How to export your data from Xero
Xero has no single 'export everything' button — you export your chart of accounts, contacts, invoices, bills and fixed asset list individually, plus recommended reports (General Ledger, Account Transactions, Receivable/Payable Invoice Detail) from the Reports screen. A separate 'Export accounting data' tool packages your general ledger, chart of accounts, trial balance, P&L and balance sheet for import into another accounting product.
✓ Verified against Xero's official documentation, September 2026
Step by step
- 1Log in with a user that has the Administrator role.
- 2Export core records area by area: go to Contacts to export your contact list, Business > Invoices for invoices, Business > Bills you need to pay for bills, and your chart of accounts and fixed asset list from their respective settings screens.
- 3Go to the Reports screen and export the reports Xero recommends for backups: General Ledger, Account Transactions (select all columns, including FX columns, if you use multicurrency), Receivable Invoice Detail, and Payable Invoice Detail.
- 4To move your books to another accounting product, go to the general ledger export tool and click 'Export accounting data'.
- 5If prompted, add a code to every account in your chart of accounts — an uncoded chart of accounts may fail to import into the destination product.
- 6Select the product or tax authority you're exporting for.
- 7Select the date range to export, and optionally tick 'Cash basis' (only available for some destination products).
- 8Click Download to get the export file, then repeat the individual-area exports for anything not covered by the general ledger export.
What the export includes
- ✓Chart of accounts
- ✓Contacts list
- ✓Invoices and bills
- ✓Fixed asset list
- ✓General ledger
- ✓Trial Balance, Profit and Loss (Income Statement), and Balance Sheet
- ✓Account Transactions report
- ✓Receivable Invoice Detail and Payable Invoice Detail reports
What it doesn't include
- ✗A single combined 'export everything' file — each area/report must be exported separately
- ✗Payroll reports, unless the exporting user has the approve payroll permission in addition to admin access
- ✗Files/attachments on individual transactions, invoices, or bills (must be downloaded per record, not part of these exports)
Before you start
- ⚠There is no one-click full-organisation export; Xero explicitly says you must export data from individual areas plus reports separately to get a complete backup
- ⚠Your user role determines what you can export — admin gets most reports, but payroll reports need the extra approve payroll permission
- ⚠For multicurrency organisations, you must manually select all FX columns on the Account Transactions report or currency data will be missing
- ⚠When exporting the general ledger for another accounting product, every account in your chart of accounts needs a code or the file may not import correctly
- ⚠The 'Cash basis' export option is only available for certain destination products, not all of them
- ⚠You choose the destination product/tax authority and date range before downloading, so exports are scoped per migration target rather than a generic universal file
Where to take your data
Free and cheaper tools that can take a Xero export. See all Xero alternatives →
Export your Xero chart of accounts, contacts, and general ledger/trial balance via Export accounting data, then bring balances and contacts into Wave manually or via Wave's CSV import for transactions and customers/vendors, since Wave has no native Xero connector.
Zoho Books
Use Xero's chart of accounts and contacts CSV exports plus the general ledger export, then import them into Zoho Books using its chart of accounts, contacts, and opening balance/journal CSV import tools.
Akaunting
Export contacts, chart of accounts, invoices and bills as CSV from Xero, then map and upload them through Akaunting's CSV import screens for customers/vendors, accounts, and transactions.
Exporting from Xero: common questions
Can I export my entire Xero organisation in one click?+
No. Xero requires you to export data from individual areas (chart of accounts, contacts, invoices, bills, fixed assets) and from the Reports screen separately — there is no single full-backup export.
Do I need to be an admin to export data from Xero?+
Yes, the Administrator user role is required to run and export most reports and data; exporting payroll reports also requires the approve payroll permission.
What's the best way to move my books to a new accounting product?+
Use Xero's 'Export accounting data' tool, which builds a general ledger export (with chart of accounts, trial balance, P&L, and balance sheet) tailored to the specific product or tax authority you select.
Why won't my Xero export import into my new accounting software?+
A common cause is missing account codes — Xero recommends adding a code to every account in your chart of accounts before exporting, since files without codes may fail to import into another product.
Are attached files and receipts included in a Xero export?+
The standard area and report exports cover records and figures, not attached files; documents attached to individual transactions, invoices, or bills need to be downloaded separately.
Can I export historical multicurrency transactions accurately?+
Yes, but you must manually select all columns, including the FX columns, when running the Account Transactions report if your organisation uses multicurrency.
Sources
This guide was written from Xero's own documentation and checked against it in September 2026. If a step has changed, the official page wins.
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