How to get client files into Xero

Four routes, in rough order of how often practices use them.

1. The files inbox

Xero includes a file storage area where documents can be uploaded and then attached to transactions, contacts or invoices. Straightforward for documents you are handling yourself.

Good for: documents you already hold. Limitation: it is a filing destination, not a collection mechanism — someone still has to get the document from the client.

2. Email to Xero

Each organisation has a unique email address for sending files straight into the files inbox. Useful because it lets a client forward a supplier invoice without touching Xero itself.

Good for: emailed invoices and subscription receipts. Limitation: clients with multiple entities send to the wrong address, and there is no acknowledgement that anything arrived.

3. Hubdoc

Included with most Xero plans. Clients submit receipts and bills, Hubdoc extracts the data and publishes to Xero with the document attached. Its supplier-fetch feature — logging into utility and telecom portals to pull statements automatically — is the standout and genuinely removes documents from the client's plate.

Good for: Xero practices with clients who will adopt it. Limitation: requires a client login, does not track what is outstanding, and does not chase.

4. Third-party collection tools

Dext, AutoEntry, ClientClose and others push documents into Xero with data extracted. This is where practices end up when the native routes stop scaling.

Attaching files properly

• Attach to the transaction, not just the inbox. A file sitting unattached in the files area is storage, not documentation.
• Match against the bank feed rather than creating new entries for charges that are already there.
• Use contact-level attachment for things that belong to a supplier or customer rather than a single transaction — agreements, terms, certificates.
• Keep an eye on file storage limits on smaller plans if clients send high volumes of images.

The audit trail question

Worth knowing before a client asks: Xero records history and notes at document level, but there is no organisation-wide audit trail report of the kind QuickBooks offers. When a client asks "who changed this invoice after reconciliation?", the answer usually involves opening documents one at a time. It is a long-standing request on Xero's idea board and has not shipped.

Practically: if you are working alongside other people in a client's Xero file, agree conventions about who edits what, because reconstructing it afterwards is slow.

Collection across a client list

• One view showing every client's outstanding documents for the month.
• Client submission with no Xero or Hubdoc login required.
• Automatic reminders sent only to the clients who are behind.
• Extraction so receipts arrive as data rather than as files to work through.
• One-click posting into the right Xero organisation with the document attached.