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.
You can now configure these settings per document type—for example, you can turn Auto-Publish on for AP Bills, keep Auto-Import on for AR Invoices, or mix and match depending on your workflow.
📌 Take note:
🧾 Currently supported per-document-type settings: AP Bills, AR Invoices, and Direct Expenses
📄Direct Expenses: Auto-Publish is available; Auto-Import is not available (Import is manual only)
📄 Bank Statements: configuration settings are underway and will be available soon.
This article explains the changes from the previous Auto-Sync feature, how Auto-Publish and Auto-Import work, and how they behave for each document type.
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 documents and published them based on your settings.
We’ve now split this into two separate controls that can be configured per document type (for supported types like AP Bills, AR Invoices and Direct Expenses):
Auto-Import: Automatically pulls in data from your accounting software (like Xero or QuickBooks) to reflect the latest status changes, edits, and new bills/invoices.
Auto-Publish: Automatically pushes your documents 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 in review mode are the manual triggers for syncing documents between Tofu and your accounting software (such as Xero or QuickBooks). This applies to supported document types (e.g., AP Bills, AR Invoices, and Direct Expenses).
Here's a breakdown of what each button does:
Import button: Manually pulls data from your accounting software into Tofu. It updates your documents in Tofu based on changes made in your accounting software, such as status updates, edits, or new bills/invoices.
Example: If the status of a bill/invoice changes in Xero (from Awaiting Approval to Paid), you can click Import in Tofu to reflect that change.
Direct Expenses note: Direct Expenses can be manually imported, but Auto-Import is not available for Direct Expenses.
Publish button: Manually pushes documents from Tofu to your accounting software. When you create or edit supported documents in Tofu, clicking Publish sends those updates to your accounting software. This is useful when you want to control exactly when your documents are shared with your accounting system.
Understanding Auto-Publish & Auto-Import
Now that we’ve broken down the general behavior, let’s look at each feature in more detail.
1. Auto-Publish
When Auto-Publish is turned on for a document type (e.g., AP Bills, AR Invoices, or Direct Expenses), Tofu will automatically send those documents from Tofu to your accounting software once they are saved. This eliminates the need for you to manually click Publish every time you update a document.
Example: If you create a new AP Bill, edit an AR Invoice, or update a Direct Expense in Tofu, Tofu will automatically push those changes to your accounting software (like Xero or QuickBooks) after you save.
2. Auto-Import
When Auto-Import is enabled for a document type, Tofu will automatically pull data from your accounting software. This ensures that the latest status updates, new bills/invoices, and edits made in your accounting software are reflected in Tofu without requiring you to click the Import button.
Example: If a bill/invoice 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 document.
Important: Auto-Import applies to AP Bills and AR Invoices. Direct Expenses do not support Auto-Import (Import is manual only).
✅ Our recommendation
For a fully automated, low-maintenance workflow, we recommend enabling both Auto-Publish and Auto-Import for AP Bills and AR Invoices. This setup most closely matches the old Auto-Sync behavior while giving you the option to tailor automation by document type.
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.
If Auto-Publish is OFF for a document type, you’ll use Publish to push changes from Tofu to your accounting software.
If Auto-Import is OFF for a document type, you’ll use Import to pull changes from your accounting software into Tofu.
Also, even when automation is ON, Tofu may still show manual Publish/Import actions when you need them—like when there are sync errors or unpublished changes that require attention.
This flexibility lets you choose different behaviors for AP Bills, AR Invoices, and Direct Expenses depending on your internal review process.
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 for each supported document type.
For AP Bills and AR Invoices, you can choose:
Auto-Publish only
Auto-Import only
Both Auto-Publish + Auto-Import (most automated)
Neither (fully manual)
For Direct Expenses:
Auto-Publish can be enabled
Import remains manual (no Auto-Import toggle)
This table applies to AP Bills and AR Invoices.
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 |
Direct Expenses support Auto‑Publish only
Action (Direct Expenses) | Auto‑Publish ON | Auto‑Publish OFF |
Create/Edit in Tofu | Automatically publishes after you save | Click Publish to create/update |
Changes made in accounting software (edits/status/deletes) | No auto update → click Import to update in Tofu | No auto update → click Import to update in Tofu |
Create new in accounting software | Not auto‑imported | Not auto‑imported |
Summary
Auto-Publish and Auto-Import give you fine-grained control over how documents move between Tofu and your accounting software.
You can configure these settings per document type for AP Bills, AR Invoices, and Direct Expenses.
Direct Expenses: Auto-Publish supported; Auto-Import not available (manual Import only).
Bank Statements: auto controls are not available yet.
For most users, enabling both Auto-Publish and Auto-Import for AP Bills and AR Invoices provides the smoothest automated sync experience.
You can always turn toggles off and use Import/Publish manually when you want more hands-on control.