This guide covers common failure patterns when Safe Financials is integrated with Tempest or Pay&Bill. Integration issues between these systems typically fall into three categories: connection failures, data validation errors, and sync timing problems.
Step 1 — Check the integration status
Before investigating further, confirm the integration is active:
Navigate to System Admin > External Interfaces > Interface Control Panel.
Locate the Tempest or Pay&Bill source.
Check the status and the last successful sync time.
If the status shows an error, open the Exceptions Log to identify the specific failure reason.
Connection failures
If the interface shows as disconnected or is producing authentication errors:
Credentials expired — API keys or service account credentials used to connect the two systems may have expired. Contact your system administrator to reconfigure the connection with updated credentials.
Network or firewall change — if a firewall rule, IP address, or network path has changed, the connection may be blocked. Raise this with your IT team and confirm that the Safe Financials server can reach the Tempest/Pay&Bill endpoint.
Service outage — confirm that the Tempest or Pay&Bill service itself is running. Check with your Tempest/Pay&Bill system administrator.
Data validation errors
Transactions imported from Tempest or Pay&Bill may fail validation in Safe Financials if required fields do not match. Common causes:
Nominal account code not found — the nominal code sent by Tempest/Pay&Bill does not exist in Safe Financials. Either create the missing nominal code in Safe Financials (Nominal Ledger > Setup > Nominal Elements) or set up a translation rule in the Interface Control Panel to map the incoming code to an existing one.
Cost centre or department mismatch — a cost centre or department code referenced in the transaction does not exist in Safe Financials. Verify the code is set up correctly in both systems.
VAT code invalid — the VAT code passed from Tempest/Pay&Bill is not recognised. Check the VAT code exists in Safe Financials and that the mapping between the two systems is up to date.
For step-by-step guidance on resolving interface validation errors, see Ledger transaction failures — troubleshooting guide.
Sync timing problems
If transactions are arriving late or are missing for specific date ranges:
Check the scheduled task — confirm the import task for the Tempest/Pay&Bill interface is active and running on the expected schedule (System Admin > Scheduler). A stuck or inactive task will cause a backlog.
Trigger a manual sync — if you need to force an import, locate the relevant scheduled task and select Run Now.
Period controls — if transactions are failing silently, confirm the posting period in Safe Financials is open for the dates being imported (Nominal Ledger > Processing > Period Controls).
If the issue persists
Tempest/Pay&Bill integration failures that cannot be resolved through the above steps typically require investigation across both systems. Raise a support case and include:
The error message from the Exceptions Log.
The date range and volume of affected transactions.
Whether the issue is new or has been ongoing, and any recent changes to either system (upgrades, configuration changes, password rotations).
Confirmation of whether your Tempest/Pay&Bill system administrator has been involved.