FAQ

What version of Excel does this support?

It depends which add-in you use. We offer two:

  • Flex Excel Add-in (recommended) — works with Excel for Microsoft 365 and Excel 2021/2019 on both Windows and Mac, Excel 2016 on Windows, and Excel for the Web.
  • Legacy Excel Add-in — Windows Desktop Excel 2013/2016/365 only.

Does this work on Mac?

Yes. The Flex Excel Add-in supports Excel for Mac and Excel for the Web, as well as Windows. Install it from within Excel: click Add-ins on the ribbon, search for "Flex Financial Reporting" and click Add.

Only the older Legacy Excel Add-in is Windows-only. If you specifically need it — for example for its VBA automation — you can run Windows Excel on a Mac using something like Parallels.

I found a bug, what do I do?

Send an email to support@flexfinancialreporting.com. You must include the following...

  • A description of the error
  • Steps to reproduce the error (simply bullet point what you did)
  • Ideally a one or more screenshots (make sure to redact any private information)

Some issues may be because of problems in the Xero API. If so, I will let you know and escalate the issue with their support people.

I want suggest a new feature, what do I do?

Send an email to support@flexfinancialreporting.com. You must include the following...

  • A description of the feature
  • Describe a typical use case or how you intend to use it

Only features that would be beneficial to everyone will be considered.

Technical Issues:

The technical issues below apply to the Legacy Excel Add-in. The Flex Excel Add-in installs from within Excel and updates automatically, so it does not have installation or re-enabling problems.

Installation Errors

Installation errors are always one of the following:

  • Permissions
  • Prerequisites
  • Virus scanner/firewalls

So try the following:

  • Make sure Windows and Office are fully up to date
  • Install the addon as Administrator first, then install again under your profile
  • Install VSTO 2010
  • Install Office PIA
  • Make sure you have .NET 4.7.2 runtime installed
  • Make sure you have you virus scanner/firewall disabled during the install
  • Install it on a different machine (like a personal laptop or some other machine that is not configured like your work PC)
We cannot help you troubleshoot issues with installation due to your specific configuration or setup set by your IT department. These issues are best sorted by your IT people.

Forbidden Error

You'll get a Forbidden or Unathorized error when a connection expires. This can happen if you disconnect, haven't accessed the organisation in a long time or if you link the organisation using the same Xero credentials to a different Flex account. To Fix this, simply Reconnect

Addon Disappeared

If the addon crashes or you shut down Excel whilst it’s busy, then Excel will disable the addon as a safety measure. To re-enable the addon, follow the steps here: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms268871.aspx

The value of property ‘type’ cannot be parsed

Run the installer as Admin first, then install as the user. Alternatively, try these steps:

  1. In Windows Explorer, navigate to the VSTO 10.0 folder
  2. The path indicated in the error message which should be something similar to C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft shared\VSTO\10.0 or C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft shared\VSTO\10.0.
  3. In that folder, you should find a file named VSTOInstaller.exe.config. Rename it to VSTOInstaller.exe.config.old. (Ignore the warning from Windows about the file becoming unusable)
  4. Run the install again.

Data Source Reference is not valid

Try the steps here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/help/2862807/excel-pivottable-error-data-source-reference-is-not-valid. For Excel 2019 users, this seems to be a bug in Excel. As a workaround, in the Excel Ribbon bar, use INSERT > Recommended PivotTables, then click Blank Pivot Table (bottom left of the form).

Keyset does not exist

When you create a table using the Flex addon, the filter parameters are stored in the workbook so that when you refresh, those same parameters are reused. If you get this error, it means it cannot find a parameter that it need to refresh the table – this is usually caused by updating the addon to a newer version and we've added a new filter option. To fix it, select each table in turn, then click Refresh > Refresh Selected and rerun the table. After you have done this for all tables in the workbook, the Refresh All command should work again.