Lightspeed Restaurant helps automate your bookkeeping by syncing sales and purchase data from your POS directly to your accounting software, such as Xero, MYOB, or QuickBooks. This integration reduces manual data entry, saves time, and helps ensure accuracy in your financial reporting.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to enable the integration, configure your account mappings, and begin exporting daily reconciliation data, account sales, and purchase orders.
What's in this guide?
What you'll need
Enabling the integration and configuring default accounts
Bulk account mapping by Reporting Group
Overriding Reporting Group mapping with Product Mapping
Configuring Account Sales and Purchase Order integration
Linking customer and supplier data to your accounting platform
Getting around the Sync history page
Frequently asked questions
Plan requirements
Our accounting integration includes several features available on all plans, though some require a higher-tier plan.
| Reconciliation integration | Account Sales integration | Purchase Order integration |
| All paid plans | All paid plans | Purchase Advanced |
What you'll need
Before setting up your accounting Integration, you will need to prepare a few things before you can get started.
- A paid account with Xero, MYOB, or QuickBooks.
- An active Lightspeed subscription.
- The Accounts add-on is required to send Account Sales to your accounting platform.
- Subscription to the Purchase Advanced plan for sending Purchase Orders.
Enabling the integration and configuring default accounts
Select your accounting platform to view the integration steps.
To integrate Xero with Lightspeed:
- Log in to your Back Office.
- Select Integrations.
- Search for and select Xero.
- Click Enable.
- Click Login and connect accounts.
- Sign in to your Xero account.
- Click Allow access when prompted.
- Close the window to return to the integration configuration.
You will now be taken to the main integration screen, where you will configure the default mapping for your integration.
Choose whether to use Draft or Approved as an export option. For a detailed explanation of the differences, see the FAQ section below.
On this configuration screen, you can:
- Select the Sync schedule to run daily, on a specific day, or to pause the integration.
- Enter an email address to receive notifications for any sync errors.
- Configure your default accounts for sales and payments.
- Set up your tax codes.
Not sure what to map to each account?
Each dropdown in the integration includes a description of what gets exported to that account. For reference, you can also check out this cheat sheet for example mappings.
Set up your Tax Codes
Next, you will need to make sure your tax codes are mapped correctly. Most venues will have these three options.
Map up your Payment Methods
Next, configure the account to which your recorded payments will be exported. You can either have everything go to one account or set up separate clearing accounts for each payment type.
If you are exporting as Draft, you will need to map your payment methods twice. Daily takings must be completed in Lightspeed, with Reporting Groups set up, to export Reconciliation data.
To integrate MYOB AccountRight with Lightspeed:
- Log in to your Back Office.
- Select Integrations.
- Search for and select MYOB AccountRight.
- Click Enable.
- Click Login and connect accounts.
- Sign in to your MYOB account.
- Click Allow access when prompted.
- Close the window to return to the integration configuration.
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You will now be taken to the main integration screen, where you will configure the default mapping for your integration.
Choose whether to use Draft or Approved as an export option. For a detailed explanation of the differences, see the FAQ section below.
On this configuration screen, you can:
- Select the Sync schedule to run daily, on a specific day, or to pause the integration.
- Enter an email address to receive notifications for any sync errors.
- Configure your default accounts for sales and payments.
- Set up your tax codes.
Not sure what to map to each account?
Each dropdown in the integration includes a description of what gets exported to that account. For reference, you can also check out this cheat sheet for example mappings.
Set up your Tax Codes
Next, you will need to make sure your tax codes are mapped correctly. Most venues will have these three options.
Map up your Payment Methods
Next, configure the account to which your recorded payments will be exported. You can either have everything go to one account or set up separate clearing accounts for each payment type.
If you are exporting as Draft, you will need to map your payment methods twice. Daily takings must be completed in Lightspeed, with Reporting Groups set up, to export Reconciliation data.
To integrate MYOB Essentials with Lightspeed
- Log in to your Back Office.
- Select Integrations.
- Search for and select MYOB Essentials.
- Click Enable.
- Click Login and connect accounts.
- Sign in to your MYOB account.
- Click Allow access when prompted.
- Close the window to return to the integration configuration.
You will now be taken to the main integration screen, where you will configure the default mapping for your integration.
Choose whether to use Draft or Approved as an export option. For a detailed explanation of the differences, see the FAQ section below.
On this configuration screen, you can:
- Select the Sync schedule to run daily, on a specific day, or to pause the integration.
- Enter an email address to receive notifications for any sync errors.
- Configure your default accounts for sales and payments.
- Set up your tax codes.
Not sure what to map to each account?
Each dropdown in the integration includes a description of what gets exported to that account. For reference, you can also check out this cheat sheet for example mappings.
Set up your Tax Codes
Next, you will need to make sure your tax codes are mapped correctly. Most venues will have these three options.
Map up your Payment Methods
Next, configure the account to which your recorded payments will be exported. You can either have everything go to one account or set up separate clearing accounts for each payment type.
If you are exporting as Draft, you will need to map your payment methods twice. Daily takings must be completed in Lightspeed, with Reporting Groups set up, to export Reconciliation data.
To integrate QuickBooks with Lightspeed:
- Log in to your Back Office.
- Select Integrations.
- Search for and select QuickBooks Online.
- Click Connect to QuickBooks.
- Sign in to your QuickBooks Online account.
- Click Allow access when prompted.
- Close the window to return to the integration configuration.
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You will now be taken to the main integration screen, where you will configure the default mapping for your integration.
Choose whether to use Draft or Approved as an export option. For a detailed explanation of the differences, see the FAQ section below.
On this configuration screen, you can:
- Select the Sync schedule to run daily, on a specific day, or to pause the integration.
- Enter an email address to receive notifications for any sync errors.
- Configure your default accounts for sales and payments.
- Set up your tax codes.
Not sure what to map to each account?
Each dropdown in the integration includes a description of what gets exported to that account. For reference, you can also check out this cheat sheet for example mappings.
Set up your Tax Codes
Next, you will need to make sure your tax codes are mapped correctly. Most venues will have these three options.
The GST 10% field mapping appearing as GST [0%] is a cosmetic issue with the QuickBooks integration. Despite the label, it correctly maps to the GST 10% account.
Map up your Payment Methods
Next, configure the account to which your recorded payments will be exported. You can either have everything go to one account or set up separate clearing accounts for each payment type.
If you are exporting as Draft, you will need to map your payment methods twice.
Bulk account mapping by Reporting group
Instead of mapping each product individually, you can assign reporting groups to your products in Lightspeed. This allows you to map groups of products to specific accounts in your accounting platform, saving time and ensuring consistent reporting.
Once assigned, these groups will appear in your accounting Integration, where you can map them to:
- Selling Accounts: used for exporting Reconciliation and Account Sales.
- Buying Accounts: used for exporting Purchase Orders.
All products under a Reporting Group will follow the mapped account settings.
Overriding Reporting group mapping with Product mapping
Reporting group mapping is the default and most efficient way to assign accounting codes to your products. However, if a few products within a group need to be mapped to different accounts, you don’t need to create new Reporting groups.
Instead, you can manually assign these specific products to accounts by going to the Products tab.
Configuring Account Sales and Purchase Order integration
Once you have configured the default accounts for your integration and set up the mapping for your Reporting groups and products, you’re ready to enable the Account Sales and Purchase Order integration.
Account Sales
To get started, select the Account Sales workflow on the main integration page. The only configuration option is whether to assign a prefix to your Account Sale invoices.
For example, if you enter KO, your invoice number will appear as KO[Lightspeed Sale ID].
For more info, refer to our article on syncing Account Sales with Xero.
Purchase Orders
The Purchase Order integration offers several configuration options based on how you want your Purchase Orders to export into your accounting program.
Create a Purchase Order
All our accounting integrations share the same configuration, but some Purchase Order export options are only available on certain platforms. These are listed below.
| Integration platform | Draft | Awaiting Payment | Approved |
| Xero | Purchase Order is created in the Bills invoices section in Xero in Draft status | Purchase Order is created in Submitted status in Xero, awaiting approval | Purchase Order is created as approved in Xero awaiting payment |
| MYOB | Purchase Order is exported as a Draft invoice into MYOB | Not supported | Not supported |
| QuickBooks | Not supported | Purchase Order is exported as a Bill in Awaiting Payment | Not supported |
Select the account to record purchases
Next, choose the expense account where you want to send the purchase data from Received Purchase Orders.
Configure your Expense Tax Codes
You need to select the expense tax codes for your Purchase Order exports. All tax codes created in your Lightspeed account will be shown, but you only need to map the ones used in Purchase.
For more info, refer to our article on syncing Purchase Orders with Xero.
Linking customer and supplier data to your accounting platform
One of the most common issues in accounting integrations occurs when customer and supplier data in Lightspeed don't match the corresponding records in your accounting platform.
This often happens because different people manage customer data in your POS and accounting systems.
Mismatched contact data can cause invoices to be missed or assigned to the wrong contact. To address this, we’ve added customer and supplier matching to the integration.
Customer
When an Account Sale is sent through to Xero, we are using the individual contact card. When the first invoice is exported, we will first attempt to match by First Name, Last Name, and Email. If no match is found, we will create a new contact.
If the wrong contact was matched, you can delete the duplicate contact card we created, then go to the Customers section in the integration and use the dropdown to select the correct contact.
Supplier
When a Purchase Invoice is sent through to Xero, we are using the Company contact card. When the first invoice is exported, we will first attempt to match by Company Name and Email. If no match is found, we will create a new company contact.
If the wrong contact was matched, you can delete the duplicate contact card we created, then go to the Suppliers section in the integration and use the dropdown to select the correct supplier contact.
Getting around the Sync history page
To review what data has been exported, visit the Sync history or PO Sync history page.
You can access these pages by clicking on either of the two icons below.
- Sync History: This is where all of your exported Reconciliation Reports and Account Sales are stored.
- PO Sync History: This is where all of your exported Purchase Orders are stored.
Sync Statuses
There are three sync statuses in the integration.
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| This will show whenever there is an issue preventing an invoice from exporting. | This will show whenever an invoice export is successful. | This will show when an invoice is queued, either just generated or scheduled to sync later based on your settings. |
Getting around the Sync page
When you open the sync page, a window like this will appear. Here, you’ll find useful information such as the export date, contact name, reference number, invoice type, and amount.
Clicking the date field will open the invoice, allowing you to view additional details such as the accounts the data maps to and the products included in the Reconciliation, Purchase Order, or Account Sale.
Retrying failed invoices
If an invoice fails to export, you don't need to contact our Support Team to resend it. You can open the Sync history page, select the failed invoice, and the error will appear at the top.
You can try resending the invoice by clicking the Resync button. If it still fails, the invoice may contain unsupported information.
Contact our Support team for help reviewing and resolving the invoice issue.
Frequently asked questions
Prepayments help balance invoices when payments and sales don’t perfectly align during a taking period.
- Prepayment Out: The difference between the final sale amount and the payment received.
- Prepayment In: A partial payment on an unpaid order (e.g., split payments or online orders not yet marked as Ready).
What causes Prepayments?
Prepayments occur when there are unpaid or partially paid orders, such as:
- Part payments on open POS orders, such as a partial payment on an open order.
- Online orders that are accepted but not marked as Ready remain in the Pending section in the POS.
When exporting reconciliation invoices, you have two options:
- Draft: Exports a $0 draft invoice where payments appear as negative line items and revenue as positive line items, balancing the invoice to zero. This invoice is editable.
- Approved: Converts the draft invoice into a finalized invoice by applying actual payments, making it non-editable (only voidable). Use this if you don’t plan to make further adjustments.
The daily sync limit can vary based on how many sites are connected to your accounting platform account. For example, if three venues share the same Xero organization, the limit should be divided across them.
On average, an account can sync approximately 100 invoices per 24-hour period. Unmapped customers or suppliers can significantly slow down syncing, as additional API calls are required to identify and map each contact.
Most invoices sync within 24 hours (this may not be the next calendar day). If an invoice remains queued after 48 hours, contact our Support team for assistance.
Make sure the account has the correct settings in your accounting integration. For example, a payment clearing account will need to have payments enabled on that account in order to appear as a valid clearing account in Lightspeed.
What's next?
Understand how to finalise your takings and ensure all payments are properly accounted for.
Finalising your takings
Learn how to set up and manage accepted payment types for your site.