Accelo's Expensify integration makes it easy to invoice for billable expenses and track the real profitability of your projects, tickets, and retainers by syncing your expenses from Expensify. Using Accelo, you can track all of your expenses in one tool while easily reimbursing expenses through Expensify.

Using this guide, you can:

• Connect your Accelo and Expensify accounts
• Understand what information syncs between Accelo and Expensify
• Link your expense to the correct project, ticket or retainer
• Import expenses from Expensify
• FAQ

Connecting your Accelo and Expensify accounts

To connect Accelo and Expensify, you will need administrator access to both systems.  Once you've connected, all Expensify users can begin to automatically sync their expenses with Accelo.

To connect your Expensify account to Accelo, simply follow these steps:

1. Open the Expensify Integration Server
   

2. Copy your Partner User ID and Partner User Secret.  These are different from your normal Expensify username and password, and can be found at:

   If you have not set up the integration server previously: Click the click here link

   
   

   If you have previously set up the integration server: You will need to re-generate your Partner User Secret, by clicking Click here to regenerate your partnerUserSecret.  If you currently use the integration server for another integration, this will change your account's Secret.  In this case, you will need to update that integration to use the new Secret.

   
   

3. Now head back to your Accelo account.  Open your Integrations page, and select the Expensify tab.

   
   

4. Enter your Expensify Integration Server's Partner User ID and Partner User Secret, and click Save.  You're connected!

   
   

Understand what information syncs between Accelo and Expensify

The Expensify integration offers a one-way sync between Accelo and Expensify, importing expenses directly into Accelo.  When an expense is imported, the following information is mapped from the expense to Accelo:

Expense Details

Expense Status

Accelo syncs the status of your expense in Accelo with the status of your expense report in Expensify.

Linking your expense to the correct project, ticket or retainer

When Accelo imports an expense from Expensify, it links that expense to the relevant project, ticket or retainer in Accelo.  This is done by tagging your expenses in Expensify with a single tag which identifies the type of work it relates to, and the number of that work. 

For example:

• Project #10734: project+10734
• Ticket #2205: ticket+2205
• Retainer #57: retainer+57

Depending on your account's configuration, your modules may be named differently.  In those cases, Accelo supports the following names:

Projects

• project
• job

Tickets

• ticket
• issue

Retainers

• retainer
• contract

These tags must be created by your Expensify administrator before they can be applied to expenses.  For more information on creating tags, check out Expensify's guide. 

• Expenses which do not include a valid tag will not be imported
• Tags can be changed and added in Expensify at any time, and will move or create the expense in Accelo

Importing expenses from Expensify

Accelo imports your expenses from Expensify in two ways:

1. Automatically: Accelo automatically checks Expensify for new expenses every hour.  Expenses which have been created or updated since the last sync are automatically imported.

2. Manually: If you have a large volume of expenses which you'd like to import, or very old expenses, you can import them using the built-in import tool.  That tool can be found on the integrations page, and allows you to select a range of time to import expenses for.

   
   

FAQ

• My expense hasn't synced with Accelo.  Where is it?
  For an expense to sync with Accelo, it must be attached to an expense report and two of its details in Expensify must match corresponding records in Accelo.  If these details are not present or do not match a record in Accelo, your expense will not be imported:

  • • Tag: The expense must include a valid tag, identifying an existing project, ticket or retainer in your Accelo account. This tag determines the work which your expense will be attributed to.

    • Email Address: Your email address in Expensify must match your email address in Accelo, so that the expense can be accurately attributed to you.

    • Report: The Expensify integration only syncs expenses that have been added to an expense report. The report does not need to have been submitted or approved yet.

• When does Accelo sync expenses?
  Accelo automatically syncs expense reports from Expensify every hour.  This sync includes both new and recently-updated expenses.  You can also trigger an import manually at any time.

• How do I reimburse expenses in Accelo?
  Accelo tracks whether and when an expense has been reimbursed.  However, reimbursing your staff for their expenses should be performed in Expensify which offers tools for actually providing the reimbursement to them.

• How do I edit expenses in Accelo?
  Accelo's Expensify integration offers a one-way sync, pulling expenses from Expensify into Accelo.  To ensure that your expenses remain accurate, expenses which were synced from Expensify can not be edited in Accelo.  In order to update an expense, you'll need to edit it directly in Expensify, and allow that change to sync automatically.

  • • What about invoiced expenses?
      When an expense is invoiced for in Accelo, its details are locked down to ensure that the invoice remains accurate.  That means that if changes are made to an expense in Expensify after you've already invoiced for that expense, those changes will not be reflected in Accelo.  Expenses in Accelo can be unlocked by first deleting the invoice.

• How does Accelo know which project, ticket or retainer my expense is related to?
  Accelo determines which piece of work an expense is related to based on the Tags which you applied to the expense in Expensify.  Expenses which are not tagged, or use an invalid tag, will not be imported.  For more information, check out the guide to creating and selecting the correct tag.

• I used the wrong tag or email address.  Now how do I import my expense?
  Once you've updated your expense's tag, or your email address in Expensify, Accelo will automatically import the expense during its next sync.  This process will move the expense to the correct project, retainer, etc. based on the updated tag.  The only exception to this process is when the expense has been invoiced for.

• How does Accelo determine the retainer period to add my expense to?
  When you tag your expense with a retainer, Accelo will automatically add the expense to the correct retainer period.  That period is selected based on its commenced and expiry dates, selecting the period which encompasses your expense's incurred date.  If multiple periods would cover the date, then the most recently-created period is selected.

• What if I change my expense's tag?
  If you select a different project, ticket or retainer tag in Expensify, then your expense in Accelo will be moved to that piece of work automatically.  The only exception is when the expense has already been invoiced for.

• Can I still use other tags for other things in Expensify?
  Yes.  Tags which don't reference a project, ticket or retainer in Accelo will be ignored by the sync.

• Can I sync Expensify directly into a retainer in Accelo?
  Yes, users can tag an expense in Expensify with the Retainer's ID and have that expense allocated against the correct Period in Accelo automatically the next time it is synced. 

• What if I delete an expense in Expensify?
  If you delete a synced expense in Expensify, then the expense in Accelo will also be deleted.

• My expense's tax code is wrong!  How do I fix it?
  When an expense is imported, Accelo compares the tax rate applied to it in Expensify to your tax codes in Accelo, and applies the corresponding code to the expense in Accelo.  If a corresponding code can not be found, then Accelo will use the next available code.  For more information on creating additional tax codes, check out our guide.  To correct the tax code, you'll need to re-import the expense from Expensify by making a change to it.  We typically recommend adding a tag or updating the comment to do this.

• Can I tag an expense with multiple projects or tickets?
  A single expense can not be linked to multiple projects, tickets or retainers.  If multiple tags are added to a single expense, then Accelo will link the expense to the first tag which was added.

• Can I use an Accelo and an accounting integration in Expensify at the same time?
  Yes, both Accelo and an accounting system (i.e. QuickBooks Online and Xero) at the same time. 

  When an accounting system is integrated with Expensify, you can not add new options to your existing tags.  In order to update your Expensify tags with your Accelo Projects, Tickets or Retainers, you will need to temporarily disconnect your accounting integration.