financial data. Flow never modifies your Xero data.
You retain full control over your connection. Disconnect an organisation at any time from the Flow dashboard, and Flow immediately removes its access from Xero.
Reliability and Monitoring
Every sync is logged and monitored. If a sync fails due to a token expiry or API issue, Flow flags the affected organisation on your dashboard with a clear error status and a prompt to reconnect. Unhealthy connections are detected automatically, so you always know the state of your data.
Getting started
Getting started with Flow takes less than five minutes. No technical knowledge required.
The quickest way to begin is by clicking the "Get this app" button on this Xero App Store listing. This starts the connection process and sets up your Flow account automatically using your Xero login.
Step-by-Step Setup
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Click "Get this app" and sign in with Xero. You will be asked to authorise Flow to access your Xero organisation. This is a secure OAuth process handled entirely by Xero. Flow never sees your password.
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Select your organisations. Choose which Xero organisations you want to connect. You can always add or remove organisations later from the Flow dashboard.
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Choose your plan. Flow offers a 14-day free trial with full access. You will not be charged until the trial ends, and you can cancel at any time.
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Download your Excel template. From the Flow dashboard, download the pre-configured Excel workbook. This file contains Power Query connections ready to pull your Xero data.
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Open the workbook and sign in. Excel will prompt you for your Flow database credentials. You will find these on the Flow dashboard under "Show Credentials". Enter your username and password, and click Connect.
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Refresh and go. Click Refresh All in Excel, and your live Xero data will populate the workbook. You are ready to start building reports.
Tips for Getting the Most Out of Flow
- Use Refresh All in Excel to pull the latest data whenever you need it. This also triggers a live sync with Xero, so your data will be fully up to date within one to two minutes.
- Flow also syncs your Xero data automatically every day at 2am, so your workbook is always ready to go first thing in the morning.
- Connect all of your Xero organisations to see cross-entity data side by side in one workbook.
- Customise the Power Query tables to suit your reporting needs. Add columns, create relationships, and build dashboards that work for your business.
- Keep your Flow credentials private. Do not share them in shared workbooks.
Support When You Need It
If you run into any issues, the Flow team is here to help. Reach out via email and we will get you sorted quickly. Whether it is a connection issue, a question about your data, or help setting up a custom report, we are happy to assist.
If your Xero connection ever shows an error in the Flow dashboard, simply click the Reconnect button next to the affected organisation. You will be redirected to Xero to re-authorise access, and then brought back to Flow automatically.
