How to Transfer Attachments

Attachment handling ensures that supporting documents (receipts, invoices) are transferred and linked to accounting entries in your Accounting System.

Prerequisites

Before you begin:

You’ve fetched the export item payload data
You’ve completed:
- Accounts Mapping
- Data Mapping
You’re familiar with the Integration Design for attachment handling

Relevant Export Item Fields

Example Export Item Payload (Journal Entry)

  {
      "companyId": "12abc3d4-e567-890e-1234-abc56e78fabc",
      "accountingEntryId": "59540ed2-0d68-4e36-9e31-58223975d9e9",
      "type": "card_purchase",
      "subType": null,
      "date": "2025-12-10T15:46:34Z",
      "amount": {
        "inSupplierCurrency": {
          "currency": "GBP",
          "value": 6366
        },
        "inWalletCurrency": {
          "currency": "GBP",
          "value": 6366
        }
      },
      "note": "Printer ink",
      "files": [
        {
          "url": "<string>",
          "type": "image/jpeg",
          "size": 13010
        }
      ],
      "supplier": {
        "code": "1340472473",
        "name": "Target",
        "categoryCode": "1000",
        "country": "GB",
        "account": null,
        "taxIdentifier": null
      },
      "user": {
        "id": "6b71f6bd-e83d-4d49-88ee-2b8cda2d57cf",
        "name": "Luke Richardson",
        "code": null
      },
      "team": {
        "id": "747aaf60-56c6-4b46-ad92-f8a0cb59cf8b",
        "code": "5678",
        "name": "Engineering"
      },
      "accountingEntryLines": [
        {
          "accountingEntryLineId": "0c76ea71-aaaa-4ece-bb68-e1166ccaea04",
          "lineAmount": {
            "inSupplierCurrency": {
              "currency": "GBP",
              "value": 6366
            },
            "inWalletCurrency": {
              "currency": "GBP",
              "value": 6366
            }
          },
          "netAmount": {
            "inSupplierCurrency": {
              "currency": "GBP",
              "value": 6366
            },
            "inWalletCurrency": {
              "currency": "GBP",
              "value": 6366
            }
          },
          "account": {
            "id": "7966c3ba-e4de-4574-8604-6cfa48d62cc8",
            "code": "6990000",
            "name": "Printing & Stationary",
            "identifier": "6990000"
          },
          "tax": {
            "id": "997d8526-5872-484d-ba07-c7a07e08e555",
            "code": "0001",
            "type": "inclusive",
            "amount": {
              "inSupplierCurrency": {
                "currency": "GBP",
                "value": 0
              },
              "inWalletCurrency": {
                "currency": "GBP",
                "value": 0
              }
            },
            "rate": 0.00
          },
          "tags": []
        }
      ],
      "additionalInformation": {
        "reconciliationId": "2500001",
        "reconciledEntries": null,
        "attendees": [],
        "invoiceInformation": null
      },
      "bookkeeping": {
        "method": "journal"
      },
      "vendor": {
        "id": "22e1f2c9-1360-4291-ab41-6b23dcea8888",
        "name": "TestVendor",
        "code": "acc1234",
        "externalId": "ext12345",
        "registrationNumber": "reg001234",
        "taxRegistrationNumber": "taxreg1234",
        "country": "UK",
        "defaultCurrency": "GBP"
      },
      "contraAccount": {
        "id": "993d664c-9b7c-4efc-a677-510e69200857",
        "code": "0876000",
        "name": "0876000_ChartAccounts",
        "identifier": "0876000"
      },
      "_links": {
        "web": {
          "exportItem": "https://app.staging.pleo.io/export/export-item/0c76ea71-aaaa-4ece-bb68-e1166ccaea04"
        }
      },
      "servicePeriod": null
    },
   # [other Export Items omitted for brevity]
   # [Pagination omitted for brevity]

Attachments are provided in:

"files": [
  {
    "url": "https://file.url",
    "type": "application/pdf",
    "size": 13010
  }
]

Each Export Item may contain:

zero attachments
one attachment
multiple attachments

Steps

1. Check for Attachments

if files is empty:
    continue processing

2. Download Attachments

Iterate through all files:

attachments = []

for file in files:
    attachment = download(file.url)
    attachments.append(attachment)

Guidelines:

download immediately (URLs may expire)
preserve file format and filename where possible

3. Handle Multiple Attachments

If multiple attachments exist:

if accountingSystem.supportsMultipleAttachments:
    upload all attachments
else:
    mergedFile = merge(attachments)
    upload mergedFile

Recommended merge strategies:

PDF merge (preferred)
ZIP archive (fallback)

4. Upload and Associate Attachments

Attach files to the created record:

journal entry
vendor invoice (AP)
expense transaction

for attachment in attachments:
    uploadToAccountingSystem(entryId, attachment)

Ensure:

attachments are linked to the correct entry
traceability to the original Export Item is preserved

5. Handle Failures

Attachment failures must be handled explicitly.

try:
    download/upload
except transientError:
    retry
except permanentError:
    log failure

Recommended behaviour:

retry transient failures (network/timeouts)
log all failures
decide whether to:
- fail the Export Item, or
- continue without attachment (system-dependent)

6. Ensure Idempotency

Avoid duplicate uploads when retrying exports.

if attachmentAlreadyUploaded(file):
    skip upload

Strategies:

Generate a deterministic attachment key, for example:
- accountingEntryId + file index, or
- a hash of file metadata (e.g. URL, size, type)
Store processed attachment keys to prevent duplicate uploads during retries
Optionally check existing attachments in the Accounting System (if supported)

Results

After completing this step:

All available attachments have been:
- downloaded
- uploaded
- linked to accounting entries
Attachments remain traceable to their originating Export Item

What Comes Next?

this how-to is part of:

AS/ERP Processing Workflow Guide Export Integration Workflow Guide (Step 5)

Get Started

Integration Design

Workflow Guides

How-to's

How to Transfer Attachments

Prerequisites

Relevant Export Item Fields

Steps

1. Check for Attachments

2. Download Attachments

3. Handle Multiple Attachments

4. Upload and Associate Attachments

5. Handle Failures

6. Ensure Idempotency

Results

What Comes Next?

​Prerequisites

​Relevant Export Item Fields

​Steps

​1. Check for Attachments

​2. Download Attachments

​3. Handle Multiple Attachments

​4. Upload and Associate Attachments

​5. Handle Failures

​6. Ensure Idempotency

​Results

​What Comes Next?

​Related Reading

Prerequisites

Relevant Export Item Fields

Steps

1. Check for Attachments

2. Download Attachments

3. Handle Multiple Attachments

4. Upload and Associate Attachments

5. Handle Failures

6. Ensure Idempotency

Results

What Comes Next?

Related Reading