---
title: "How connecting QuickBooks Online or Xero will work"
description: "What the planned QuickBooks Online and Xero connection reads, what it never changes, how you revoke it, and the no-connection route that works today."
canonical: "https://lopifi.com/savings/how-to/connect-quickbooks-xero"
---

# How connecting QuickBooks Online or Xero will work

> What the planned QuickBooks Online and Xero connection reads, what it never changes, how you revoke it, and the no-connection route that works today.

Source: https://lopifi.com/savings/how-to/connect-quickbooks-xero
Part of: Lopifi — US GAAP books on autopilot, checked by a CPA (https://lopifi.com)

---

Series: Find the spend. Reviewed 2026-10-25.

There are two ways into the audit. One needs no connection at all and works today. The other will read your books directly so the ranking stays current. Both are free, and neither changes a single entry.

## Option one: no connection

Export the vendor report from [QuickBooks Online](https://lopifi.com/md/savings/how-to/find-software-in-quickbooks) or [Xero](https://lopifi.com/md/savings/how-to/find-software-in-xero) and open the [free audit](https://lopifi.com/savings/audit). The file is read on your device and nothing is uploaded. This is the lowest-risk way to see the ranking.

## Option two: the planned connection

This option is not open yet. The same reading-only rules are how the wider service is described on the [trust page](https://lopifi.com/md/trust).

- It will read vendors, bills, expenses, bank-feed transaction names and the chart of accounts.
- It will never post, edit, delete or void an entry, move money, or change a vendor's details.
- You approve access on the accounting software's own consent screen, which lists what is granted.
- You can remove access at any time from that app's own settings.
- The connection is built to the accounting providers' developer terms, and it does not open until it meets them.

## What happens to the numbers

The ranking is arithmetic on your own vendor totals: spend, how replaceable we rate each app, and nothing estimated about what you might save. A saving is only counted once a replacement is running and the old bill has stopped, as described in [how we get paid](https://lopifi.com/md/savings/how-to/how-we-get-paid).

## What QuickBooks Online documents about outside access

QuickBooks Online's own pages do not call any role read-only, so we describe the role as the vendor does and do not claim more.

- Intuit lists a non-billable role called View reports (shown as Reports in the Add user role list). It can see all reports except those showing payroll or contact info, can create custom reports and report groups, and can't view the actual transactions. It can't access the audit log.
- Intuit's roles page does not use the words read-only or view-only for any role.
- The In house accountant role can view all reports except payroll reports; Intuit says it can't do payroll, manage other roles or do admin tasks. The Bookkeeper role can't view financial reports such as Profit and loss, balance sheet or cash flow.
- Roles such as Reports and Time tracking only don't count toward your user limit. Your subscription level determines how many users you can add.
- An accountant is invited separately, from the Accounting Firms tab. Invitations sent this way don't count toward your subscription's user limit.
- For an app connection, Intuit's developer setup page names the QuickBooks Online Accounting scope (com.intuit.quickbooks.accounting). It says scopes define the type of data an app can use and recommends requesting scopes incrementally. It does not describe a read-only variant of that scope.
- Only a primary admin or company admin can send the invitation.
- Intuit says that if you need more than 2 accountant firms, upgrading to QuickBooks Online Advanced is an option.
- The vendor-totals article does not state which plans include the Expenses by Vendor Summary report. Intuit says Custom Report Builder is available with QuickBooks Online Advanced.
- Intuit's export article does not state row limits or which roles can export, and does not mention CSV or Google Sheets. The vendor-totals article mentions Export to Excel and Export to PDF, not CSV.
- Deleting a user is permanent, but Intuit says you can still view their history in the audit log.
- Intuit warns that an app's data may be separately maintained by the app after disconnecting; contact the app developer to manage data rights.

1. **Open Manage users.** Select Settings (the gear icon), then Manage users. Select Add user and enter the user's name and email address.
2. **Choose the Reports role.** Open the Roles dropdown and choose Reports, then select Send invitation.
3. **Or invite an accounting firm.** To invite an accountant instead: Settings, Manage users, the Accounting Firms tab (some pages call it Accountants), then Invite firm. Enter the accountant's email address or the firm's user ID and select Send the invitation. Intuit says you must be a primary admin or company admin to invite users, and the accountant must accept the invitation.
4. **See who has access.** Settings, then Manage users. Invited accountants show on the Accounting Firms tab with status Invited until they accept, then Active.
5. **Remove a user.** Settings, Manage users, select the ellipsis icon on the user, select Delete, then Delete user in the pop-up. Intuit's article for accountants does not give accountant-specific removal steps and links to a separate article we did not read.
6. **Disconnect a connected app.** Select the Integrations icon, then Find integrations. Open the Action dropdown for the app, choose Disconnect, complete the short questionnaire, and select Disconnect. Intuit says disconnecting stops the app's functionality for your company. The page does not name the role required to disconnect.

## What Xero documents about outside access

Xero's own pages describe a role that cannot change data, so a review can be given without edit rights.

- Xero's viewer user role gives access to most areas of Xero without the ability to change data in an organisation. Xero says viewer users can't add or edit information, and that the role suits company directors, trustees, auditors and liquidators.
- A viewer can view bank accounts and account transactions; view invoices, quotes, bills, purchase orders and credit notes; run, view and print reports; and access contacts to view payment history and contact and financial details.
- A viewer does not have access to bank reconciliation, repeating invoice templates, budgets, or an organisation's settings, including users, chart of accounts, documents, connected apps and conversion balances.
- For an app connection, Xero's scopes page lists read scopes marked as GET only, such as accounting.contacts.read, accounting.settings.read and accounting.journals.read. The older accounting.transactions.read and accounting.reports.read are marked Deprecated and replaced by granular read scopes such as accounting.invoices.read, accounting.payments.read, accounting.banktransactions.read and accounting.reports.profitandloss.read.
- Xero says broad scopes remain available until September 2027. It also says scopes can't be removed from an existing access token; the only way to reduce consented scopes is to revoke the token and start again.
- Inviting a user needs a role with the edit users permission.
- Viewing the user list and login history needs the standard or administrator user role. Login history shows the last 20 logins over the past 60 days.
- You can't delete an organisation's subscriber; transfer the subscription first. Deleting a user removes access but they aren't notified, and unsubmitted expense claims they entered are deleted.
- Exporting a report needs the administrator, standard + reports or viewer user role.
- The CSV export of invoices and bills includes all transactions by default, up to a maximum of 500; more than 500 must be exported in batches. Xero says your role determines what you can export.
- Payable Invoice Summary needs the administrator, standard + reports, sales and purchases, purchases or viewer user role.
- Exporting a report to Google Sheets needs a Google account.

1. **Open Users.** Click the organisation name, then select Settings. Under General, click Users, then New user.
2. **Enter the person.** Enter the first name, last name and email address. The email address you send the invite to will be the user's login email address.
3. **Choose a role and send.** Under Role, select the relevant user role (for example the viewer role described above), optionally adjust permissions, then click Send invite.
4. **Expiry and cost.** Xero says the invite expires after 14 days and can be resent from the pending user's page (Settings, Users, the pending user's name, Resend invite). Adding users, including your accountant, is free of charge.
5. **See who has access.** Click the organisation name, then Settings, then under General click Users. The Current users tab lists invited users with role, permissions and last login; pending users haven't accepted. The Login history tab shows recent logins. Practice staff carry a Xero Partner Advisor label.
6. **Remove a user.** Settings, Users, click the menu icon to the right of the user's name, select Delete followed by the user's name, then click Delete to confirm. Needs edit users permission.
7. **Disconnect a connected app.** Click the organisation name, then Settings, then Connected apps. Under Connected apps, click Disconnect beside the app name, then click Disconnect to confirm.

## Common questions

### Can I connect QuickBooks or Xero today?

Not yet. The connection is planned, and not open today. The browser audit works now with an exported report and sends nothing anywhere.

### Will the audit change anything in my books?

Nothing in the audit posts, edits, deletes or voids anything in your books. The connection is for reading vendors, bills, expenses and the chart of accounts so the same ranking can run on live data.

### How do I take access away?

You can disconnect from the connected-apps settings inside QuickBooks Online or Xero at any time. When access is removed, our reading stops there.

## Sources

- [QuickBooks Online user roles and access rights](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/access-permissions/user-roles-access-rights-quickbooks-online/L66POfRrI_US_en_US) (read 2026-10-25)
- [QuickBooks Online: invite accountant users](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/account-management/managing-accountant-users-quickbooks-online/L2AcdYvHw_US_en_US) (read 2026-10-25)
- [QuickBooks Online: add and manage users](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/manage-users/add-manage-users-quickbooks-online/L1welhiJZ_US_en_US) (read 2026-10-25)
- [QuickBooks Online: transfer app ownership or disconnect apps](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/manage-users/transfer-app-ownership-disconnect-apps/L73ZAy899_US_en_US) (read 2026-10-25)
- [QuickBooks Online: run a report with vendor totals](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/pay-bills/run-report-vendor-totals/L7H7UF6T9_US_en_US) (read 2026-10-25)
- [QuickBooks Online: export your data](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/list-management/export-reports-lists-data-quickbooks-online/L1xleDrLp_US_en_US) (read 2026-10-25)
- [Intuit Developer: set up OAuth 2.0](https://developer.intuit.com/app/developer/qbo/docs/develop/authentication-and-authorization/oauth-2.0) (read 2026-10-25)
- [Xero Central: the viewer user role explained](https://central.xero.com/0/article/Read-Only-role) (read 2026-10-25)
- [Xero Central: add a new user to your organisation](https://central.xero.com/0/article/Add-a-new-user-to-your-organisation) (read 2026-10-25)
- [Xero Central: view an organisation's invited users](https://central.xero.com/0/article/View-the-users-in-an-organisation) (read 2026-10-25)
- [Xero Central: delete a user from your organisation](https://central.xero.com/0/article/Delete-yourself-or-another-user-from-your-organisation-UK) (read 2026-10-25)
- [Xero Central: update, cancel, disconnect or review connected apps](https://central.xero.com/0/article/Access-review-or-disconnect-app-connections) (read 2026-10-25)
- [Xero Central: Payable Invoice Summary report](https://central.xero.com/0/article/Payable-Invoice-Summary-report-New) (read 2026-10-25)
- [Xero Central: contact transactions reports](https://central.xero.com/0/article/Contact-Transactions-Summary-report) (read 2026-10-25)
- [Xero Central: export and print a report](https://central.xero.com/0/article/Export-or-print-a-report) (read 2026-10-25)
- [Xero Central: export invoices and bills](https://central.xero.com/0/article/Export-invoices-and-bills) (read 2026-10-25)
- [Xero Developer: scopes](https://developer.xero.com/documentation/guides/oauth2/scopes/) (read 2026-10-25)

## Keep going

- [How we get paid](https://lopifi.com/md/savings/how-to/how-we-get-paid): How a saving is counted: a free audit, then a share of the license saving we verify against your own bills, net of what the replacement costs to run.
- [The audit checklist](https://lopifi.com/md/savings/how-to/software-spend-audit-checklist): Pull twelve months of vendor spend, rank it, and find annual charges, duplicates, seat creep and owners. A checklist you can finish in an afternoon.
- [Find it in QuickBooks Online](https://lopifi.com/md/savings/how-to/find-software-in-quickbooks): Run the vendor-totals report in QuickBooks Online, export it, and see every software line ranked by cost, in minutes and without connecting anything.
- [Find it in Xero](https://lopifi.com/md/savings/how-to/find-software-in-xero): Use Xero's expenses-by-contact reporting to total spend by supplier, export it, and rank your software lines. No connection; nothing leaves your browser.
- [Run the free audit](https://lopifi.com/savings/audit)
- [All how-to guides](https://lopifi.com/md/savings/how-to)

*General information, not tax, legal or accounting advice.*