Retail POS now allows you to track sales from each outlet to your Xero tracking categories, giving you the information you need to report on transactions by outlet or channel so you can drill down into different areas of your business. You can use this feature to see how each of your locations is performing or to compare your in-store sales to e-commerce sales. 

Setting up tracking categories in Retail POS

1. In Retail POS, navigate to Setup > Apps.

2. Next to the Xero integration, click the pencil icon to edit settings.

3. Scroll to the bottom of the page to the Tracking categories section and click the toggle button to Enable tracking categories.

4. Select which tracking category from your Xero account you'd like to track sales to. The names of the categories will reflect your setup in Xero, i.e Track sales to X category found in your Xero account.

5. If you only have one active tracking category in Xero, or have not set up any tracking categories in Xero, you'll have the option to Add another tracking category into Xero.

6. Enter the name of the tracking category you'd like to create, and then press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac) on your keyboard. This new tracking category will be created in Retail POS and sync to your Xero account.

7. In the Your Outlet column, you will see your Retail POS outlets displayed, and if you have Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce integrated with Retail POS, these will also appear in this column as a channel. Next to each outlet/channel, select the tracking option under Map to Xero that you would like to associate it with from the drop-down menu. 

8. If you want to create a new tracking option, start to type in the tracking option name. You'll then be prompted to Add "X" as a new tracking option. This option will then be created in Retail POS and sync to your Xero account.

9. Once you're happy with your tracking category setup, click Save changes.

Setting up tracking categories in Xero

You can also create tracking categories and options in Xero, and sync them to Retail POS. 

1. In Xero, click Accounting.

   

2. Click Advanced.

   

    

3. Click Tracking categories.

   

4. Click Add tracking category.

   

5. Name your tracking category, and add any options within it. Once this is complete, click Save.

Xero will only allow you to have two active tracking categories at a time. 

Once your tracking category and any options under it have been created, you can add more options at any time. You can also rename either your tracking category or your category options. 

If you edit/add a tracking category or option in Xero, you'll need to sync these options back into Retail POS. 

1. In Retail POS, navigate to Setup > Apps.

   

    

2. Next to the Xero integration, click the pencil icon to edit settings.

   

3. Click Sync from Xero.

   

    

Using Retail POS with tracking categories

Once tracking categories are enabled in your Retail POS/Xero integration, your invoices for register closures, on account sales, and purchase orders will contain a column with the name of your tracking category. The corresponding tracking option will appear next to each line item.

Using tracking categories in Xero's reporting 

Once your tracking categories are mapped in Retail POS and included in transactions sent to Xero, you'll be able to filter for them in Xero reports that use custom report columns. These reports are Xero's Profit and Loss report, Balance Sheet, Movements in Equity, and Statement of Cashflows. 

1. In Xero, click Accounting.

   

    

2. Click Reports.

   

3. Click the report you'd like to view, keeping in mind the report must use custom report columns.

   

4. Click Filter.

   

5. You'll then see each of your tracking categories listed. You can select to filter the report by including the Options from your Tracking categories. Once selected, click Apply.

   

6. Click Update to view your report.