Xero items and purchase cost

Logistified can link each of your Shopify variants to its item in Xero. Once they are linked, Logistified can keep each Xero item’s purchase cost in step with your purchase orders, so the cost in Xero doesn’t go stale. Everything lives on Settings → Accounting → Items. It’s part of the Elevate plan.

Turning on item sync

Open Settings → Accounting and click Items. If you have more than one Xero organisation connected, pick the one you want to work with. Nothing happens until you click Turn on item sync.

When you turn it on, Logistified imports your Xero items once. A progress line shows how far it has got, for example 120 of 400 items imported. A large catalogue can take a while; you can leave the page and come back. After that first import, Logistified picks up new and changed items every night, so it never has to read your whole catalogue again.

Turning on item sync writes nothing to Xero. It only reads your items so you can link them.

The Items page

The page lists your variants with the Xero item each one is linked to. Search by SKU, product, variant, item code or item name, and filter by link status (you can save a filter as a preset):

Link status	What it means
Linked (auto)	Logistified linked the variant itself, because its SKU exactly matches one Xero item code
Linked (manual)	You linked it by hand
Unlinked	Not linked to any item
Blocked from auto-link	You unlinked it by hand, so Logistified won’t link it automatically again
Conflict	More than one variant or more than one Xero item has this SKU or code; link the right one by hand
Missing in Xero	The linked item no longer exists in Xero; link another item

Each linked row also shows the item’s code and name, whether it is tracked as inventory in Xero, when Logistified last checked it, and (once costs are being sent) the last cost sent, for example £12.40 from PO #1042 (Copy from Shopify). If a cost can’t be sent to that item, the row says why and offers the one thing that fixes it.

Automatic matching

A variant links itself when its SKU and a Xero item’s code are exactly the same, including capital letters and leading zeros, and the match is unique on both sides: no other variant has that SKU, no other Xero item has that code, and neither is already linked. Anything less certain is shown as a Conflict instead of guessed.

Matching runs after the first import and every time new or changed items come in from Xero. A product you add to Shopify later is matched the next time items sync (at the latest the next night).

Linking and unlinking by hand

Link: on a row, pick an item from the item list (search by code or name). Items that are tracked in Xero or already linked to another variant are labelled. A Xero item can be linked to only one variant at a time.
Unlink: removes the link. The variant then shows Blocked from auto-link: Logistified will never link it automatically again, even to another matching item, until you link it by hand yourself. That way an unlink you made on purpose stays that way.

If someone else changed the same link while you had the page open, Logistified asks you to load the latest link instead of overwriting theirs. Linking and unlinking never change anything in Xero.

Sync items now

Sync items now fetches the items created or changed in Xero since the last sync straight away, instead of waiting for the night. Use it after you add or edit many items in Xero. It also sends any item costs that are still waiting. If a sync is already running, clicking again simply waits for that one. Before the first import has finished, the button starts or continues the import instead.

The line under the button tells you the state, for example Up to date. Last checked …, Initial import in progress, or that Xero asked Logistified to pause for a while.

Checking linked items

An item you delete in Xero doesn’t disappear from the list on its own: the nightly sync only sees new and changed items, so it can’t tell a deleted item from one that simply didn’t change. To check, click Check linked items above the list. Logistified looks up the linked items on the current page in Xero, and any item that no longer exists shows Missing in Xero, so you can link that variant to another item. Sending a cost to an item also checks it first.

If Xero asks Logistified to slow down partway through, the line says how many items were checked so far, and the next click continues with the ones not checked yet instead of starting over.

Sending purchase order costs to Xero

The Item purchase cost card decides whether Logistified updates the purchase cost of your linked Xero items, and from which cost. Save your choice with the save bar.

Mode	What Xero’s purchase cost gets
Off (the default)	Nothing is sent.
Copy from Shopify	The cost your purchase orders set in Shopify, copied to the linked item each time a purchase order updates the Shopify cost. It needs automatic cost sync to Shopify turned on, and only items with a Shopify variant are sent.
Set new cost	The purchase order’s own cost per item, sent when you complete or re-sync the order, or when you choose Update Xero in Update Unit Cost. Choose Direct cost (the order’s unit cost) or Landed cost (the unit cost plus the order’s share of shipping and other costs). It works whether or not Shopify cost sync is on.

A few rules apply to both modes:

The latest update wins. Like Set New Price in Shopify, each new cost replaces the previous one, in the order Logistified receives them. Re-syncing an older purchase order after a newer one therefore puts the older order’s cost back.
Set new cost doesn’t wait for receiving. The order’s cost is sent whether or not anything has been received. Undoing a receipt or reopening an order doesn’t change the cost in Xero by itself; the next completion, re-sync or Update Xero sends the order’s cost again. Logistified never reverts a cost in Xero.
Exchange rates. With Set new cost, an order in another currency uses the exchange rate saved on the order, or otherwise the same market rate the order uses for Shopify. If no rate is available, that item isn’t sent and the order tells you to save a rate. Copy from Shopify uses no exchange rate at all; it copies the Shopify cost as it is.
Switching modes discards costs that were waiting to be sent under the old mode. The next purchase order cost under the new mode is sent.
The two modes can send different costs when Shopify and Xero use different cost sources (for example landed cost in Xero, direct cost in Shopify). Each row shows which mode sent its last cost.

When you complete or re-sync an order in Set new cost mode, the confirmation says how many Xero item costs are being updated, and lists any item that couldn’t be sent with the reason. A Xero problem never undoes the completion.

Update Xero in Update Unit Cost

When Set new cost is selected, the purchase order’s Actions → Update Unit Cost dialog offers a third choice under Update, next to the Shopify and supplier costs: Xero item cost. It sends this order’s direct or landed cost per item (whichever the Item purchase cost card says) to the linked Xero items of the rows you selected, whether or not anything was received. Costs you type into the dialog’s PO cost column don’t change what Xero receives; Xero always gets the order’s own cost. The confirm step lists the Xero item cost, and the result says how many Xero item costs are being updated. With Off or Copy from Shopify selected, the choice isn’t shown. See Update Unit Cost.

Known limits

Tracked items. Logistified doesn’t change the cost of a Xero item that is tracked as inventory, because Xero values tracked stock itself. Such items can be linked, but their row explains that the cost isn’t sent. Link an untracked item instead.
Items that aren’t purchased. An item not set up as a purchased item in Xero has no purchase cost to update. Mark it as purchased in Xero, then Sync items now; the waiting cost is sent.
Sub-assemblies and virtual materials. Costs of Assemblified sub-assemblies (SKUs starting with ASM-) are managed by Assemblified and are never sent. Virtual materials and other lines without a Shopify product aren’t sent either.
Base currency must match. Xero item costs are sent only in your Xero organisation’s base currency. If it differs from your shop’s currency, every linked row shows that the cost wasn’t sent.
One shop per Xero organisation. A Xero organisation can be connected to one Logistified shop only. Connecting it from a second shop shows Xero organisation already connected; disconnect it from the other shop first. If an organisation was already shared by two shops before this rule, item sync stays off for it and the Items page asks you to contact Logistified support for a review.
Not synced: stock quantities and valuation, item names and sales prices, and item codes on bills. Logistified never creates or deletes Xero items.