At Tofu, we’ve made it easier to sync your invoices with accounting software, offering greater control with the introduction of Auto-Publish and Auto-Import toggles. This article will explain the changes from the previous Auto-Sync feature, and how you can use the new controls to streamline your workflow.
The Changes: From Auto-Sync to Auto-Publish & Auto-Import
Previously, we had a single toggle called Auto-Sync, which allowed for two-way synchronization between Tofu and your accounting software. This feature automatically imported invoices and published them based on your settings. However, we've updated this to offer separate control over Import and Publish actions.
Now, you can manage Auto-Import and Auto-Publish independently, giving you more flexibility:
Auto-Import: Automatically pulls in data from your accounting software (like Xero or QuickBooks) to reflect the latest status changes, edits, and new bills.
Auto-Publish: Automatically pushes your invoices and updates from Tofu to your accounting software without needing to click the Publish button.
What Do the Import and Publish Buttons Do?
The Import and Publish buttons on the invoice review mode are the manual triggers for syncing invoices between Tofu and your accounting software (such as Xero or QuickBooks). Here's a breakdown of what each button does:
Import Button: This button allows you to manually pull data from your accounting software into Tofu. It updates your invoices in Tofu based on changes made in your accounting software, such as status updates, edits, or new invoices. For example, if the status of a bill changes in Xero (from Awaiting Approval to Paid), you can click Import in Tofu to reflect that change.
Publish Button: This button allows you to manually push invoices from Tofu to your accounting software. When you create or edit invoices in Tofu, clicking Publish sends those updates to your accounting software. This is useful when you want to control exactly when your invoices are shared with your accounting system.
💡 Note
When both Auto-Publish and Auto-Import toggles are enabled, the Import and Publish buttons are automatically hidden because these actions happen automatically in the background.
If either toggle is turned off, the corresponding Import or Publish button will reappear, allowing you to manually trigger those actions as needed.
Understanding Auto-Publish & Auto-Import
Now that we’ve broken down the general behavior, let’s go deeper into what each of these features does:
1. Auto-Publish
When Auto-Publish is turned on, Tofu will automatically send invoices from Tofu to your accounting software once they are saved. This eliminates the need for you to manually click the Publish button every time you update an invoice.
Example: If you create a new invoice or edit an existing one in Tofu, Tofu will immediately push those changes to your accounting software (like Xero or QuickBooks).
2. Auto-Import
When Auto-Import is enabled, Tofu will automatically pull invoice data from your accounting software. This ensures that the latest status updates, new bills, and edits made in your accounting software are reflected in Tofu without requiring you to click the Import button.
Example: If a bill status changes in Xero or QuickBooks (e.g., from Awaiting Approval to Paid), Tofu will automatically import that change and reflect it on the corresponding invoice.
💡 Can I manually override Auto-Publish or Auto-Import?
Yes! You can turn either toggle off at any time if you prefer to handle imports or publishing manually. The Import and Publish buttons will reappear, giving you full control over those actions.
When Would You Use Auto-Publish & Auto-Import?
The combination of Auto-Publish and Auto-Import toggles lets you decide how much control you want over your data flow. Here’s how these combinations work:
Action | Auto-Publish ON Auto-Import ON (similar to the previous auto-sync on) | Auto-Publish ON Auto-Import OFF | Auto-Publish OFF Auto-Import ON | Auto-Publish OFF Auto-Import OFF |
Create invoice in Tofu | New invoice automatically created in accounting software after extraction | New invoice automatically created in accounting software after extraction | Click Publish after extraction to create invoice in accounting software | Click Publish after extraction to create invoice in accounting software |
Edit invoice in Tofu | Auto-published update after clicking Save draft | Auto-published update after clicking Save draft | Save draft → click Publish to update in accounting software | Save draft → click Publish to update in accounting software |
Edit invoice in accounting software | Auto-imported into Tofu | No auto update → click Import to update invoice in Tofu | Auto-imported into Tofu | No auto update → click Import to update invoice in Tofu |
Verify invoice in Tofu | Xero: status → Awaiting Approval / Awaiting Payment
QuickBooks: no action | Xero: status → Awaiting Approval / Awaiting Payment
QuickBooks: no action | Xero: No auto update → click Publish to update invoice in Xero
QuickBooks: no action | Xero: No auto update → click Publish to update invoice in Xero
QuickBooks: no action |
Change status in accounting software (e.g. Awaiting Approval → Paid) | Auto-imported into Tofu | No auto update → click Import to update invoice in Tofu | Auto-imported into Tofu | No auto update → click Import to update invoice in Tofu |
Delete bill in Tofu | Auto-deleted invoice in accounting software | Auto-deleted in accounting software | No auto update → click Publish to update invoice in accounting software | No auto update → click Publish to update invoice in accounting software |
Delete invoice in accounting software | Auto-deleted invoice in accounting software | Xero: No auto update → click Import to mark the invoice deleted in Tofu
QuickBooks: auto-imported into Tofu | Auto-deleted invoice in accounting software | Xero: No auto update → click Import to mark the invoice deleted in Tofu
QuickBooks: auto-imported into Tofu |
Create new invoice in accounting software | Auto-imported new invoices into Tofu | No new invoices to Tofu | Auto-imported new invoices into Tofu | No new invoices to Tofu |