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Xero Integration

Connect your account to Xero to sync invoices and track payments in one place. When invoices are paid in Xero, the status updates automatically.

Connecting to Xero

  1. Click Settings in the sidebar navigation
  2. Select the Integrations tab
  3. Find Xero and click Connect
  4. You'll be redirected to Xero to authorise the connection
  5. Log in to your Xero account and approve access
  6. You'll be redirected back to confirm the connection

Importing Your Customers from Xero

Once Xero is connected, you can bring your Xero customers into Sammy as clients — all in one go, instead of adding them one at a time.

  1. Go to Settings > Integrations
  2. Open the Xero section and find the Customers card
  3. Tap Import from Xero
  4. Sammy loads your Xero contacts and ticks your customers, ready to import
  5. Untick anyone you don't want, or use the search box to find someone
  6. Tap Import — the customers are added to your client list

A few things to know:

  • Your suppliers are hidden by default so they don't clutter your client list. If you want one of them in Sammy too, tick Show suppliers to see them and pick them out.
  • Anyone already in Sammy is shown but locked, so you won't get duplicates.
  • Xero doesn't have a strict "customer" label — it works this out from who you've invoiced. Sammy handles this for you by bringing across everyone who isn't a supplier, so new contacts you haven't invoiced yet still come through.
  • If a Xero contact has extra contact people on it (say a site manager or an accounts person), they come across too — you'll find them in the Contacts section on the client's page in Sammy. And it works the other way as well: when Sammy first creates a contact in Xero, any extra contacts you've added to that client in Sammy go along with it.

What Gets Synced

Invoices

When you sync an invoice to Xero:

  • The invoice appears in your Xero account
  • Line items, totals, and tax are transferred
  • Client information is matched or created in Xero
  • The invoice status in the app updates to In Xero

Payments

When a client pays an invoice in Xero:

  • The payment is recorded
  • The invoice status updates to Paid
  • You can see payment details in the app

Syncing an Invoice

Automatic Sync

If enabled, invoices are automatically pushed to Xero when you create them.

Manual Sync

To sync an individual invoice:

  1. Open the invoice from the Invoices page
  2. Click Sync to Xero
  3. Wait for confirmation

Important: syncing doesn't email your client

Syncing an invoice to Xero does not send it to your client on its own. The invoice lands in Xero as Awaiting Payment, ready to go — but nobody gets an email unless you send it from Xero, email it from Sammy, or turn on the auto-email setting below.

Invoice Sync Settings

You can choose how invoices land in Xero. Go to Settings > Integrations, open the Xero section, and find Invoice sync.

Sync mode

  • Approved (Awaiting Payment) – The default. The invoice arrives in Xero approved and ready to be paid.
  • Draft – The invoice arrives as a draft for you to review and approve in Xero first.

A word of caution on Draft mode: Sammy keeps tracking the invoice while it stays in Xero — even after you approve it — but if you delete the draft and recreate it in Xero, Sammy loses the link and won't see when it's paid.

Revenue account

By default, invoice lines are recorded against account 200 (Sales) — the standard sales account in Xero. If your Xero chart of accounts uses a different account for income (common if your accountant set up your Xero, or you moved across from MYOB), pick the right one under Revenue account in the Invoice sync settings. If you're not sure which to choose, ask your accountant or bookkeeper.

If you connected Xero a while ago, you may see a note asking you to reconnect before you can pick an account — that's a one-off, and syncing keeps working as normal in the meantime.

Email invoice to client when synced

Turn this on and Xero will email the invoice to your client, using your Xero branding, as soon as Sammy syncs it. Leave it off and you send the invoice yourself from Xero or Sammy.

A few things to know:

  • This option only works in Approved mode — Xero can't email draft invoices.
  • The email goes to the client's email address in Xero. If the Xero contact doesn't have one, Sammy fills it in from your Sammy client before sending.
  • If neither has an email address, Sammy still syncs the invoice — you'll see a note on the invoice's Xero tab telling you it wasn't emailed, with a quick way to add an address.

Invoice Status

After syncing, invoices show one of these statuses:

  • In Xero – Successfully synced, awaiting payment
  • Paid – Payment received and recorded in Xero
  • Overdue – Past due date (updates from Xero)
  • Error – Sync failed (check the error message)

On the invoice's Xero tab you'll also see the invoice's status in Xero itself — Awaiting Payment (approved, not yet paid), Awaiting Approval, Draft, or Paid — matching what you'd see in Xero.

Troubleshooting

Connection Issues

If the connection stops working:

  1. Go to Settings > Integrations
  2. Click Reconnect next to Xero
  3. Re-authorise in your Xero account

Sync Errors

If an invoice fails to sync, check:

  • Client details – Ensure the client has a valid email and name
  • Tax settings – Verify your tax configuration matches Xero
  • Line items – Ensure all items have valid descriptions and amounts

The error message will usually indicate what needs fixing.

Disconnecting Xero

If you need to disconnect:

  1. Go to Settings > Integrations
  2. Click Disconnect next to Xero
  3. Confirm the disconnection

Existing synced invoices remain in Xero but future invoices won't sync automatically.

Data Privacy

Only invoice and client data required for billing is shared with Xero. Your estimates, proposals, and other business data remain private.

Need Help?

If you're having trouble with the Xero integration, contact support for assistance.