Set up custom accounting data

If you integrate Spend with your own accounting or ERP system, you can manage custom accounting data in Airwallex so that expenses, bills, and other Spend records are accurately coded. Use the Accounting APIs to sync data programmatically from your ERP as the source of truth, or use Excel import and the web app for bulk setup and manual edits.

Choose how to set up your data

You can manage custom accounting data in two ways:

• Accounting APIs: Create, read, and update chart of accounts, tax rates, and custom fields programmatically. Use this approach to keep Airwallex in sync with your ERP or accounting system on an ongoing basis.
• Excel import and web app: Download a template, upload your data in bulk, and make manual edits in the Airwallex web app. Use this approach for one-time setup or periodic bulk updates without building an integration.

Both approaches produce the same accounting data in Airwallex. Once set up, the data is available across Expenses and Accounts Payable products, including card expenses, reimbursements, bills, purchase orders, and vendors.

Before you begin

• Have an active Airwallex account with admin access to the Airwallex web app.
• To set up data via API, obtain your access token API by authenticating to Airwallex using your unique Client ID and API key. You can create scoped API keys in Settings > Developer > API keys in the Airwallex web app. Spend resources require Organization-level permissions.
• To set up data via Excel import, export your chart of accounts, tax rates, and custom fields from your accounting software.

Understand accounting data

Custom accounting data in Spend consists of three types of records:

• Chart of accounts: General ledger (GL) accounts used to code transactions.
• Tax rates: Tax codes and their rates used on line items.
• Custom fields: Additional accounting dimensions, such as cost centers or projects, each with one or more selectable values.

Each record can include an external ID — a unique identifier from your ERP or accounting system. The Spend API uses these external IDs in accounting_field_selections to associate line items with your accounting data.

Set up via API

Use the Accounting APIs to create and maintain custom accounting data from your ERP or accounting system. A typical sync workflow looks like this:

1. List existing records in Airwallex, filtering by ACTIVE status where needed.
2. Create records that exist in your ERP but not yet in Airwallex.
3. Update records whose names, rates, or other attributes have changed in your ERP. For custom fields, update name_label; fields are fixed once created.
4. Archive GL accounts, tax codes, or custom field values that are no longer active in your ERP.

When you create or import records, you can also configure:

• Legal entity scope: Set legal_entity_ids to limit a record to specific legal entities in your organization. Omit legal_entity_ids when the record applies to all legal entities.
• Status: Set GL accounts, tax codes, and custom field values to ACTIVE or ARCHIVED. Archived records are no longer available for new coding but remain on existing transactions.

Follow the guides below for each data type. For full request and response schemas, see the Accounting APIs in the API reference API.

• GL accounts via API: Manage chart of accounts entries.
• Tax rates via API: Manage tax rates.
• Custom fields via API: Manage custom accounting fields and their values.

Set up via Excel import

Use Excel import to set up or update accounting data in bulk without writing integration code.

Download the template

To download the Airwallex XLSX template, complete these steps:

1. Log in to the Airwallex web app.
2. Navigate to Settings > Connections.
3. Select the tile labeled Using another accounting software? / Custom accounting data.
4. Download the provided .xlsx template.

The template contains tabs for your chart of accounts, custom fields, and tax rates.

Format your accounting data

Export data from your accounting software and format it to match the Airwallex .xlsx template. Fill each tab in the template with the corresponding exported data.

The required formatting for each section is detailed in this article .

Upload and review your data

To upload your accounting data, complete these steps:

1. Navigate to Settings > Connections and select the Using another accounting software? tile.
2. Click Get Started and upload the completed .xlsx template back into Airwallex. You can upload one or multiple .xlsx documents at the same time.
3. Review the summary of changes displayed by the system.
4. Edit as needed or confirm the import, then click Save to finish.

The accounting data becomes live and available for your employees to use when coding expenses and bills.

Update your accounting data

For minor changes, use the in-app editor:

1. Navigate to Settings > Connections.
2. Select the Custom accounting data tile.
3. Click Edit accounting data.
4. Add, rename, or delete data manually.
5. Click Save to apply changes immediately.

For bulk updates, use the file upload:

1. Navigate to Settings > Connections and select the Using another accounting software? tile.
2. Scroll down and select Update data.
3. Download your existing template, edit it with the desired changes, and upload the updated version.
4. Review the proposed updates, uncheck Compare changes to choose whether to delete or keep specific entries, then click Save.

Verify your setup

After setting up data via API or Excel import, confirm that your records are available in the Airwallex web app:

1. Navigate to Settings > Connections and select Custom accounting data.
2. Review the table of GL accounts, tax rates or custom accounting fields and their values.
3. Confirm that the External ID column matches the identifiers you use in your ERP and in Spend API calls.

Use accounting data in Spend APIs

The Spend API uses accounting_field_selections to associate line items with your custom accounting data. Each selection requires:

• field_id: Use Chart of accounts for chart of accounts, Tax rates for tax rates, or the custom field name (for example, Custom field 1). Do not use the display name (name_label) shown in the web app.
• field_value_id: The external ID of the specific value within that field (for example, 601022001, GST-9, or PRJ-001). You can find this value in the External ID column in the web app.
• identifier_type: Must be set to EXTERNAL_ID.

For example, if your chart of accounts includes a GL code with external ID 601022001, and Custom field 1 has a value with external ID PRJ-001:

1{
2  "accounting_field_selections": [
3    {
4      "field_id": "Chart of accounts",
5      "field_value_id": "601022001",
6      "identifier_type": "EXTERNAL_ID"
7    },
8    {
9      "field_id": "Custom field 1",
10      "field_value_id": "PRJ-001",
11      "identifier_type": "EXTERNAL_ID"
12    }
13  ]
14}

Next steps

Now that you have set up your custom accounting data, use the external IDs in your Spend API integration:

• Purchase orders via API
• Bills via API
• Card expenses via API
• Reimbursements via API