Template Emails to Request the Data
Here is a template email you can send to the finance team to request the data you need for your carbon accounting.
Just update the assessment period in yellow, copy support@sumday.io and send to your best friend in finance.
Subject: Request for General Ledger Data for Carbon Accounting in Sumday
Hi Finance Team,
We’re using Sumday, a carbon accounting platform, to track our emissions footprint. A key part of this process is associating emissions with each purchase we make. To begin, we need to import our full list of general ledger (GL) transactions for our assessment period: [insert period]. This data should include the following fields:
- Transaction Date – The date of the transaction as recorded in the accounting system. This helps us link transactions to the correct reporting period.
- General Ledger Account – The specific GL account categorizing the transaction, which is crucial for allocating it to the correct emissions source.
- Transaction Amount – The dollar amount of each transaction, essential for spend-based carbon accounting and to ensure alignment with our trial balance.
- Supplier Name - Helps us select an appropriate emissions source and identify suppliers we may need to request primary data from.
- Transaction Description - Helps us select an appropriate emissions source.
- Tracking Categories or Tags - Any categories we already use that would be useful to pull through for emissions tracking
Data Integration Options
Please confirm your preferred method to provide this data. Here are the options:
- Direct Integration (Preferred) – If we use Xero, I can invite you to our Sumday account to connect Xero directly, allowing automatic data import for future assessments.
- ERP System API – For other ERP systems, Sumday has an API that our IT team can help connect.
- CSV Import – Alternatively, I can provide a CSV template for manual upload.
For additional guidance, Sumday has a help article on this process, and I’ve copied Sumday into this email (support@sumday.io) for any additional guidance you may need.
Thank you very much for your support!
If you use Xero, here’s a template email to send to your accountant:
Subject: Request for Xero Data Export for Carbon Accounting in Sumday
Hi [Finance Team/Contact Name],
To support our carbon accounting efforts in Sumday, we need to export a specific set of transaction data from Xero. Below are the steps to generate the report we need and here is a video overview:
- In Xero, go to: Accounting > Reports > Accounting Transactions
- Once in the report, please do the following:
- Select All Accounts to include all transactions.
- Set the Date Range to reflect our import period: [insert period].
- Set Grouping/Summarising to "None" to capture detailed data.
- Select the Columns to match those required in the CSV template for Sumday.
- (Bonus Step): Reorder the columns to align with the CSV template for easy copying.
- Click Update to refresh the report with these settings.
- Click Export and select Export to Excel.
- Optional: Save as Custom Report – This step will allow you to reuse the setup for future reports, saving time in future periods.
- Copying Data to CSV – If the column order matches the CSV template, you can copy the data directly across. Otherwise, please manually align the relevant columns.
Once the data is ready, please send the completed file over or let me know if I can assist further, I’ve also copied Sumday if you have clarifying questions.
Thank you very much for your help with this!
Best regards,
[Your Name]