As a small business owner using Xero for accounting and bookkeeping, you may occasionally make mistakes like accidentally deleting a transaction. Finding and restoring deleted transactions in Xero is important for maintaining accurate financial records. This guide will show you how to locate and restore deleted transactions in Xero.
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Why Restore Deleted Transactions
There are a few key reasons why you’ll want to restore deleted transactions in Xero:
- Maintain accurate financial records – Deleting transactions can throw off your account balances, reporting, and reconciliation. Restoring them helps keep your books precise.
- Save time re-entering data – Manually recreating transactions takes effort. It’s easier to just restore the original.
- Support audits and compliance – Retaining complete historical transaction data assists with financial reporting requirements.
How to Find Deleted Transactions
Xero stores deleted transactions for 30 days before permanently removing them. During this window, you can still view and restore deleted transactions.
Here are the steps to locate deleted transactions:
1. Go to Bank Accounts
From the Accounting menu, select “Bank Accounts”.
2. Open the Bank Account
Choose the bank account that held the deleted transaction.
3. View Bank Statements
Select “Manage Account” then “Bank Statements” for that account.
4. Switch to Deleted Transactions
Change the “Showing” filter to “Deleted statement lines”.
You will now see a list of deleted bank statement lines (transactions) from the last 30 days. Deleted transactions have a red X icon next to them.
5. Restore Deleted Transactions
Check the box beside any transaction you want to restore. Click the “Restore” button at the top to return that transaction.
And that’s it! The restored transaction will reappear in your transaction list as if it was never deleted.
Alternative Methods
Aside from bank statement lines, there are a couple other ways to access deleted financial transactions in Xero:
- Feed restore – If you deleted an entire imported bank feed, you can restore the feed under Bank Feeds > Deleted Bank Feeds. This will restore all of the feed’s transactions.
- History & Notes – The History & Notes audit log shows some details of deleted transactions like date, type, user, and related contacts. However, you cannot directly restore transactions here.
Prevent Accidental Deletions
While restoring deleted transactions is useful, it’s better to avoid unwanted deletions entirely. Here are some tips:
- Be careful when reconciling – Reconciliation is when some accidental deletions occur. Double check transactions before deleting.
- Review user roles – Restrict high-risk permissions like “Delete” for junior staff.
- Handle voids correctly – Rather than deleting invoices, credit notes should be used to reverse transactions.
Key Takeaways
- Deleted Xero transactions can be restored within 30 days through Bank Statements.
- Feed restore and History & Notes also provide some visibility into deleted transactions.
- Take precautions like limiting user permissions to prevent accidental deletions.
Restoring deleted transactions ensures your Xero accounts stay accurate. Follow the steps outlined here to easily find and recover deleted transactions. Let us know if you have any other questions!
