Xero – How to Create and Send a Customer Invoice

Invoicing customers is a critical part of any business. So, having a smooth invoicing process, will be a major stress reliever for you. In this guide, you’ll learn how to set up a new sales invoice in Xero, how to email them to customers and how to attach files.

And to help you learn the ropes faster, check out our video tutorial which will guide you through every step you need to take to create and send invoices from Xero. 

How to Create a New Sales Invoice in Xero

Creating a new sales invoice in Xero is easy. To get to the right place, go to Business → Sales overview from the main menu.

From the Sales screen, click on the + New button and select Invoice from the list.

You should now see a New Invoice template that you can use to create your sales invoice. Let’s create an invoice by filling in some of the main fields:

• To: choose your customer or create a new contact.
• Date: current date appears. You can change that.
• Due Date: choose the date on which the invoice is due for payment.
• Invoice #: invoice number automatically appears if included in your settings.
• Reference: can be project code, post code or purchase order number.
• Branding: choose how you want the invoice to look.
• Description: type in the description of the products or services purchased.
• Qty: type in the number of units purchased.
• Unit Price: type in the price per unit.
• Account: choose the general ledger code you need from the list.
• Tax Rate: this should automatically populate based on the chosen general ledger code.

To see what the invoice will look like to the customer, click on the Preview button on the top right-hand side.

Now that you have created your invoice, you will be able to Save or Approve it. What you choose to do depends on how you run your business.

If your invoicing process requires you to save new sales invoices as drafts for someone else to approve, click on Save → Save as Draft on the bottom left-hand side of the New Invoice screen.

If you do not need anyone else to approve your new sales invoices, you can go ahead and approve them yourself by clicking on the Approve button at the bottom right-hand side of the New Invoice screen.

That’s all you need to do to create a new sales invoice in Xero.

How to Attach Files to a Sales Invoice

Sometimes, when you email a sales invoice to a client, you need to send some files with it such as Excel spreadsheets or PDF documents. In Xero, you can do this by attaching the files to the invoice and including them in the email to the client. 

To attach files to the invoice, click on the button at the top right-hand side of the invoice screen that looks like a partly folded piece of paper. When the pop-up box appears, click on the + Upload files link.

Now you can choose the files you want to attach to the invoice. Go ahead and attach an Excel file, PDF or anything else that Xero will accept.

Once you have attached your file, click on the cog icon beside the file name and choose Include with Invoice from the drop-down list if you want the file to be emailed to the customer with the invoice.

Your file should have moved up to the TO INCLUDE WITH INVOICE section of the pop-up box.

How to Email a Sales Invoice in Xero

These days it is customary to email sales invoices to customers and in Xero, they can be emailed from a few different places.

To get to the right place in Xero, go to Business → Sales overview from the main menu.

Now click on the Awaiting Payment section to see all the sales invoices that have been created but not paid by the customers.

There are a few places you can go to email sales invoices to customers in Xero. The two places we will look at in this tutorial are:

1. From the main Invoices screen.
2. From inside an invoice.

1. Email a Sales Invoice from the Main Invoices Screen

If you followed the instructions above, you should be in the main Invoices screen. From here, tick the checkbox for the invoice and click on the Email button at the top of the list of invoices.

A pop-up box will appear with all the details of the email you are about to send to your customer. Once you are happy with everything in the pop-up box, press the Send button to finish emailing the sales invoice to your customer.

Once the email has been sent and you have returned to the main Invoices screen, you should see that the status of the invoice has changed to Sent.

2. Email a Sales Invoice from Inside the Invoice

The second way to email a sales invoice to a customer is to do it from inside the invoice template. To do this, choose the invoice from the main Invoices screen.

Now, click on the Email button at the top right-hand side of the invoice template.

A pop-up box will appear with all the details of the email you are going to send. Once you are happy with everything in the pop-up box, press the Send button to finish emailing the sales invoice to your customer.

Once the email has been sent and you have returned to the main Invoices screen, you should see that the status of the invoice has changed to Sent.

How to Print a Sales Invoice in Xero

1. Print a Sales Invoice from the Main Invoices Screen

From the main Invoices screen, tick the checkbox for the invoice you want to print and click on the Print button at the top of the list of invoices.

A pop-up box will appear asking whether you would like to mark the invoice as being sent to the customer. Choose the option that’s right for you.

2. Print a Sales Invoice from Inside the Invoice

The second way to download a sales invoice as a PDF for printing is to do it from inside the invoice template. To get started, click on the invoice from the main Invoices screen.

Next, click on the Print PDF button at the top right-hand side of the invoice template.

A pop-up box will appear asking whether you would like to mark the invoice as being sent to the customer. Choose the option that’s right for you.

The invoice should now download as a PDF. From there, you can open the file in a PDF viewer and print it out.

If you would like to learn more about Xero, check out our massive Xero Australia Course Bundle and our YouTube channel.