UNICORN PRIVATE Sanctions screening app that connects to QuickBooks and Xero: how to check customers against sanctions lists in QuickBooks, Xero and Sage
Unicorn Intelligence connects read-only to QuickBooks Online, Xero, Sage and HubSpot and checks every customer and supplier against OFAC, EU, UK and UN sanctions lists every day, with a free test of the whole list. Steps for each software.
Last updated:
Short answer: Unicorn Intelligence is a sanctions screening service that connects read-only to QuickBooks Online, Xero, Sage Accounting and HubSpot: you approve access once, it imports customers and suppliers and checks all of them against the official OFAC, EU, UK and UN lists, first in a free test of the whole list and then every day. QuickBooks, Xero and Sage store your contacts but do not check them against sanctions lists by themselves, and the connection never writes anything back.
Key definitions
Read-only connection: an authorisation (usually OAuth) through which a service only reads your contacts and never creates, changes or deletes anything in your software.
OAuth: the standard sign-in flow where you approve access on the software vendor's own page. Your password is never shared.
Continuous screening: automatic, repeated checks of the whole contact base, instead of one-off manual searches.
Why manual checks do not scale
Official lists are free to search, but one name at a time. With 500 contacts and lists that change without a fixed calendar (see OFAC recent actions and the UK Sanctions List), checking by hand every day is not realistic.
Options compared
| Method | Effort | Coverage | Updates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual search on official sites | High, one name at a time | Only the names you remember to search | Only when you search again |
| Export to a spreadsheet and upload | Medium, repeated by hand | The contacts in that export | Only when you export again |
| Read-only connection | One click once | All customers and suppliers in the software | Automatic, every day |
run a free name check against the official lists
How to check customers against sanctions lists in QuickBooks, Xero or Sage
- Sign in with your email at intel.unicornprivate.com.
- Choose your software in the dashboard: QuickBooks Online, Xero, Sage Accounting or HubSpot (Salesforce, Dynamics 365, Zoho Books, NetSuite, FreshBooks, Google Sheets and Excel are also available).
- Approve read-only access on the vendor's own page. No password is shared and nothing is written back to your accounts.
- Contacts are imported automatically: customers go to the risk map, suppliers to the supplier due diligence list. Only the minimum data is read: name, country, VAT or company ID and contact type.
- All contacts are checked against the OFAC, EU, UK and UN lists, plus PEP, insolvency and adverse media sources.
- Daily rescreening: every day the whole base is checked again and you get an alert only when something new appears.
### QuickBooks Online Choose QuickBooks in the dashboard, sign in on the Intuit page and pick the company. Customers and vendors are read.
### Xero Choose Xero, sign in on the Xero page and pick the organisation. Contacts are read with a read-only contacts permission.
### Sage Accounting Choose Sage, sign in on the Sage page and pick the business. Contacts are read with a read-only scope.
What each connection reads
| Software | What is read | Access |
|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Online | Customers and vendors | Reads only, never writes |
| Xero | Contacts (customers and suppliers) | Reads only, never writes |
| Sage Accounting | Contacts | Reads only, never writes |
| HubSpot | Companies and contacts | Reads only, with a sidebar card showing the result |
Good practice
- Connect every system that holds counterparties, not only the main one.
- Keep country and registration numbers filled in: they cut false matches.
- Review new matches before the next payment run.
- Keep a record of decisions on possible matches.
How to start
Unicorn Intelligence is an informational tool: legal decisions and obligations remain the company's.
Run a free test on all your contacts now and find out if there are any compliance issues.
Run a free test on all your contacts now and find out if there are any compliance issues.
FAQ
Is there a sanctions screening app that connects to QuickBooks and Xero?
Yes. Unicorn Intelligence connects read-only to QuickBooks Online and Xero, and also to Sage Accounting and HubSpot, imports customers and suppliers and checks them against the OFAC, EU, UK and UN lists every day.
How do I check customers against sanctions lists in QuickBooks?
QuickBooks does not screen contacts by itself. Connect QuickBooks Online read-only to Unicorn Intelligence: customers and vendors are imported and checked against the official lists, first in a free test of the whole list and then daily.
How do I check contacts against sanctions lists in Xero?
Connect Xero to Unicorn Intelligence with a read-only contacts permission. All contacts are imported and screened against the OFAC, EU, UK and UN lists, with an alert when something new appears.
Can I screen Sage contacts against sanctions lists?
Yes. Sage Accounting connects read-only in the same way, and its contacts are screened like those from QuickBooks and Xero.
Can the connection change my accounting data?
No. The service only reads contacts and never creates, changes or deletes anything. You approve access on the vendor's own page and can revoke it at any time.
What happens when a contact matches?
You get an alert with the list, the entry and the source, so you can review it before the next payment or order. The decision remains yours.
Sources
- https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/
- https://data.europa.eu/data/datasets/consolidated-list-of-persons-groups-and-entities-subject-to-eu-financial-sanctions
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uk-sanctions-list
- https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/content/un-sc-consolidated-list
- https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions
Informative content: decisions and legal obligations remain yours.