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Where You Are

You are viewing the Export Integration Workflow Guide. This guide explains how an integration interacts with Pleo to export data — from detecting Export Jobs through to reporting export results back to Pleo. It focuses on the integration-facing workflow and the responsibilities of the integration when communicating with Pleo’s Export API.

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What You’ll Have Built

After implementing this workflow:
  • Export Jobs are detected and processed reliably.
  • Expenses are recorded correctly in the Accounting System.
  • Attachments and bookkeeping logic are handled consistently.
  • Export outcomes are clearly reported to users.
  • The integration aligns with Pleo’s export guarantees and bookkeeping model.

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Who This Guide Is For

This guide is intended for:
  • Integration developers
  • Solution architects
  • Accounting platform integrators
It focuses on workflow understanding, not implementation details.

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Before You Start

You should be familiar with:

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Export Workflow Overview

The export process moves expenses through a controlled lifecycle:
  1. Detect & Claim Export Jobs
  2. Perform Pre-Export Validation
  3. Fetch Export Items
  4. Process & Record Export Items
  5. Update Export Items
  6. Update & Complete Export Job
Each step produces outputs required by the next step.

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Steps

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1. Detect and Claim Export Jobs

Purpose:
Detect when Pleo has prepared expenses for export and claim an Export Job for processing. Input
  • Export Job created in Pleo
  • Webhook event or polling trigger
Output
  • One Export Job selected
  • Export Job marked as in_progress
Why It Matters
  • Prevents multiple integrations processing the same data
  • Establishes sequential processing
See Integration Design

How to Detect and Claim Export Jobs for Processing

Find eligible jobs to process

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2. Perform Pre-Export Validation

Purpose:
Confirm the Accounting System is ready before processing begins. Input
  • Started Export Job
  • Accounting System connection
Output
  • Validation passed → continue workflow
  • Validation failed → Export Job marked failed
Why It Matters
  • Prevents partial exports
  • Avoids mid-process failures
See Integration Design

How to Perform Pre-Export Validation

Validate Accounting System availability before exporting.

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3. Retrieve Export Job Items (Control Layer)

Purpose:
Determine which Export Items belong to the Export Job and track their processing state. Input
  • Export jobId
Output
  • List of Export Job Items (control metadata)
  • Processing scope (e.g. pending items)
Why It Matters
  • Defines what must be processed
  • Enables resumable and deterministic workflows
  • Prevents duplicate processing
See Integration Design

How to Retrieve Export Job Items

Determine which Export Items belong to the Export Job.

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4. Fetch Export Item Data (Data Layer)

Purpose: Retrieve full accounting payload required to process each Export Item in the Accounting System. Input
  • Export jobId
  • List of Export Items (from control layer)
Output
  • Full Export Item payloads ready for accounting processing
Why It Matters
  • Provides complete accounting data (GL, vendor, amounts, attachments)
  • Enables correct mapping into the Accounting System
  • Separates data retrieval from workflow control
See Integration Design

How to Fetch Export Item Data

Retrieve full accounting payloads for processing.

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5. Process & Record Export Items

Purpose:
Transform Export Items into accounting entries and record them in the Accounting System. Input
  • Valid Export Items
  • Mapping configuration
  • Attachments
Output
  • Draft or finalised accounting entries created
  • Attachments uploaded where applicable
Why It Matters
  • Applies bookkeeping logic
  • Converts Pleo data into accounting records
  • Completes the export lifecycle

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Implementation Detail

This step moves from the Pleo export workflow into the Accounting System processing layer. You are still continuing the same export workflow, but the guide below provides a deeper, system-focused walkthrough of how integrations should process and record Export Items inside an Accounting System or ERP.

AS / ERP Processing Workflow Guide

Deep dive: create accounting entries, apply mappings, and upload attachments.

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6. Update Export Items

Purpose:
Report the result of processing each Export Item back to Pleo. Input
  • Accounting System response
  • Processing results
Output
  • Export Items marked successful or failed
  • External IDs and URLs recorded
Why It Matters
  • Provides transparency and auditability
  • Enables user troubleshooting
See Integration Design

How to Update Export Items

Report export results and errors back to Pleo.

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7. Update & Complete Export Job

Purpose:
Finalise the Export Job once all items have been processed. Input
  • Final Export Item statuses
Output
  • Export Job marked:
    • completed
    • completed_with_errors
    • failed
Why It Matters
  • Signals workflow completion
  • Enables reporting and downstream automation
See Integration Design

How to Update & Complete Export Job

Finalise the export workflow and report job status.

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What Comes Next?

After implementing the Export Expenses workflow, you can extend your integration with: