You can connect both Xero and Xero Practice Manager (XPM) to Karbon. These integrations work together to reduce manual entry and help keep your contact data consistent across platforms.
However, because new contacts from Xero can be automatically imported into Karbon, and Karbon contacts can sync into XPM, we recommend a few steps to ensure your data stays clean and duplicates are avoided.
Before You Connect: Clean Up Xero Contacts
When you enable Xero contact sync:
Karbon will import all your Xero contacts and match them with existing Karbon contacts
New Karbon contacts will be created if no match is found
If XPM is also connected and allows Karbon contacts to sync, these contacts may appear in XPM too
To prevent unwanted contacts from syncing through:
Review and clean your contacts in Xero before connecting
Remove outdated or duplicate contacts
Contact Creation Behavior
Where Contact is Created | Syncs To | Sync Trigger | Conditions |
Xero | Karbon | Automatic via initial sync | None — all Xero contacts are imported and matched or created |
Karbon | Xero | Manual | Must click “Create Contact” in Karbon contact card |
XPM | Karbon | Automatic | All XPM clients sync into Karbon |
Karbon | XPM | Automatic only if rules are met |
Contact Update Behavior (Matched Contact)
Where Update Happens | Syncs To | Sync Behavior | Notes |
Xero | Karbon | Automatic | Syncs Name, Billing Email, Phone, Billing Address |
Karbon | Xero | Automatic | Syncs same fields as above |
XPM | Karbon | Automatic | Syncs Name, Primary Email, Phone number(s), Physical address Mailing address |
Karbon | XPM | Automatic | Syncs same fields as above |
How to Prevent Unwanted Sync to XPM
To avoid contacts being unintentionally pushed from Karbon to XPM (especially from Xero), use Karbon’s Contact Type settings strategically.
Mitigation Example
In your Xero sync setup, assign imported contacts the Contact Type = Client - VIP
In Karbon’s XPM settings, do not select Client - VIP as a Contact Type to sync
→ These contacts will be imported into Karbon but will not sync into XPM
You can change Contact Types at any time in Karbon’s contact settings to control whether that contact should flow through to XPM.