Getting PO numbers onto repeating invoices in Xero

Summary

• A repeating invoice in Xero is a template that automatically creates an invoice on a schedule you set, weekly, monthly or annually.
• Because the schedule is fixed, you always know when the next invoice is coming, which is a rare piece of certainty when chasing a PO.
• That certainty lets you ask for the next PO ahead of the run, so the invoice goes out already referencing a valid number instead of being parked on arrival.
• The catch: a repeating template carries one fixed Reference. If your corporate customer issues a new PO each period, the old number goes stale and every invoice generates with the wrong one.
• Set the template to save each invoice as a draft. Trove picks up each draft, asks for that period’s PO 10 days before it’s due, writes it into the Reference field, then approves the invoice and sends it to accounts payable from your own email account.

What repeating invoices are in Xero

A repeating invoice is a template that generates invoices for you on a set schedule, so you don’t have to raise the same invoice every month. It’s Xero’s tool for retainers, subscriptions, recurring service fees and any other billing that comes round on a cycle.

When you set one up (New > Repeating invoice) you choose:

• How often it repeats, for example every 1 month, or every 12 months for an annual renewal.
• The start date, the due date terms, and an optional end date.
• What Xero does when each one generates, save it as a draft for you to review, approve it automatically, or approve and email it to the customer.
• The Reference field, which is where a PO number goes, and which supports placeholders so you can slot in the period being billed.

Once it’s running, Xero creates each invoice on schedule using whatever is on the template.

Why repeating invoices help you get POs in place

Chasing a PO is often a scramble because each time you raise an invoice, you have to remember to ask for a PO (and busy directors have been known to forget things). However, if an invoice is repeating on a fixed schedule, you know exactly when you need to ask for a new PO.

For example, if you know the March retainer invoice generates on 1 March with 30-day terms, you can ask the customer to confirm the PO for it in mid-February before the invoice even exists. Before sending the invoice, you can ensure it carries a valid PO so it goes straight on the customer’s pay run.

The limitations of Xero’s repeating invoices

There’s one catch - the Reference field on the template is fixed. Xero copies it onto every invoice the template generates.

If your customer’s procurement team issues one standing PO that covers the whole contract, that’s fine. Put it in the Reference field once and every invoice carries it. But many corporates issue a fresh PO each invoice, or a new one each financial year, or cap a PO at a set value so it runs out partway through the contract. When that happens:

• The template keeps stamping the old PO number onto new invoices.
• Those invoices fail the match, because the PO they name is closed, exhausted or superseded.
• Every single recurring invoice gets parked, on autopilot, until someone notices.

If your customer issues a new PO each period, clear the Reference field on the template so no invoice is generated with a stale number. Then set the template to save each new invoice as a draft, rather than approving or emailing it automatically, so the PO can be added before the invoice goes anywhere.

How to automate repeating invoices and PO numbers with Trove

Trove works from drafts, so each invoice the template generates gets its own PO request:

• Ten days before the invoice is due (the default, which you can change), Trove sends the draft to the customer’s accounts payable team, from your own email account.
• If they need a PO, Trove asks the person at the customer who holds it. After the first time, the request goes straight to that person.
• When the PO comes back, Trove writes it into the Reference field on that invoice. If the field already has something in it, such as a number carried over from the template, Trove asks you what to do rather than overwriting it.
• Trove approves the invoice in Xero and emails it to accounts payable.

Instead of editing the template and chasing a buyer before every run, the request goes out on its own each cycle, to the person who can answer it. Here’s the full process for getting a PO number before the invoice is due.