Amaka

Middleware integration connecting Square POS to Xero. Runs two daily sync cycles: Daily Sales Sync (creates invoices for each day’s Square activity) and Settlement Sync (creates bank transfers and processing fee bills). Critical piece of financial plumbing but has unresolved reconciliation issues in Pride’s implementation.

Architecture

Dual sync cycle:

1. Daily Sales Sync (invoices):

   • Runs for each day’s Square POS activity
   • Creates invoice in Xero breaking out revenue by category
   • Revenue accounts: SQ-200000 (Square Sales), SQ-200001 (Discounts), SQ-200003 (Service Charges)
   • Includes GST
   • Receivable side splits by payment type:
     • Card payments → SQ-000000 (Square Balance clearing account)
     • Cash payments → SQ-600000 (Square Cash Clearing)
     • Bank transfers → SQ-600002 (Other Payment Clearing)
     • Tips → SQ-800000 (Square Tips Liability)
     • Gift cards → SQ-800001 (Square Gift Card Liability)

2. Settlement Sync (transfers + fees):

   • When Square deposits net payout to bank account
   • Amaka creates bank transfer from SQ-000000 to mapped bank account
   • Amaka creates bill for Square processing fees coded to SQ-300000 (Square Fees)
   • Allows bank deposit to match clearing account, not revenue directly

Intended Behavior

Clearing accounts should trend toward zero over time. The Daily Sync creates temporary clearing account balances; the Settlement Sync clears them when payments arrive. This two-tier approach prevents revenue from being recognised directly against bank deposits (which would skip processing fee capture and create reconciliation nightmares).

Current Issues

Issue 1: Duplicate invoices (FY25)

• Amaka created duplicate invoices for unknown subset of days in FY25
• Total amount: $206,274.34
• Status: Invoices have been voided; no revenue impact in final ledger
• Investigation: Deep dive required to understand root cause (possible integration glitch during period)

Issue 2: Settlement sync not reconciled

• $4.67M unreconciled on Square Balance (SQ-000000) vs Xero statement
• Represents cumulative Amaka settlement transactions never reconciled against bank feed
• Does not represent missing money—means internal clearing account reconciliation never performed
• Impact: Cannot trust bank reconciliation for this account

Issue 3: Wrong tender categorisation by staff

• Zeller EFTPOS card payments entered as “Cash” on Square POS (Zeller not integrated)
• Amaka reads as “Cash” and debits SQ-600000
• Zeller settlement also arrives at bank and gets coded to SQ-600000 again
• Result: ~$209K double-hit in FY25
• Long-term: Need to either connect Zeller to Square or create separate POS button for Zeller

Verification Best Practice

Amaka-generated entries should always be verified against Square source data (API payouts, transaction records). GL CSV should never be used for balance calculations—use Xero Trial Balances as authoritative.

Integration Status Confirmed (April 2026)

Per Melbourne Venue Tech Stack Research.

The “native” Square→Xero integration IS Amaka — Xero retired its original integration in November 2021 and replaced it with Amaka’s platform. When users install the “Square” app from the Xero App Store, they are routed to Amaka’s infrastructure. Rating: 4.94/5 on Xero App Store (1,344 reviews).

Critical Configuration

• Verify partnership free tier covers transaction volume (standard free tier caps at 60 txns/month, partnership tier appears uncapped — contact support@amaka.com)
• Xero must be on Grow plan ($75/month) — Starter plan’s 20-invoice limit breaks Amaka on day 21
• Manual tax group configuration needed for GST + alcohol items — unconfigured, syncs fail silently
• Square’s surcharge netting creates bank reconciliation mismatches regardless of middleware

Alternative if GST Issues Persist

LinkMyBooks (4.98/5 Xero rating, 600 reviews): 14-day free trial, explicit Australian GST documentation. ~$62/month for 1k transactions.

See Tech Stack Optimisation for full stack recommendations.

Related Pages

• Square POS — POS system that Amaka syncs from
• Xero — accounting ledger that Amaka syncs to
• Daily Sales Sync — invoice creation and revenue recognition
• Settlement Sync — bank transfer and fee recording
• Clearing Account Cycle — temporary clearing account mechanics
• Square Cash Clearing Issue — Zeller EFTPOS miscoding caused by tender categorisation
• Other Payment Clearing Issue — bank transfer double-count caused by wrong account routing
• Tech Stack Optimisation — stack assessment and recommendations
• Melbourne Venue Tech Stack Research — source: integration analysis