Accounting Advice Warning: Tower Systems are not qualified to provide accounting advice. You must engage your bookkeeper or accountant to provide the correct Xero Account Codes. Our support staff can assist with the "where" to enter settings, but not the "what" to enter.

1. Concepts & Data Logic

Before entering data, it is important to understand how Retailer communicates with Xero.

The Three Data Points

1. Sales Only: Daily totals, account customer changes, and payment types.
   
2. Sales + Bills: In addition to the above, includes supplier invoices/credits (Purchases).
   
3. Sales + Bills + Stock on Hand/Cost of Sales: In addition to the above, includes the full inventory movement cycle.
   

2. Initial Requirements & Software Login

System Prerequisites

• An active account with Xero.
• An active Tower Advantage Support subscription (or software rental).
• The Accounting Link Module must be enabled. (Email support@towersystems.com.au if the module is not ticked in the Tasks → Register screen)
  

1. The Rule: You cannot have GST and GST-Free items in the same department, due to Xero deciding the tax on each account code.
   
2. The Fix: Create new GST-free departments. E.g. if you sell Water (GST-Free) and Cola (GST), they must be in separate departments (i.e. "Drinks" vs "Drinks GST-Free") with separate Xero account codes.
   Use Stock Manager to bulk edit items or move them individually from the stock screen.

Stock Manager Tip - Sort the items by Tax Group. You can then bulk edit items to the new departments.

For the above example, with a Department called "Drinks" and another called "Drinks GST Free", you can then bulk edit items like Water into "Drinks GST Free" department, and leave drinks like Cola in the existing "Drinks" department.

The names are cosmetic, and not as important as ensuring the department has the correct tax group and the items have the correct tax group.

Set Up Tower Advantage Login

3. Configuring the Accounting Link (Retailer)

First, navigate to Tasks → Export Accounting Data.

• Linking To: Select Tower Advantage Link.
• Terminal ID: Ensure the correct terminal name is selected.
  This is the name of the terminal you will be using to export from; You can find this out by clicking Setup → Point of Sale → Terminals.  The row highlighted in yellow is the current terminal.
• Options: Tick Display the exported accounting entries report, Automatically archive a copy, and Force Passive Mode FTP. These are helpful for keeping track of the exports.
• Export Directory: Type in "C:\Xero" into this field.
  
• Clearing Account: In the top left, enter the account code for the cash takings here. Take note of it for later as it's used in multiple areas.
  
  

  Using a clearing account can make reconciliation easy. For example; if you bank cash once a week and don't use a clearing account, you will need to reconcile the deposit with a cash transfer for each End of Shift.

Account codes need to be set in Retailer based on the codes you have set up in Xero. These codes should be provided by the accountant, bookkeeper or Xero expert.

You can use the same account code multiple times if required, for the same type. E.g. all sales departments go to Account 201, all department purchases go to Account 301.

Journal Entry Settings (The Columns)

1. Income Column: Enter the Xero income account code for each department.
   
2. Miscellaneous: Used for Account Keeping Fees, Late Payment Fees (Customer Statements), and Layby Cancellation Fees. In Xero, the liability account must have "Enable Payments" enabled.
   
3. Gift Vouchers: These form their own department. The income and purchase column should be a Liability account to hold values for Redemption.
   

Cost of Sales (Inventory Logic)

Located in the top right of the Setup screen:

• Option 1: Cost of Sales UNTICKED: Retailer posts the value of arrived stock directly to the Purchase (Expense) account. Cost of Sales are not exported from Retailer.
• Option 2: Cost of Sales TICKED: Enter the Stock on Hand (Asset) code in both the Purchase and Stock on Hand columns. Enter the Cost of Sales (Expense) code in the Cost of Sales column.

With Cost of Sales ticked: Stock on Hand increases when a bill is arrived. When a sale occurs, Retailer moves that value from the Asset account to the Expense account.

Write-Offs

• Write-Offs: Set export price to Cost (Recommended).
  
• In the top left, enter a Default Write Offs Expense account, which Write-off figures can default to.
• Click Other Accounts → Setup Write Offs to map account codes to specific reasons (Damaged, Donations, etc.). Close out of this screen when done.

Paytypes & Banking

1. In the accounting setup screen, click Other Accounts → Setup Payment Types.
2. Enter an asset account (Bank or Clearing account) for each.
3. Gift Vouchers: Use the same Liability account used in the Income section for Gift Voucher department.
4. Cash: Enter the Cash account code used in the Clearing account field (top left).
   
5. Close out of this screen when done.
6. Banking Accounts: Click Other Accounts → Setup Banking Accounts → Add. Enter the name and the asset account number for the Cash account. (Take note of this code for the Web Portal setup).
   
7. Close out of this screen when done.

1. Arrivals/Returns Information: Tick these to send all supplier invoices and credits to Xero. To enable individual suppliers, first tick this box, then refer to the Suppliers grid section below.
2. Account Mapping: Enter codes for Discrepancy (Unders/Overs), Freight, Balance Adjustments, and Layby Liability.
   
Note: Balance Adjustment - This is not the trade debtors account; it only records amounts changed via manual Balance Adjustments on customers.

If you wish to stop all supplier invoices and credits from being sent, untick the box described above under Further Settings, for Arrivals Information and Returns Information.

4. Web Portal Configuration (Tower Advantage Link)

Open your web browser and log in at www.towersystems.com.au
Once signed in, click the Tower Advantage™ Link (left menu) on the left, then Settings → Retailer - Xero Configuration.

• Debtor Charges Account Code: Enter your Customer Accounts Asset account. (Cannot be a Xero "system account" with a padlock icon). This is also referred to as Trade Debtors or Accounts Receivable.
  
• Cash Register/Till Variance Account: Enter the Xero account code for any small discrepancy's (unders/overs) that occur, this should never be more than 10cents - can happen during rounding in sales.
• Default Bank Account: Enter the Xero account code for the Cash takings (same as the one entered previously under bank account and cash PayType).
• Default Sales Account: Enter the Xero main sales account. This is used as a backup if the file generated by Retailer is missing them.
• Default Purchases Account: Enter the Xero main purchases account. This is used as a backup if the file generated by Retailer is missing them.
• Discrepancy Account Code: Enter the Xero account code that records variances from your accounting export not balancing. You may use the same unders/overs account.
• Invoice Sales Options:
  1. Do not import Cash/Cheque/EFTPOS/Bank line: Only creates the sales invoice for the day, and doesn't bring over takings. Requires manual payoff in Xero.
  2. Import (takings) into Sales Line: Hard to reconcile; cannot post to bank. The takings are inserted to the sales invoice for the day, inline with sales.
  3. Import (takings) into Payment Line (Recommended): Processes paytypes as payments to the sales invoice for the day.
     
• In Invoice Name , type in a name that you want invoices to be recorded against in Xero. This is shown as the Contact on the Sales invoice. We recommend something descriptive such as POS Sales to help differentiate the exports from other Xero entries.

Status (Sales & Purchases): Set to Approved. Draft is available if Invoice Sales are NOT importing takings into Payment Line (option 3 above) but requires manual approval in Xero for every daily batch.

Append Store Name to Invoices: This setting adds your business name from Retailer to the Sales invoice in Xero.

Tracking Categories

This is used at a location level only, so its use only applies to our users that have multiple businesses that use the same company in Xero.

Setup categories in Xero → Enable Append Store Name in portal → Download Tracking Categories → Enter business name without spaces in the Name Field.

If unsure how the business name is entered, on the computer performing exports, go to File Explorer, and go to C:\Xero.

View the names being attached to the files and update the tracking category name to match. It doesn't need to be the whole file name

E.g. with files named BILLS_MYSTORE_202301011512.txt, enter MYSTORE in the name field.

 Email Notification:

This notification emails export reports that show whether exports are successful and if any errors are encountered. These are normally just shown on the web page during exports. To enable the email:

1. Click on the Email Notification tab. Type in the email address.
   
2. Click the icon on the right and set the status to On.
3. Click on Save.

5. End of Shift (EOS)

To ensure data exports correctly from End of Shift records only one machine should transfer data during the end of shift. This computer will display EOS reports for all terminals together.

1. On the Transfer Computer: In the main screen of Retailer, go to End of Shift → Setup → Tick Transfer The End Of Shift Sales → Select All Terminals.
2. On All Other Computers: In the main screen of Retailer, go to End of Shift → Setup → Untick Transfer The End Of Shift Sales.