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Vendor Sync is how Pleo keeps its Vendor records up to date by synchronising vendor data from an external Accounting System into Pleo. It ensures bookkeepers always have an accurate, current list of vendors available to tag on expenses (once Vendor Tagging is enabled), so that spend can be tracked and bookkept against the correct vendor in the Accounting System. This is the reverse of Vendor Creation, which lets a bookkeeper add a new vendor directly in Pleo, even if it doesn’t exist in the Accounting System yet.

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Purpose of Vendor Sync

Vendor Sync exists to:
  • Remove the need to manually create or maintain Vendor records in Pleo
  • Reflect the current state of active vendors from the Accounting System
  • Enable accurate, auditable bookkeeping by ensuring expenses and invoices carry the correct vendor before export
  • Keep vendor data synchronised between systems

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Core Concept

Vendor Sync is based on a direct mapping between systems: For detailed field-level mapping, see Vendor Sync Data Mapping.

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How Vendors Are Used in Pleo

Vendor Sync works alongside the Export API to enable vendor-based bookkeeping. Once vendors are synced and Vendor Tagging is activated, spenders and bookkeepers can tag an expense or invoice with a vendor before it is exported, and the integration bookkeeps the entry against that vendor in the Accounting System, typically using the Accounts Payable bookkeeping method. The full chain is:
  1. Accounting System Vendors: the source of vendor data, synced into Pleo via Vendor Sync
  2. Pleo Vendors: bookkeepers activate Vendor Tagging and select which vendor to use per expense or invoice
  3. Expenses and Invoices: a spender or bookkeeper tags the entry with a vendor before export
  4. Export: the entry is exported to the Accounting System against the correct vendor, typically using the Accounts Payable bookkeeping method
This is why keeping Pleo’s Vendors accurate matters: if vendor data is stale or missing, bookkeepers cannot tag expenses to the correct vendor, and Accounts Payable bookkeeping cannot correctly resolve a vendor liability.

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What Happens in Pleo Once Synchronised

  • Each active vendor from the Accounting System is reflected as a Vendor in Pleo, in ACTIVE state
  • Vendors are available for bookkeepers to tag on expenses and invoices, provided Vendor Tagging is enabled for the company (see the Remember note above)
  • If a vendor’s details change in the Accounting System, they are updated in Pleo on the next sync
  • Vendors no longer active in the Accounting System are archived in Pleo
This ensures expenses and invoices always reference a current, valid vendor without requiring manual input.

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System Guarantees

These are invariant rules that always hold true regardless of implementation or sync frequency.

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Responsibility Model

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Integrator Responsibilities

The integration is responsible for all synchronisation logic and API interaction.

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Pleo Responsibilities

Pleo provides storage, user experience, and downstream usage of vendors.

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High-Level Process

Vendor Sync runs as a single reconciliation process:
  1. Fetch active vendors from the Accounting System
  2. Fetch Vendors from Pleo (active and archived)
  3. Reconcile: match by externalId and apply create, update, unarchive, or archive operations
Each sync run reconciles Pleo against the current state of the Accounting System.

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Operational Model

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Sync Direction

Vendor Sync is one-way for this flow:
  • The Accounting System is the source of truth for existing vendors
  • The integration synchronises data from the Accounting System into Pleo
  • Pleo does not modify Accounting System data as part of this sync

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Operational Constraints

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Sync Lifecycle and Frequency

The integration is responsible for triggering all sync runs. For schedule, frequency, and rate limit details, see Vendor Sync Periodicity and Scheduling.