How to give a manager access to only their department's numbers (QuickBooks and Xero)

Managers make better decisions when they can see their own numbers: what they have spent, what is still owed, and how they are tracking against budget. Most companies still send this as a monthly spreadsheet, because neither QuickBooks Online nor Xero can give a manager a login that shows only their department.

Why the native tools don't fit

• Xero: every user role covers the whole organisation. You can't limit a user to one tracking category. Users have requested it on Xero's ideas board since 2022.
• QuickBooks Online: roles control the type of work, not the department. Only the Advanced plan can restrict a user, and only their sales by location. Department spending (bills and expenses) can't be limited.

So the usual answer is "export it and email it", which means someone in finance rebuilds the same report every month.

What a manager actually needs

1. Their spend and bills, by supplier and month.
2. What is still unpaid.
3. Budget vs actual for their area (Xero budgets).
4. The transactions behind the numbers, so they can answer their own questions.
5. Nothing else: not other departments, payroll or company-wide totals.

How to set it up with Vizii

1. Connect QuickBooks Online or Xero. Your classes, locations or tracking categories come through automatically.
2. Invite the manager by email as a Viewer.
3. Scope them to their department, location or project, and to the views they need, for example Bills and Purchase Orders.
4. They sign in to a live dashboard of their area, with totals, trends, top suppliers, days to pay and, for Xero, Budget vs Actual.

The finance team keeps the full picture. Each manager sees their own slice, updated from the books, with no monthly export.

Good practice

• Agree tagging rules with the bookkeeper so every bill carries a department or location.
• Start with one manager, check the numbers against your own report, then roll out.
• Review access quarterly. People move roles; their scope should move with them.

FAQ

Can a manager see two departments? Yes. Select both. Within one dimension it is either/or; across dimensions (for example Department and Location) a record must match both.

Do managers need training? Rarely. The dashboard is built for non-accountants: totals, charts and a searchable list.

Does it work for Xero budgets? Yes. Budget vs Actual uses budgets from Xero's Budget Manager.