Integrating Xero with Productive allows you to send invoices from Productive to your Xero account. When configuring the integration, you can also enable additional features to keep your financial data in sync between both platforms:

Invoice payment synchronization
When you mark an invoice as paid in Xero (including partial payments or tranches), the status can automatically be updated in Productive. Find out more about it here.
Copy purchase orders to Xero (Beta)
When you copy a purchase order to Xero, you can keep it in sync by updating the existing record if changes are made in Productive.
Send expenses to Xero
Send budget expenses from Productive to Xero to ensure accurate financial tracking and reporting.
Expense payment synchronization
When an expense is marked as paid in Xero, it can also be marked as paid in Productive.

In this article, we'll cover the initial setup and show what sending invoices to Xero looks like.

Integrating your Xero account with Productive is available on the Professional and Ultimate subscription plans.

Linking Your Xero Account To Productive

To link your Productive account to Xero:

Log into Productive
Go to Settings > App Marketplace
Find Xero in the list and click Connect App

A new window will open, asking your permission to connect to Xero and as soon as you add your Xero credentials, the accounts will be connected.

Setting Up The Integration

After completing the authentication process in Xero, you'll need to make several decisions:

1) Choose Integration Options

When setting up your Xero integration, you don’t need to enable all features. The first step is to choose which options to enable:

Export invoices from Productive to Xero
Export expenses from Productive to Xero
Export purchase orders from Productive to Xero

If you select any of these export options, you can also choose to sync payments from Xero to Productive.

2) Invoice Number Generation

Determine whether Xero or Productive will be responsible for generating invoice numbers.

3) Invoice PDF Generation

Choose whether Xero or Productive should generate the PDFs for your invoices.

4) Initial Invoice Status

Specify the initial invoice status in Xero upon copying: Draft, Submitted, Approved, or Manual (meaning you define a status for every invoice when copying it).

5) Send to Xero— Reference Field

Define which value to send to the Xero reference field: Invoice subject or Purchase order number.

6) Send to Xero— Internal Note

To send internal notes from Productive to Xero, specify the custom field you'd like to use. This custom field should be added in Settings > Custom Fields > Invoices in Productive.

For example, you can create a text custom field titled "Private Note for the Accountant" to store any internal notes you wish to send to Xero. This field will then be included in the data sent from Productive to Xero, helping to keep your accounting notes organized.

Enabling Sending Invoices to Xero

1) Default Invoice Account Code

A Xero account code is a unique identifier assigned to accounts in Xero’s Chart of Accounts.

These codes organize financial data by categorizing transactions (e.g., revenue, expenses, assets). Account codes are typically numeric (e.g., 200 for Sales Revenue).

When integrating Productive with Xero, account codes map transactions—such as invoices, expenses, and purchase orders—to the appropriate accounts in Xero.
To avoid errors when exporting your invoices, make sure that the tax rates selected in the last step of the integration setup match the account code selected.

2) Mapping Productive Service Types to Xero Accounting Codes (Optional)

Service types not mapped will use the default Xero account.
Only account codes set as Revenue in Xero will appear in Productive as mapping choices.

What Is Mapped Between the Platforms? (Click to Expand)

A) Integration settings

B) When copying an invoice

* If set as Manual in the Integration settings

Copying Invoices To Xero

After you have integrated Xero with Productive, when creating an invoice, a new button, "Copy to Xero", will be accessible on the invoice creation screen.

Clicking the Copy to Xero button starts the process of sending your invoice to Xero. Before proceeding, ensure the following:

Select an existing customer: If no customer is selected from the dropdown (which lists your customers in Xero), a new one will automatically be created.
When a new customer is created, the following details will be transferred from Productive to Xero: company name, email, tax/VAT ID, default currency, and address.
Specify the invoice status: If not set in the integration settings, the default status you selected during setup will be applied.

Copying Multiple Invoices at Once

To speed up your workflow, you can copy multiple invoices to Xero in one step using the bulk copy action.

Instead of opening and copying invoices one by one, select multiple invoices and send them at once. Learn more about bulk copying invoices.

Copying An Invoice To Xero After It Has Already Been Copied

If you've previously copied an invoice to Xero and need to make updates or create a new one, open the invoice and hover over the "Invoice copied" option.

From there, you can choose to update the existing invoice or create a new one.

A) Choosing "Update existing" will modify the previously copied invoice in Xero. If the invoice has been copied multiple times, only the last copy will be updated.

B) Selecting "Create new" will generate a new invoice in Xero, even if a copy already exists.

Enabling Sending Expenses to Xero

To send your budget expenses from Productive to Xero, follow these steps:

Select the Xero expense status:
- Draft
- Submitted
- Approved
- Always set the status manually when copying the expense to Xero
Select the Default expense account code where you want the expenses to land when copied from Productive.
Optionally, map certain service types to your Xero account code for more flexibility and organization.

For detailed steps, refer to our guide on setting up expense syncing with Xero.

Enabling Copying Purchase Orders to Xero (Beta)

To copy your purchase orders from Productive to Xero, follow these steps during setup:

Select whether the purchase order numbers are generated by Productive or by Xero
Select the default Xero purchase order status:
- Draft
- Submitted
- Approved
- Always set the status manually when copying the expense to Xero
Select the Default purchase order account code where you want the orders to land when copied from Productive.
Optionally, map certain service types to your Xero account code for more flexibility and organization.

Copy Purchase Orders to Xero

After saving a purchase order, it can be copied to Xero via the Copy to Xero button, which becomes available on the purchase order screen. Clicking this button sends and copies the purchase order data to Xero.

📌 Note: Since expenses and purchase orders are linked in Productive, you can only export one or the other for the same record.

Clicking the Copy to Xero button starts the process of sending your invoice to Xero. Before proceeding, ensure the following:

Select an existing Supplier: If no supplier is selected, a new one will automatically be created in Xero.
Specify the invoice status: If not set in the integration settings, the default status you selected during setup will be applied.

Once a purchase order has been copied, any later changes made in Productive can be synced by selecting Update existing.

Mapping Tax Rates

Tax rate mapping is mandatory in the integration setup and cannot be skipped.

By mapping your tax rates from Productive to Xero, you enable tax details to be sent directly to your accounting tool per invoice line item, eliminating the need for manual tax entry during the invoice export.

Each tax rate in Productive must be mapped to a corresponding tax rate in Xero.
All tax rates defined in Productive must be mapped to avoid errors during the export.

Important: Create Separate Tax Rates for Invoices and Expenses

Xero distinguishes between sales (income) and purchase (expense) tax types.

Even if the percentage is the same (e.g. 10% or 20%), you should create two separate tax rates in Productive—one for invoices, one for expenses. This helps avoid sync issues, especially when exporting expenses to Xero.

📌 Example:

If you invoice clients with a 20% VAT, make sure Productive's VAT 20% is mapped to Xero's VAT on Income (20%).
If you track expenses using the same rate, create a separate tax rate in Productive—such as VAT 20% (Expense)—and map it to Xero’s VAT on Expenses (20%).

If you apply a sales tax rate to an expense by mistake, Xero will reject the export. A common error looks like: "The TaxType code 'TAXNAME' cannot be used with account code '300'".

📌 For any custom tax rates, consult your accountant to ensure compliance with local tax regulations. For more information on tax rate constraints, visit Xero’s documentation.

Invoice and Expense Payment Sync

If you have not enabled it while setting up the integration, enable the payments sync at a later date by:

1) Navigating to Settings > App Marketplace > Xero
2) Clicking the pencil icon to edit the integration

3) Toggling the "Sync invoice or expense payments" option on.

💡 What happens when you enable payment sync:

When an invoice or expense is marked as paid in Xero, the status is automatically updated in Productive.
Any payment edits or deletions made in Xero will also be reflected in Productive.

⚠️ Please note:

The payment sync is one-way (Xero → Productive).
Changes made in Productive, such as marking an invoice or expense as paid, will not sync back to Xero.