Importing Clients from Xero

--- title: Importing Clients from Xero collection: Clients tags: [import, xero, clients, csv]

summary: Step-by-step guide to exporting your contacts from Xero and importing them into BenchFlow.

Importing Clients from Xero

You can bring your existing customer list across from Xero in under five minutes. BenchFlow accepts the standard Xero contacts CSV export — no reformatting required.

1. Export your contacts from Xero

1. In Xero, go to Contacts → All contacts.
2. (Optional) Filter to Customers if you don't want to import suppliers.
3. Click Export in the top-right.
4. Xero will download a file called something like Contacts.csv.

> Tip: If you have a very large database, you can filter by Active customers first to avoid bringing across archived contacts.

2. Import into BenchFlow

1. In BenchFlow, open Clients in the left navigation.
2. Click Import Clients.
3. Drop the Xero CSV into the upload area (or click to browse).
4. BenchFlow will automatically map Xero's column names to the right fields:

• *ContactName → Full Name
• EmailAddress → Email
• Phone → Phone
• POAddressLine1 / POCity / POPostalCode → Address

1. Review the column mapping on the next screen — adjust anything that wasn't auto-detected.
2. Choose how to handle duplicates (we recommend Skip duplicates).
3. Click Import.

3. What gets imported

| Xero field | BenchFlow field | |---|---| | Contact Name | Full Name | | First / Last Name | First Name / Last Name | | Email | Email | | Phone | Phone | | Mobile | Mobile | | Postal Address lines | Address |

Fields BenchFlow doesn't import from Xero include account balances, invoice history, and tax numbers — those live in Xero, not BenchFlow.

4. What if I want to keep both in sync?

BenchFlow and Xero are not directly synced. Use the CSV import for the initial migration. After that, add new clients in BenchFlow as they come in.

Troubleshooting

• "Could not read file" — make sure you exported as CSV, not PDF.
• Birthdays missing — Xero doesn't store birthdays. You can add them later in BenchFlow.
• Duplicates appearing — re-run the import with Update existing to merge.

Need a hand? Contact support from inside BenchFlow and we'll walk you through it.