Create an invoice for your customer | No Stress Accounting Knowledge Base

ⓘ This article is for small businesses who use Xero

Overview

Create an invoice from scratch or save time by copying and editing an existing one.
Xero has two sales invoicing versions, classic and new invoicing.

ⓘ Tip

You can try out invoices in the Xero demo company. It has most of the features of an actual Xero organization so you can explore Xero without entering your own data.

Create a new invoice

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When you’re in the sales invoice screen you have the choice of using new or classic invoicing.

Classic invoicing requires you to manually enter all the information, while new invoicing prefills many of the details for you and automatically saves your work.

To check which one you’re on, see the link at the bottom of the screen. If it says Switch to new invoicing, then you’re on the classic invoicing screen. If it says Switch to classic invoicing, then you’re on the new invoicing screen.

New invoicing

ⓘTip

Creating an invoice might look a little different, as we add an invoice item table to new invoicing. You can show or hide fields on your invoice by clicking Show/hide fields and selecting or clearing fields that are relevant to your invoicing needs.

In new invoicing, Xero will save the invoice every few seconds once you’ve added a contact. Invoice fields are automatically filled with details. You can update a detail if it’s not correct.

From the header, click the quick launch icon , then select Invoice.
In the To field, start typing to select an existing contact or to add a new one. You can click on the contact name you’ve selected to view or edit their details.
(Optional) Click Add last items to add items from the last invoice you sent to that contact.
In the Item field, start typing to select an existing item from your inventory or add the details manually by adding the description of the item, then the Quantity and Price.
(Optional) Click the delete icon to remove the line from the invoice, or to edit an inventory item, click in the Item column twice, then click Edit.
(Optional) You can drag and drop the line items to reorder them.
Once you’ve finished entering your invoice, click Save & close to save the invoice as a draft. Or click the arrow next to Save & close then select:
- Save & add another – To save the invoice as a draft and open a new draft invoice.
- Submit for approval – To submit the invoice for approval.

Classic invoicing

Classic invoicing allows you to create and send an invoice to your customers. Once you begin creating your invoice, you'll need to manually click Save each time you make a change. The invoice won't automatically save.

From the header, click the quick launch icon , then select Invoice.
In the To field, enter the name of the customer you're invoicing. If there's a previously approved or paid invoice for the contact, you can add the last item lines from that invoice to the new one.
Complete the remaining invoice details. You must fill out the Due date, Description, Account, and Tax Rate fields to be able to approve the invoice.
(Optional) You can drag and drop the item lines to reorder them.
Click Save to save the invoice as a draft, or click the arrow next to Save, then select:
- Save (continue editing) – To save the invoice without closing it.
- Save & submit for approval – To submit the invoice for approval.
- Save & add another – To save the invoice as a draft and open a new draft invoice.

To create a draft invoice:

Either:
- From the Dashboard, tap the add icon , then tap Create invoice.
- From a contact, tap Options, tap Add New, then tap Invoice.
Complete the Who is it for?, Dated, Due and Tax fields.
Tap Add an item.
Tap Select Products or Services to choose an inventory item, or tap Enter a New Description to type a description, then tap Done.
Complete the account, tracking, quantity, tax and price fields for the item. Tap Options to add a discount or to delete the line item.
Tap Add another item or tap Done to save the item.
Tap Optional details to add a reference, confirm the invoice branding theme or change the currency of the invoice.
Tap Attach files to include a file with the invoice.

Please note, some file types aren't supported in the Xero Accounting app. Files that are supported include CSV, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, PDF, PNG, TXT, XLS, XLSX and ZIP.
Tap:
- Save as draft to create a draft invoice
- Email to approve the invoice and email it to your customer
- Options, then Approve to approve the invoice
- Options, then Share to approve the invoice, then share its link via SMS or another mobile app accessible on your device
- Submit to submit the invoice for approval

ⓘTip

From your mobile home screen, firmly press the Xero Accounting app to launch straight to creating an invoice.

To create a draft invoice:

Either:
- From the Dashboard, tap +, then tap Invoice.
- From a contact, tap +, then tap Invoice.
Complete the Who's it for?, Dated, Due and Tax fields.
Tap Add an item.
Tap Select Products or Services to choose an inventory item or tap Enter a New Description to type a description, then tap Done.
Complete the account, tracking, quantity, price, and tax fields for the item. Tap the menu icon to add a discount or delete the item.
Tap Done to save the invoice.
Tap the menu icon to edit the invoice number, add a reference, choose a branding theme, change the currency or attach files.

Please note, some file types aren't supported in the Xero Accounting app. Files that are supported include CSV, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, PDF, PNG, TXT, XLS, XLSX and ZIP.
Tap Save, then tap Save to create a draft invoice.

Copy an invoice to a new invoice

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Existing invoices can be copied saving you time from having to fill out all the invoice details manually.
Copy a single invoice, or multiple invoices with the same status, into a new invoice.
When copying an invoice some details might change because of the defaults applied to your organization, contacts or inventory items.
If you're copying multiple invoices, Xero creates one draft invoice with all line items from the original invoices.
You can keep the same contact when copying an invoice or select a different contact.

To copy an invoice:

In the Business menu, select Invoices.
Select the tab for the status of the invoices you want to copy. You can't copy from the list of all invoices.
Select the checkbox of the invoices you want, then:
- Click Copy to if invoice reminders are off.
- Click More, then select Copy to if invoice reminders are on.
Select Invoice and enter the name of the customer you're creating it for.
Click Copy or Copy & merge.
Review the invoice and update the details if needed.
Click Save or Save & close to save the invoice as a draft.

You can also copy a single invoice while viewing it. If you’re using:

New invoicing – Click the menu icon , then select Copy to draft invoice
Classic invoicing – Click Invoice Options, then select Copy to

Copy an existing invoice to save you time filling out all the invoice details manually.

From the Dashboard, tap Sales.
Next to Invoices, tap See all.
Tap the invoice you’d like to copy.
Tap Options, then tap Copy to draft invoice.

Xero copies the details into a new invoice including the contact name. The invoice and due date change to today’s date. The invoice date and due date change to today’s date. If your organization has default due dates set up in invoice settings or a contact’s profile, these override today’s date.

Copy an existing invoice to save you time filling out all the invoice details manually.

From the Dashboard, tap Sales.
Tap the invoice you’d like to copy (excludes draft invoices).
Tap the menu icon, then tap Make a copy.

Xero copies the details into a new invoice including the contact's name. The invoice and due date change to today’s date.

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