I recently posted a version of this to the Xero API request forum (Let an API link Xero bank rules to Excel, for big time savings). It got 23 votes in a day. The top API foum request got 239 votes in 17 MONTHS.
An API is a program extension that lets other programs use data in the original program. QuickBooks mainly uses a paid proprietary API and requires that you manually download bank and credit card entries. Xero has a free http industry standard RESTful API. It also users use automatic accounting bank rules, to specify Xero posting accounts. These rules apply to current AND FUTURE entries, which Xero automatically downloads every night, from banks, credit card companies and other financial institutions. The Xero API lets other programs access this data.
Unfortunetely, Xero felt this (Let an API link Xero bank rules to Excel, for big time savings) should be a main program change, not an API change, so I am posting it again. If this extended API ONLY let us export, import, create and delete, it would quickly give us the fastest and easiest setup, the most current records, avoid many errors, sharply cut costs and encourage far better automatic rules. However, these savings and benefits will become many times more valuable as we use the combined rules, of many clients, to copy rules between old and new clients. This also could soon give all Xero users local and national Excel rule libraries. Their rules could reference rule creators to encourage library contributions and support. The reputation of the rule creator, forum comments on each rule and the Likes (votes) of users will encourage much wider sharing of much better rules, at almost no cost.
Even that will only be the beginning. Once we have this type of Xero – Excel bidirectional link, many programs and users will use further extended versions it to simplify their access to other Xero data. That will give us many more Xero apps, at a lower cost, for a far more powerful system.
All this will soon make Xero automatic accounting far more automatic and far faster, easier and less expensive. If you want this, then please help us get started by spending a few seconds to click here and vote for:
