This article covers the Invoices Resource in detail. If you haven’t yet learned about Resources in general and how to get the most out of them, we suggest you check out our Resources support article
What is an Invoice?
Invoices in Xero represent a sales invoice (AR) or purchase bill (AP).
Amalgam allows you to create, view, or update any data connected with an Invoice in Xero, including all of the fields you see in the “Create Invoice” screen in the Xero web interface. Amalgam also allows you to view and modify additional fields that aren’t typically visible in the Xero website.
Filters for Downloading Invoices
When you want to download a group of invoices to your worksheet, you can use the filters section (on the left side of the Resource template) to select only the invoices you wish to download. These filters are cumulative (so if you make multiple selections, you will get results that fit all filters).
- Start Date / End Date: create a range of dates, using the invoice or bill date (not the due date)
- Type: select only bills or invoices, by specifying AP or AR respectively
- Status: select only bills or invoices by their status
Invoice Data Structure
Invoices consist of one Invoice with multiple Invoice Lines. Some Invoice data applies to the whole invoice, other data applies only to a specific line. For example, each line may have its own product and dollar amount, but all lines will share the same due date and type. You can see how this nested data looks on the template in the video above.
In the Invoices Resource, only the most commonly used fields are visible by default. You will see several hidden columns, indicated by a “+” button at the top of the sheet. By unhiding those columns, you can access several less-common but still powerful additional fields.
Note that some of these fields may have formulas in them. These are often used to fetch IDs for Xero data, stuff that is required by the Xero app, but which isn’t important to a user. We caution against changing this data unless you know what you’re doing!
Xero Notes
Updating Restrictions
- Can not update fully paid invoices
- Can not update invoices that have part-payments or credit notes applied
- Can not update invoices in a locked period
Deleting and Voiding
- Invoices with the status of Draft or Submitted can simply be deleted by updating their status to Deleted
- Authorized invoices can not be deleted but able to be set to Void
Reference Fields
There will be several fields in each Invoice that refer to other Xero data. For example, each Invoice is assigned to a Contact, and that Contact must exist in Xero. Amalgam makes these references easy for you by providing you with a dropdown list containing all of your options.
If you ever wish to refresh these lists, there is a refresh button on your sidebar that will sync your options with the latest data in Xero. This can be used in conjunction with other Amalgam templates to make edits in Xero without ever leaving Excel or Google Sheets.