Sage Construction Management and Xero integration overview

The Sage Construction Management and Xero solution is comprised of three application components all working together to automate the entire estimating, project management, job costing, and general accounting functions.

Sage products / User personas

Product	Application type	User personas	Purpose
Sage Construction Management	Cloud-based	Estimators	Estimating
Sage Construction Management	Cloud-based	Project managers Superintendents Engineers Coordinators Accounting staff	Documentation Correspondence Scheduling Contract administration Procurement Time tracking Job costing Budget tracking
AccountingLink for Xero	Cloud-based	Accounting staff	Transfers records from Sage Construction Management to Xero
Xero	Cloud-based	Accounting staff	General accounting

Data integration overview

Sage Construction Management (SCM)	Post from SCM to Xero	Export from Xero to SCM	Additional functionality	Xero	Comments
Contact management
Companies	>>>	<<<		Customers	Existing customers in Xero are not automatically copied to Sage Construction Management, because contractors typically manage one project per client. However, any future clients and their associated projects created in Sage Construction Management will be exported to Xero when the prime contract is marked approved with a status date. If specific customers need to be imported into Sage Construction Management, you can use the option available in the Contact Management tab of the AccountingLink.
Companies	>>>	<<<		Suppliers	Contractors typically use Xero for some time before implementing Sage Construction Management, so many of their vendors are already documented in Xero. Because these vendors might be involved in future projects, the AccountingLink for Xero includes an option to import active vendors. Any new suppliers or subcontractors created in Sage Construction Management are automatically exported to Xero when they’re referenced on an approved bill or sub invoice.
Employees	>>>	<<<		Employees	Similar to vendors, active employees can be imported from Xero into Sage Construction Management, as they might be involved in future projects.
Projects and contracts
Company referenced on prime contract	>>>			Customers	After a project is awarded in Sage Construction Management, management or accounting staff use the built‑in wizards to set up the project directory, job cost codes, prime contract, and budgets. When setup is finished, the Sync Wizard in the AccountingLink for Xero is run to create the corresponding customer and project in Xero. The customer listed in the approved prime contract determines which company is exported.
Accounts payable
Bills	>>>			AP invoices or bank transactions	Based on the Bill Type mapping configured in the Sync Preferences, an approved Sage Construction Management bill is exported to Xero as either an AP invoice or a bank transaction. If the bill in Sage Construction Management has a negative total, the transaction will be exported as a credit.
Sub invoices	>>>			AP invoices	Subcontracts in Sage Construction Management can be Fixed Lump Sum, Cost Plus, or Unit Price, and the subcontract type impacts how invoices are processed. Subcontracts might also include subcontract change orders (SCOs), and retainage or holdbacks might require tracking. Approved sub invoices can be exported to the AP Invoice feature in Xero. If the total amount is negative, the resulting transaction will appear as a credit.
Employee miscellaneous expenses	>>>			Expense claims bank transactions	Based on the Expense Type mapping configured in the Sync Preferences, an approved Sage Construction Management employee miscellaneous expense is exported to Xero as either an AP invoice or a bank transaction.
Accounts receivable
Prime contract invoices	>>>			AR invoices	Similar to sub invoices, the billing method for a prime contract invoice varies depending on the contract type. These invoices might also include change orders (COs) and might involve retainage or holdbacks. After a prime contract invoice is marked as approved, it can be exported to Xero through the Sync Wizard. If the invoice total is negative, the transaction will appear as a credit in Xero.
Other
Tax codes		<<<	Linked	Tax codes	Accounts payable and receivable transactions can reference tax codes, which determine how tax is calculated. For this reason, it’s essential that tax codes are linked between both systems and that the tax rates match. Otherwise, discrepancies will occur in the calculated tax amounts. If tax codes are already configured in Xero, it's recommended to import them into Sage Construction Management during implementation using the Sync Preferences.
Job cost codes			Linked	Items	Xero requires every financial transaction to reference either a service item or a Chart of Account. In Sage Construction Management, Contract Admin, Procurement, and Time Tracking transactions must reference a job cost code. Because these transactions originate in Sage Construction Management and are then exported to Xero, the AccountingLink Sync Preferences define how job cost codes map to Xero service items. This automates item selection during export and helps avoid errors and inconsistencies.
Project classification and options			Linked	Tracking categories	Tracking categories offer an alternative way to track financial information in a manner that's meaningful to the business, such as by business office or project type.