XERO MIDDLEWARE SETUP GUIDE

Abstract Guidelines for integrating Eazy Collect with Xero to issue invoices, collect payment by Direct Debit and

reconcile payments back into Xero automatically.

Version 9 06/04/2020

Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................. 3

Managing customers ................................................................................................................................................ 3

A customer record doesn’t exist in ECM3 ............................................................................................................. 3

A customer record does exist in ECM3 ................................................................................................................. 3

Prerequisites ................................................................................................................................................................. 4

Adding Eazy Collect as a Payment Service ................................................................................................................ 4

Creating a Branding Theme ...................................................................................................................................... 5

Configuring your Branding Theme ............................................................................................................................ 5

Linking your Eazy Collect account ................................................................................................................................. 6

Creating an account .................................................................................................................................................. 6

API details ............................................................................................................................................................. 6

Schedule details .................................................................................................................................................... 6

Direct Debit Information ....................................................................................................................................... 7

Linking your Xero account ............................................................................................................................................ 8

Creating the link ........................................................................................................................................................ 8

Authorising the Middleware ..................................................................................................................................... 8

Configuring your Xero account integration .............................................................................................................. 9

Adding your first customer ......................................................................................................................................... 10

Setting up a customer ............................................................................................................................................. 10

Raising an invoice ................................................................................................................................................... 10

Sending an invoice email ........................................................................................................................................ 11

Viewing an invoice email (As a customer) .............................................................................................................. 11

Viewing an invoice (As a customer) ........................................................................................................................ 12

Creating a contract (As a customer) ............................................................................................................................ 13

Registering an account on the Middleware ............................................................................................................ 13

Confirming the Direct Debit .................................................................................................................................... 13

Paying the invoice ................................................................................................................................................... 14

Matching already existing ECM3 customers ............................................................................................................... 15

Viewing the list of customers .................................................................................................................................. 15

Creating a link to ECM3 ........................................................................................................................................... 15

Selecting or creating a contract .............................................................................................................................. 16

Removing contract links ......................................................................................................................................... 16

FAQ ............................................................................................................................................................................. 17

When are the payments for new invoices created in ECM3? ................................................................................. 17

Editing/Cancelling Invoices ..................................................................................................................................... 17

When are payments marked as paid in Xero? ........................................................................................................ 17

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Introduction The Xero Middleware is a simple, self-managed solution to connect invoicing within Xero to our market leading Direct Debit platform, Eazy Customer Manager (ECM3).

Managing customers

The Xero Middleware allows for two ways of managing your customers. One where a customer record already exists within ECM3, and one where a customer record isn’t already present.

A customer record doesn’t exist in ECM3 Xero will allow you to create invoicing templates which include a pay-link to the Eazy Collect Middleware. After following the link to the Middleware, a customer will be able to create an account within the Middleware itself. At this stage, the customer will be able to sign up by Direct Debit, view their payment status and update their bank details. Future invoices raised for the customer in Xero will automatically propagate to the middleware providing they have been created on a correctly branded invoicing template that has been enabled for Direct Debit.

A customer record does exist in ECM3 The administration interface within the Middleware can suggest a “best match” between customer records in Xero and ECM3. If no ad-hoc contract currently exists for the user in ECM3, one will be created to carry the Xero invoicing payments. Providing any new invoices raised are on a correctly branded invoicing template that has been enabled for Direct Debit, the payments will automatically propagate into ECM3.

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Prerequisites Before getting started with integrating your Xero account into the Middleware, you’ll need to configure your Xero account to accept payments via Eazy Collect.

Adding Eazy Collect as a Payment Service To allow Eazy Collect to manage your Xero invoices for you, you’ll need to create a new Payment Service. To do this, navigate to the Payment Services page at https://go.xero.com/Settings/PaymentGateways/ and select Add other > Custom Payment URL At this stage, you’ll need to add the Payment Service. You can change the Name to show whatever you’d like, but you’ll need to ensure Your custom URL is as follows: https://customer.xo.eazycollect.co.uk/pay/[SHORTCODE]/[INVOICENUMBER] and the Pay Now Text is “Pay by Direct Debit”. Ensure when entering the custom URL that there are no spaces present either at the start or the end of the URL.

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Creating a Branding Theme Before you can link your Xero account to the Middleware, you’ll need to create a new Branding Theme. You can do this by navigating to the settings page of your organisation at https://go.xero.com/InvoiceSettings/InvoiceSettings.aspx and clicking Create Branding Theme.

Configuring your Branding Theme The Branding Theme can be configured to your liking, but to allow the Middleware to pick up on the Branding Theme, you must select the Payment Service you created earlier. You’ll find this under Payment Services (Credit Card)

Once the branding theme has been configured, you’re ready to link the Middleware to your Xero account.

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Linking your Eazy Collect account During this step, you will need to refer to the email sent to you by Eazy Collect that contains your API and SUN information. If you do not have this email or are unsure of which information you need to enter on these screens, contact us at admin@eazycollect.co.uk.

Creating an account To create an account within the Middleware navigate to the registration page at: https://client.xo.eazycollect.co.uk/auth/register The Middleware will allow a maximum of one account per Xero company. As a result, only one account will be able to manage the Xero integration. For this reason, if you’d like to manage the account from a shared inbox, ensure you sign up using the shared inbox email address.

API details After registering an account, you will need to navigate to the API Details page at https://client.xo.eazycollect.co.uk/eazycollect/api. On this page, you will be required to enter the Client Code and API Secret provided to you via email. Please take extra care to ensure there are no trailing or leading spaces in either field. After clicking the Save button you will automatically be redirected to the next step.

Schedule details You will need to select your Ad-hoc Schedule. Selecting a schedule not configured for the Xero Middleware will lead to non-collection of payments. After clicking the Save button you will automatically be redirected to the next step.

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Direct Debit Information On this page you will need to enter the Service User Number (SUN) information that has been provided to you as well as identifying information regarding your company.

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Linking your Xero account Once your Eazy Collect account is linked to the Middleware you should notice that the first 3 of the 5 checkboxes underneath the header are filled. At this point, you will need to connect your Xero account to the Middleware. To get started, navigate to the Configure Xero page at https://client.xo.eazycollect.co.uk/xero/api

Creating the link Once you’ve navigated to the Configure Xero page, you’ll need your Xero account details handy. Remember, only one Xero account can be managed at any given time. If you’d like to manage multiple Xero accounts, you’ll need to get in touch with our sales team at sales@eazycollect.co.uk. Once you’ve got the details ready, click the Connect to Xero button

Authorising the Middleware

Once the Connect to Xero button has been clicked, you’ll need to authorise the Middleware from Xero. If you have more than one organisation, you’ll need to select the appropriate organisation. Once this has been done, you’ll automatically be redirected to the next step.

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Configuring your Xero account integration

Once the Middleware has been authorised, you’ll be asked to select your account and Branding Theme. The account you select will depend on your Xero account configuration. You’ll want to select the Branding Theme created earlier. Leave the Collect invoices without a theme? option checked. You would only need to un-check this if advised by Eazy Collect, usually if you are using other third-party software in conjunction with Xero. Please contact Eazy Collect at help@eazycollect.co.uk if you believe this may apply to you. Once you’ve finished this step, you’re ready to create your first customer.

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Adding your first customer If your customer already exists on ECM3, you’ll need to read ahead to the Linking an Existing customer.

Setting up a customer

If your customer already exists in Xero, then you do not need to complete this step. To begin setting up a customer, navigate to the Add Contact page in Xero at https://go.xero.com/Contacts/Edit.aspx. You will need to enter a Contact Name, Primary Person and Email Address. Other information may be beneficial but is not required.

Raising an invoice

To raise your first invoice, navigate to either the New Repeating Invoice or Standard Invoice page, found at https://go.xero.com/RepeatTransactions/Edit.aspx?type=AR&fromContactID= or https://go.xero.com/AccountsReceivable/Edit.aspx respectively.

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You will need to ensure the correct Branding Theme is selected. If you input a reference, this will also be applied to the customer record when it is created in ECM3. If you do not input a reference, one will be created for you on ECM3. Be aware that our Middleware does not refer to the due date on invoices. Instead, payments are collected on your next available collection date, taking into account our standard working day rules. If you’d like to calculate working days, visit our calculator at www.eazycollect.co.uk/date.

Sending an invoice email To send an email to a customer, navigate to the Invoices page on Xero at https://go.xero.com/AccountsReceivable/Search.aspx. Select the invoice you’d like to send and click on the invoice number. This will bring you to the invoice page, where you are able to select the email button in the top bar on the page. Make sure to complete the required details, then click send.

Viewing an invoice email (As a customer)

To allow you to better understand what a customer receives when am invoice email is sent out, we’ve included an image of the email a customer would receive. The content may be different, as it’s based on your own email templates, but the important part is the green Pay now button. A customer will have to click this button to be directed to the next step.

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Viewing an invoice (As a customer)

Once your customer clicks the Pay now button, they will be re-directed to Xero where they’re able to view the details of their invoice. Once your customer is satisfied with the invoice, they’ll need to click the Pay by Direct Debit button. This will re-direct them to our Middleware, where they will be able to finish the sign-up process.

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Creating a contract (As a customer) At this stage of the process, there is nothing left to do on your part. It is now up to your customer to sign up to our Middleware. We’re including the step-by-step process here to help you understand what the customer will have to go through.

Registering an account on the Middleware

Once the customer has followed the Pay by Direct Debit button link in Xero, they will be redirected to a registration page. It is important that the customer fills in the details correctly, as failing to do so may result in non-collection of payment. Once the information is filled in, the customer will have to click the Next button, automatically taking them to the next step.

Confirming the Direct Debit

After your customer has fully registered an account on the Middleware platform, they will have the chance to change any details that may not be correct and view the Direct Debit guarantee. Once the customer is satisfied with these details, they’ll need to click the Confirm button.

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Paying the invoice The final step the customer must take is clicking the Pay Invoice button. Without performing this step, payments will not be collected. After this button has been clicked, all future invoices will be automatically collected. You will only need to email them to your customers for their reference. At this stage, there is nothing left to do.

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Matching already existing ECM3 customers If your customers already exist in ECM3, the process of getting them set up on the Middleware is different to that outlined previously.

Viewing the list of customers

To get started, navigate to the Import Existing page within the Middleware at https://client.xo.eazycollect.co.uk/import , the far right-hand tab.

Here, you’ll be able to view a customer and any suggested links. The Middleware won’t always find the best link, but generally if it’s able to it will find the correct customer. To view a list of ECM3 customers the Middleware can compare to Xero, select Choose From List on the relevant customer.

Creating a link to ECM3

Once the customer has been selected, the Middleware will allow you to select from a list of contracts in ECM3. Once you’ve reviewed the possible options, you can click the Create Link on the relevant record.

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Note: A customer must have a Customer Reference in ECM3 before you’ll be able to link them.

Selecting or creating a contract Finally, you have the option of selecting a contract in ECM3 that already exists or creating a new one. If the customer has an existing ad-hoc contract, this can be used.

Removing contract links You also have the ability to remove contract links if required. Navigate back to the Import Existing page, click View/Unlink on the selected record. Here, you can click the Unlink link. This is generally useful for when a customer has been linked in error.

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FAQ When are the payments for new invoices created in ECM3? New invoices are picked up in a batch by the Middleware between 3pm and 5pm each working day. Once the invoice has been read into the system it will show in your pending payments in the Middleware and as a pending payment in the Payment History under the customer record in ECM3. The Middleware does not refer to the “due date” on invoices. Instead, payments are scheduled for the next available collection date, taking into account our standard working day rules. If you’d like to calculate working days, visit our calculator at www.eazycollect.co.uk/date.

Editing/Cancelling Invoices Once Invoices have been issued and sent to ECM3, any cancelled invoices or edited amounts will not be changed in ECM3. You must manually login to ECM3 to update the Direct Debit to reflect any changes as long as it’s 5 working days before the collection date. The only caveat is if changes are made to an issued invoice on the same day before 4pm, changes will be carried forward into ECM3.

When are payments marked as paid in Xero? Direct Debit operates by exception and we receive reports from the bank within two working days of the collection date. The Xero Middleware will begin checking a payment status between three and five working days after the payment collection date and automatically mark the invoice as paid within Xero.