Excel Web Add-in

The Flex Excel Web Add-in brings Xero financial data integration directly to Excel Online. This web-based add-in provides the same powerful data retrieval and analysis capabilities as our desktop version, optimized for the modern web environment.

Early Access Status: The Excel Web Add-in is currently in Early Access. While fully functional, we're actively developing new features and improvements. Your feedback helps us make it better!

Introduction & Early Access

The Excel Web Add-in represents the next generation of Flex Financial Reporting, designed specifically for the modern web environment. Key features include:

  • Web-Native Design: Built specifically for Excel Online with modern web technologies
  • Secure Data Access: Enterprise-grade security with encrypted data transmission
  • Cross-Platform Ready: Architecture designed for future multi-platform support
  • Real-Time Integration: Direct connection to Xero through our secure proxy system

As an Early Access user, you're experiencing cutting-edge financial reporting technology. We're continuously improving the add-in based on user feedback and evolving web standards.

Platform Support: Currently supports Excel Online only. When released, it will support multiple platforms. Only Xero integration is available at this time.

Why We Use a Proxy Server

The Excel Web Add-in uses a secure proxy server to connect to your Xero data. This isn't just a technical requirement—it's a security and performance enhancement that benefits you directly.

Security Benefits

Your Data Stays Secure: The proxy server acts as a secure gateway that never stores or caches your financial data. All information passes through encrypted channels directly from Xero to your Excel spreadsheet.
  • Token Protection: Your sensitive Xero authentication tokens are managed securely on our servers, never exposed to browser-based vulnerabilities
  • Encrypted Transmission: All data travels through HTTPS-encrypted connections at every step
  • No Data Storage: We never store, cache, or retain your financial data—it flows directly from Xero to your spreadsheet
  • Access Control: The proxy ensures only authorized users can access their own data

Technical Benefits

  • Cross-Origin Security: Web browsers block direct API calls to external services for security. Our proxy enables secure communication while maintaining browser security standards
  • Automatic Token Refresh: Xero access tokens expire every 30 minutes. Our proxy handles renewal automatically, so you never lose connection
  • Optimized Performance: The proxy can combine multiple API requests and handle complex data processing server-side for faster response times
  • Error Handling: Centralized error management provides better diagnostics and recovery from connection issues
Pass-Through Architecture: Think of our proxy as a secure tunnel. Your data travels from Xero, through our encrypted tunnel, directly to your Excel spreadsheet. We see the data pass through but never store, modify, or access it.

Logging in to your account

The Excel Web Add-in uses a streamlined web-based authentication system that connects you securely to both your Flex account and your Xero data.

  1. Open the Flex Excel Web Add-in in Excel Online. Clicking on Add Table, Refresh Selected or Refresh All will open the add-in panel if it isn't already open.
  2. Click "Login to Flex" to begin the authentication process
  3. Log into your Flex Account using Xero SSO or your Flex email and password
  4. Select your Xero connection from the available list
  5. Begin accessing your Xero data through the add-in interface
    All subsequent requests use secure token-based authentication
Token-Based Security: After initial login, the add-in uses secure tokens for all data requests. These tokens automatically refresh as needed, keeping your connection active without requiring repeated logins.

Getting Data

When you get data, the Excel Web Add-in connects securely to Xero through our proxy server. Your data travels encrypted from Xero, through our secure gateway, directly to your Excel spreadsheet. We never store, cache, or retain your financial information.

The Xero API is constantly evolving and we regularly update the add-in to support new data types. You can see what data is available via the Xero API by looking at their public documentation here:
Xero API Documentation

If you find some data is available in the Xero API but not in the add-in, send us an email at support@flexfinancialreporting.com and we'll add it in the next release.

After you have logged into your account and selected a Xero connection, you can click any of the available tables to get data.

Once you click on a table, you will see a filter screen that allows you to narrow down the data that you request (See Table Filters). Some tables may have nested data, for example, Invoices can have Line Items and Payments. Nested tables will generally show a few key columns from the parent table as well as columns from the nested data, making reporting much easier.

When you click Apply on the filter, the add-in will create a table with your data directly in your Excel worksheet.

Compatibility Note: Reports created in the Excel Desktop Add-in are not compatible with the Excel Web Add-in, and vice versa. Each platform maintains its own report format.

Table Filters

When you select a table, you will get a filter interface that allows you to limit what data you retrieve from Xero. Available filters are determined by what the Xero API supports, so some tables have more filtering options than others.

Filtering data can significantly improve performance. If you find a report running slowly, look for ways to reduce the data volume by using filters effectively.

Many filters allow you to set date ranges, which can be very useful for focusing on specific time periods.

Using Sheet References for Dynamic Dates

Using Sheet References is powerful for creating dynamic reports. When you use Refresh All, the filter will read the current values from those cells and rerun the query. You can point multiple tables to the same cell references for coordinated reporting.

When you select the Sheet Reference option in a date range filter, you can specify Excel cells that contain your desired dates.

Simply click in the date reference boxes and either type the cell reference (like A1) or click on the cell in your worksheet. The add-in will save these references with your filter configuration.

Save Organization

The Save Organization option works with Refresh All. When enabled, it remembers which Xero organization you had selected when creating the table, and refreshes data from that specific organization instead of the currently selected one. This is useful when you want reports for specific companies and need to maintain data consistency across refreshes.

Refreshing Data

Once you've created tables or built reports, you'll want to refresh them with the latest data from Xero. The Excel Web Add-in provides flexible refresh options to keep your data current.

Refresh Selected

Refresh Selected allows you to update a specific table with the latest data. To use this feature:

  1. Click the worksheet you want to refresh
  2. Click the "Refresh Selected" button in the add-in
  3. The filter dialog will open, allowing you to modify settings if needed
  4. Click Apply to refresh the table with current data from the selected Xero organization
Refresh Selected also allows you to reconfigure tables created with the Join Tool and Combine Tool.
Important note about renaming Worksheets: If you rename the worksheet after creation, the add-in will no longer recognize it and you won't be able to refresh it automatically. You can fix this by running Refresh Selected again and Flex will show you a list of any filters not linked to an active worksheet. Simply select the old worksheet name from the list to relink the filter.

Refresh All

Refresh All updates all tables in your workbook using their last-used filter settings. Data refreshes from the currently selected Xero organization unless you enabled the Save Organization option for specific tables.

Refresh All processes tables in this order:

  1. All standard Flex tables
  2. All Flex Combined Tables
  3. All Flex Joined Tables
  4. All Excel data sources (such as pivot tables that reference Flex data)

Join Tool

The Join Tool allows you to connect two tables together and create a new joined table by linking them with matching columns. This is similar to an INNER JOIN in SQL and is perfect for combining related data from different Xero tables.

The Join Tool is ideal for combining parent and child records. For example, if you want to add contact details to an invoice report, you would join the Contacts table (using Contact ID) to the Invoices table (using Contact ID).

To use the Join Tool:

  1. Click the "Join Tool" button in the add-in
  2. Select the first table and column you want to join from
  3. Select the second table and column you want to join to
  4. Configure any additional join options
  5. Click Apply to create the joined table

The join configuration screen allows you to specify exactly how the tables should be connected:

The join tool will create a new table that includes columns from both source tables, showing only rows where the join columns match.

Use the Join Tool again on the joined table to modify the join configuration after creation. You can also use Refresh All to refresh all data and update the joined table automatically.

Combine Tool

The Combine Tool allows you to merge multiple similar tables together, appending them vertically and adding a grouping column to identify the source of each row. This is perfect for consolidated reporting across multiple entities or time periods.

The Combine Tool is ideal for consolidated reporting. Use the grouping column to organize data by company, region, time period, or any other categorization that makes sense for your analysis.

Here's how to create a consolidated report using the Combine Tool:

  1. First, create two or more similar tables from different Xero organizations (use the Save Organization option to maintain data source integrity)
  2. Click the "Combine Tool" button in the add-in
  3. Enter a Group Name (this becomes the column header for your grouping column)
  4. Navigate to your worksheet and click Select Sheet
  5. Enter a Group Value (this identifies rows from this table in the combined result)
  6. Click "Add/Update" to include it in the combination
  7. Repeat steps 4-6 for each additional table
  8. Click Apply to create the combined table
Use the Combine Tool again on the combined table to modify the combination configuration after creation. You can also use Refresh All to refresh all source data and update the combined table automatically.

Separate Tool

The Separate Tool allows you to split any table based on the unique values in a selected column, creating separate tables on new worksheets for each distinct value. This is useful for breaking down data by categories, statuses, or any other grouping criteria.

To use the Separate Tool:

  1. Click anywhere in the column you want to separate by
  2. Click the "Separate Tool" button in the add-in
  3. The tool will automatically detect the selected column
  4. Click Apply to create the separated tables

The result shows separated data organized into individual worksheets: