Xero invoice processing for PDF and scanned bills

Without IPP

Add a bill by hand in Xero

1. 1

   Open a new bill

   In the Purchases menu, select Bills, then New bill.

2. 2

   Enter the header

   Enter the supplier, the date, the due date and a reference (usually the supplier’s invoice number).

3. 3

   Enter each line

   Enter the item and description, quantity and price, and choose an account for the purchase.

4. 4

   Set the tax

   Select the tax rate for each line, and optionally attach the invoice file.

5. 5

   Save or approve

   Save it as a draft, submit it for approval, or approve it. Approved bills show on the Awaiting payment tab.

Checked against Xero Central: Add bills, read 3 October 2026. Menus change; the vendor's page is the authority.

Without IPP

Upload or email PDFs to Xero

This is Xero’s own PDF-to-bill route, and the usual answer to scanning invoices into Xero.

1. 1

   Upload the files

   In Purchases, select Bills, then New bill, then Upload bills. Select the files or drag them in (JPG, PDF or PNG, each under 25MB), review them and select Upload. Each file becomes a draft bill with the file attached.

2. 2

   Or email them

   Copy your organisation’s bills email address from Purchases > Bills > New bill, and forward invoices to it as attachments: up to 10 bills and 25MB per email. The bill must be an attachment, not the email body.

3. 3

   Open the drafts

   Go to Purchases > Bills > Draft. Where Xero could read the file it has filled the contact, date, due date, reference and total (emailed bills also get a description).

4. 4

   Finish each bill

   Add the lines, account codes and tax rates, check the total, then save or approve.

• Xero creates the draft in your base currency and sets it to Tax Inclusive; a foreign-currency bill has to be changed by hand.
• Xero notes that your pricing plan can limit how many bills you can enter.

Checked against Xero Central: Upload bills into Xero and Email bills to your Xero organisation, read 3 October 2026. Menus change; the vendor's page is the authority.

Without IPP

Import a batch of bills from CSV

1. 1

   Get the template

   In Purchases > Bills, select New bill, then Import from CSV, and download the template.

2. 2

   Fill it in

   One row per line: Contact Name (required), Invoice Number, dates as DD/MM/YYYY, Quantity, Unit Amount, Account Code and Tax Type. Rows with the same invoice number become one bill.

3. 3

   Import

   Upload the file, say whether the amounts are tax inclusive or exclusive, select Confirm, then Complete import. The bills arrive as drafts to approve.

• Someone still has to read every invoice into the spreadsheet first. Xero suggests splitting files over 500 items.

Checked against Xero Central: Import bills and credit notes, read 3 October 2026. Menus change; the vendor's page is the authority.

In InvoiceParser Pro

Read and check first, then push to Xero

The push to Xero is on the paid plans and the 14-day trial.

1. 1

   Connect Xero

   In Settings > Integrations, a workspace admin connects Xero through Xero’s own sign-in (OAuth) and picks the expense account bills should use.

2. 2

   Upload or email the invoices

   Upload up to 50 PDFs, scans or photos at once, or email them to the inbox address IPP gives each client.

3. 3

   Review what is flagged

   IPP reads the supplier, number, dates, every line and the tax, and checks that the figures add up. Mismatches, low-confidence fields and possible duplicates are flagged beside the source page.

4. 4

   Code and approve

   Pick the account (remembered for that supplier) and up to two Xero tracking options, then approve.

5. 5

   Push, then approve in Xero

   Each invoice arrives as a draft bill: the contact (created if new), date, due date, reference, and every line with its description, quantity and unit price, with the PDF attached. A credit note arrives as a credit note. Approve the drafts in Xero as usual.

• The Xero push does not set Xero tax rates yet. Tax goes on as its own line on the same account, and for a bill with VAT IPP asks you to confirm first. Because the bill arrives as a draft, you can set the tax rates in Xero before approving it.
• The draft is created in your organisation’s base currency. Check a foreign-currency invoice before approving it.

Where IPP removes steps

Fields filled from the PDF

By hand: Contact, dates, reference and total, when Xero can read the file.

With IPP: Those plus every line item, the tax lines and the PO number.

Arithmetic

By hand: Xero recalculates the total from what you type.

With IPP: The invoice’s own figures checked against each other before it reaches Xero.

Account coding

By hand: Chosen per line, or from supplier defaults.

With IPP: Chosen once per supplier, then suggested.

Duplicates

By hand: Spotted by eye in the Draft tab.

With IPP: Flagged before push; a possible duplicate needs a confirm.

Approval

By hand: In Xero.

With IPP: In IPP before the push, then again in Xero as a draft.

Questions