The Castaway integration with Xero makes it easy to build your Castaway chart of accounts and to import Actuals data to drive variance analysis and reforecasting. This one-way integration (from Xero to Castaway) gives Castaway access to the Xero chart of accounts and trial balance reports:
Once integrated, you can:
- Build a new Castaway project from your Xero file (including mapping)
- Map the Xero Chart of Accounts to an existing Castaway project
- Import Opening Balances
- Import Actuals data (for one month or multiple months)
Accessing the Integrations feature
When connecting to Xero, you can access the Integrations feature in a few different ways.
Option 1: When creating a new project
When you first create a new project in Castaway, you'll be given the option to either immediately connect with an external source, or build your project manually. Click on the Xero logo to start.
You'll then be asked to log in to Xero if you haven't done so already. For more information on securely logging into Xero, check out our article SSO and Xero. Your Project Details will be pre-filled with information from your Xero file but you can always adjust this as necessary.
Option 2: When working with an Existing Project
If you're currently working on a project and would like to connect with Xero, there are 2 ways:
- Overview > Integrations > Add OR
- Forecast > External Sources
Both will direct you to the External sources section. You can then click on the Xero logo to begin connecting to your Xero file.
Connecting and selecting the Xero file
When you first connect, you'll be asked to select the Xero file you're working with. Choose the file, then select Allow Access.
Castaway will then ask for confirmation one more time. Make sure to select your file, then click Import.
Note
Change the number of months you'd like to load to Castaway from the bottom left of the above screenshot. The default is 24 months, which means you are loading data 2 years from today.
Example: Today is Jan 2023, and loading 24 months will bring data from Feb 2021 - Jan 2023.
Mapping Xero accounts to Castaway
Once your file is connected, you'll still need to enable Mapping to start bringing your data into your project. To begin Mapping, click the Map button:
From here, just like with other External Sources like Excel, you can start to click and drag your accounts across to your Chart of Accounts.