Xero Backup for Accountants

You're responsible for your clients' financial data. When something goes wrong in Xero—accidental deletions, client errors, or disputes—you need a complete, independent backup. Boxkite automatically saves every client's Xero data to your Dropbox, giving you the safety net every practice needs.

Why Accountants Need Xero Backup

As an accountant, you're the guardian of your clients' financial records. You manage dozens—sometimes hundreds—of Xero organisations, each containing years of transaction history, tax calculations, and compliance documentation. Xero stores this data reliably, but it doesn't protect you from user errors, client disputes, or the need to maintain independent records for professional compliance.

Professional bodies expect you to maintain adequate records. HMRC requires tax records to be kept for 6 years (or longer for certain enquiries). Your professional indemnity insurance may require documented backup procedures. And when a client relationship ends—especially acrimoniously—having your own copy of their data can be invaluable for protecting your practice.

Xero's own data isn't truly "backed up" in the traditional sense. While Xero has disaster recovery, they can't restore data that was legitimately deleted by a user. If your client accidentally deletes transactions, miscodes a year of data, or disputes what was reported, you need an independent record.

Critical Data You're Protecting

Client financial records across multiple organisations
Sales and purchase invoices with attachments
Bank reconciliation history and statements
VAT/GST returns and tax calculations
Payroll data and employee records
Fixed asset registers and depreciation schedules
Year-end journals and adjustments
Management reports and financial statements

The Risks Are Real

Every accountant has stories of data disasters. These scenarios happen regularly—and without backup, recovery can be impossible.

Client Accidentally Deletes Transactions

A client with Xero access accidentally deletes or miscodes months of transactions. Without a backup, you're manually reconstructing from bank statements—if you can find them. With Boxkite, you have a complete record of what the data looked like before the error.

Year-End Disputes

A client disputes their year-end figures months after filing. They claim the numbers were different when you presented them. Without historical backups, you have no evidence of what was reported and when. Boxkite's versioned backups prove exactly what was in Xero at any point in time.

Client Relationship Ends Badly

A client terminates your services abruptly and removes your Xero access before you can export anything. Your working papers reference Xero data you can no longer access. If you'd been using Boxkite, you'd have copies of everything in your Dropbox.

HMRC Enquiry Years Later

HMRC opens an enquiry into a client's affairs from 4 years ago. The client has since changed accountants and moved to different software. With Boxkite backups, you have the original Xero records that support your filing.

Professional & Regulatory Compliance

Your professional obligations extend beyond just doing good work—you need to demonstrate that you've taken reasonable steps to protect client data. Many accountants don't realise that their professional indemnity insurance, regulatory body, and tax authority all have expectations about data retention and backup that Xero alone doesn't satisfy.

Key Compliance Considerations

  • ICAEW/ACCA professional standards require data protection measures
  • GDPR mandates secure handling of client personal and financial data
  • HMRC requires tax records to be kept for at least 6 years
  • Professional indemnity insurance often requires documented backup procedures
  • AML regulations require client due diligence records to be retained

How Boxkite Works for Accounting Practices

Multi-Client Management

Connect all your client Xero organisations to one Boxkite account. Each client's data is backed up to separate, organised folders in your practice Dropbox.

Automatic Daily Backups

Boxkite checks each Xero organisation hourly and saves changes automatically. No manual exports, no remembering to run backups—it just works.

Historical Versions

Combined with Dropbox's version history, you can see what client data looked like at any point in time. Essential for year-end disputes or HMRC enquiries.

Your Data, Your Control

Backups go to your practice Dropbox. You own the files, control access, and can retrieve them even if client Xero access is revoked.

Works With Your Tech Stack

Your clients use various apps that feed data into Xero. When that data reaches Xero, Boxkite captures it in your backups:

Receipt Bank / Dext AutoEntry Xero Practice Manager Xero HQ GoCardless Stripe PayPal Shopify Float Spotlight Reporting

Boxkite backs up data stored in Xero, including transactions synced from Receipt Bank, AutoEntry, and other apps.

Frequently Asked Questions

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