Import Invoices into Xero from PDF or Excel

Xero is happy to take a batch of invoices in one go, but only on its own terms. It reads a CSV file laid out in a precise format, and it will not read a PDF, a scanned image, or even an Excel file you forgot to save as CSV. So the real task splits in two: get your invoice data into a clean spreadsheet, then run it through Xero's import. This guide covers both, with the exact menu paths, the template fields Xero requires, and the errors that stop an import cold. If your invoices are still PDFs, drop them into the converter at the top of this page first and you will have an import-ready file in minutes.

Can you import invoices into Xero?

Yes. Xero has a built-in CSV import for both sales invoices and purchase bills, so you can add a whole batch at once instead of keying them in one by one. It accepts a CSV file that matches Xero's template exactly. What it will not do is read a PDF or scanned invoice on its own, so those have to be converted into spreadsheet rows before Xero can take them.

That distinction shapes the whole job. The Xero side is a short guided upload. The effort goes into preparing accurate rows in the right format, which is why an extraction step usually comes first when your invoices arrive as documents rather than data.

How do I import bills into Xero from a CSV file?

In the Purchases menu, select Bills, click New bill, then choose Import. Download Xero's CSV template, copy your invoice data into it without changing any column headings, save the file as CSV, then upload it and confirm the import. Your bills land in Xero as drafts, so you review and approve them before they post.

The template is the part to respect. Xero needs the exact header names in the order it provides, so the safest approach is to start from the downloaded template and paste your values into the matching columns rather than building a spreadsheet from scratch. Sales invoices use a separate template from purchase bills, and using the wrong one is a common reason an import fails outright.

What fields are required in the Xero import template?

For a bill import, Xero expects ContactName, InvoiceNumber, InvoiceDate, DueDate, Description, Quantity, UnitAmount, AccountCode, and TaxType. ContactName is the one field that must be filled on every row; the others should be populated for a clean result. Xero calculates the line total and tax automatically from Quantity, UnitAmount, and TaxType, so you do not enter those totals yourself.

Two formatting rules cause most of the trouble. Dates have to match your organization's date format, which you can check under Settings, then General Settings, then Date Format. Amounts use a decimal point as the separator with no thousands commas and no currency symbols, so 1,250.00 dollars is entered as 1250.00. Get those two right and the bulk of import errors disappear.

How do I handle invoices with multiple line items?

Put each line item on its own row, and repeat the ContactName and InvoiceNumber on every row that belongs to the same invoice. Xero groups rows into a single invoice whenever the InvoiceNumber matches, so three line items on one invoice become three rows sharing the same number, contact, and dates. The description, quantity, unit amount, and account code change from row to row.

This is exactly where manual prep breaks down, because pulling individual line items out of a PDF and repeating the header fields correctly is tedious and error prone. An extraction tool does this layout for you, writing one row per line and copying the shared fields down automatically.

Does Xero accept PDF invoices?

Not through the CSV import. Xero's bulk import only reads structured CSV rows, so a PDF or scanned invoice has to be turned into a spreadsheet first. Xero does offer a separate inbox feature for attaching document images to draft bills, but that captures only a few header fields per document and does not give you the clean, reviewable rows that a bulk import needs.

The same goes for the receipts behind expense claims, which Xero also tracks: a dedicated receipt OCR tool turns a pile of receipt images into clean rows the same way. For a backlog of vendor invoices, converting to CSV and importing is far faster and more accurate. Our import invoices to Xero tool reads your PDF and image invoices and returns a file laid out for Xero's template, so the only thing left to do is upload it. If you would rather review the data in a spreadsheet first, the PDF invoice to Excel converter produces the same structured output.

Can you import invoices into Xero from Excel?

Not directly. Xero does not read .xlsx or .xls files; it only accepts CSV for the bulk invoice and bill import. You can absolutely prepare your data in Excel, but you have to use File, then Save As, and choose CSV before uploading. Any extra worksheets, formulas, or merged cells should be flattened first, because Xero reads only the single sheet of plain values.

If your data already lives in Excel, you are most of the way there. If it lives in PDFs, the practical route is to extract invoice data to Excel, clean it up, and save the sheet as CSV for the import.

How many invoices can you import into Xero at once?

Xero recommends keeping each import file under 500 line items and splitting anything larger into separate files. Because every line item is its own row, a few dozen multi-line invoices can reach that ceiling faster than you expect, so count rows rather than invoices when you size a batch.

Batching also makes problems easier to manage. If a 400-row file fails validation, you have a small, contained set to fix rather than thousands of rows to comb through. Keep your converted files in dated batches so you always know which invoices have already gone into Xero.

Why won't my invoices import into Xero?

The usual causes are a changed or misspelled column heading, the wrong template (sales versus purchases), a date that does not match your organization's date format, amounts that include currency symbols or comma separators, or a missing ContactName on one of the rows. Any one of these will make Xero reject the file or the offending rows.

When Xero returns an error, it names the row and the field, so work through the message line by line. Starting from accurately extracted data removes most of these errors before they happen, because the dates, amounts, and contact names already arrive in the format Xero expects rather than however they were printed on the original document.

What is the difference between importing sales invoices and bills?

Sales invoices are money your customers owe you (accounts receivable), and bills are money you owe your suppliers (accounts payable). Most people who say they want to import invoices into Xero are dealing with incoming supplier invoices, which Xero records as bills under the Purchases menu. Sales invoices are imported under the Business or Sales menu instead.

The two use different templates with different required fields and expected values, so decide which direction your documents belong to before you download a template. Mixing them, or using the sales template for purchase data, is a frequent and avoidable cause of failed imports.

The fastest reliable workflow

Put the steps together and the routine is short. Gather your PDF or image invoices (if most of yours land as email attachments, a tool like email invoice parser can pull them out of the inbox before you start), convert them into a clean Xero-ready CSV, split anything over 500 line items into separate files, then import under Purchases for bills or Business for sales invoices. Match your date format, strip currency symbols, keep one row per line item with the invoice number repeated, and review the drafts before you approve them. Done this way, a stack of invoices that used to mean an afternoon of typing becomes a few quick uploads, with the numbers matching your source documents every time.