If you use a file-based integration, Perk can send your invoice export data to an SFTP connection so you can retrieve the files programmatically instead of downloading them from the web app. This article shows you how to set up the SFTP export configuration, which controls how Perk transfers exported invoice files to your SFTP folder.
Note: New customers can only export invoice data via SFTP — Perk doesn't support importing data (such as cost objects or users) via SFTP for new customers. If you're an existing customer who used SFTP import before upgrading to Perk, you can keep using your existing import setup.
Note: Before you start, you need an active SFTP connection and the folders you want to export to already created in your secure directory. Set this up first if you haven't already — for more information, see Set up an SFTP connection. If you skip this step, a warning appears and you can't set up the SFTP export configuration. New SFTP connections can take up to 24 hours to become active.
Set up the SFTP export configuration for invoices
You set up the SFTP export configuration separately for each invoice export facility in Settings Integrations Invoice export.
- Go to Settings Integrations, and select the Invoice export card.
- Open the export facility you want to configure, then go to the Export via SFTP tab.
- Choose where to store the files. The dropdown only shows folders that exist on your SFTP server. If you use a self-hosted SFTP server, Perk can't display or confirm the file path.
- Choose your settings for the export (see the table below).
- Click Next to keep your SFTP export configuration, then click Save to close.
Perk exports all files it generates for invoices to your specified SFTP folder, based on this configuration.
Tip: If this is your first time setting up the export facility, save and turn on the configuration before you set up its SFTP export settings. The Export via SFTP tab is only available for file-based export integrations, not API-based ones.
SFTP export settings for invoices
Use these settings to control how Perk handles files in your SFTP folder.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Overwrite files | Turn this on to let Perk overwrite existing files in the SFTP folder with each new export. Turn it off and Perk adds a timestamp to each file name instead, so existing files are never overwritten. |
| Windows compatibility | Turn this on to make exported file names compatible with Windows. Perk replaces colons (:) and periods (.) in file names. We recommend this if you plan to import the export files into a Windows-based system. |
Caution: Perk doesn't support filtering which files transfer to your SFTP folder by file name using regex — this can cause the SFTP export to fail. If you need this, reach out to Perk — see Contact us.
Note: Folder validation depends on your setup. For Perk-hosted SFTP facilities, the destination folder must already exist before you can select it. For self-hosted SFTP facilities, Perk can't fully confirm the folder exists in advance, so double-check the path is correct.