Xero Automation

Xero Automation

Automate Xero accounting operations including managing invoices, contacts, payments, bank transactions, and chart of accounts for small business bookkeeping.

Toolkit docs: composio.dev/toolkits/xero

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Setup

This skill requires the Rube MCP server connected at https://rube.app/mcp.

Before executing any tools, ensure an active connection exists for the xero toolkit. If no connection is active, initiate one via RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS.

Multi-tenant: If you manage multiple Xero organizations, first call XERO_GET_CONNECTIONS to list active tenants and obtain the correct tenant_id for subsequent calls.

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Core Workflows

1. List and Filter Invoices

Retrieve invoices with filtering by status, contact, date range, and pagination.

Tool: XERO_LIST_INVOICES

Key Parameters:

• Statuses -- Comma-separated status filter: "DRAFT", "SUBMITTED", "AUTHORISED", "PAID"
• ContactIDs -- Comma-separated Contact IDs to filter by
• InvoiceIDs -- Comma-separated Invoice IDs to filter by
• where -- OData-style filter, e.g., "Status==\"AUTHORISED\" AND Total>100"
• order -- Sort expression, e.g., "Date DESC", "InvoiceNumber ASC"
• page -- Page number for pagination
• If-Modified-Since -- UTC timestamp; returns only invoices modified since this date
• tenant_id -- Xero organization ID (uses first tenant if omitted)

Example:

Tool: XERO_LIST_INVOICES
Arguments:
  Statuses: "AUTHORISED,PAID"
  order: "Date DESC"
  page: 1

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2. Manage Contacts

Retrieve and search contacts for use in invoices and transactions.

Tool: XERO_GET_CONTACTS

Key Parameters:

• searchTerm -- Case-insensitive search across Name, FirstName, LastName, Email, ContactNumber
• ContactID -- Fetch a single contact by ID
• where -- OData filter, e.g., "ContactStatus==\"ACTIVE\""
• page, pageSize -- Pagination controls
• order -- Sort, e.g., "UpdatedDateUTC DESC"
• includeArchived -- Include archived contacts when true
• summaryOnly -- Lightweight response when true

Example:

Tool: XERO_GET_CONTACTS
Arguments:
  searchTerm: "acme"
  page: 1
  pageSize: 25

> Note: On high-volume accounts, some where filters (e.g., IsCustomer, IsSupplier) may be rejected by Xero. Fall back to searchTerm or pagination.

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3. Create Payments

Link an invoice to a bank account by creating a payment record.

Tool: XERO_CREATE_PAYMENT

Key Parameters:

• InvoiceID (required) -- Xero Invoice ID the payment applies to
• AccountID (required) -- Bank account ID for the payment
• Amount (required) -- Payment amount (number)
• Date -- Payment date in YYYY-MM-DD format
• Reference -- Payment reference or description
• CurrencyRate -- Exchange rate for foreign currency payments

Example:

Tool: XERO_CREATE_PAYMENT
Arguments:
  InvoiceID: "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890"
  AccountID: "b2c3d4e5-f6a7-8901-bcde-f12345678901"
  Amount: 1500.00
  Date: "2026-02-11"
  Reference: "Payment for INV-0042"

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4. Create Bank Transactions

Record spend (payments out) or receive (money in) bank transactions.

Tool: XERO_CREATE_BANK_TRANSACTION

Key Parameters:

• Type (required) -- "SPEND" (payment out) or "RECEIVE" (money in)
• ContactID (required) -- Xero Contact ID
• BankAccountCode (required) -- Bank account code from chart of accounts
• LineItems (required) -- Array of line items, each with:
• Description (required) -- Line item description
• UnitAmount (required) -- Unit price
• AccountCode (required) -- Account code for categorization
• Quantity -- Quantity (default 1)
• TaxType -- Tax type: "OUTPUT", "INPUT", "NONE"
• Date -- Transaction date in YYYY-MM-DD format
• Reference -- Transaction reference
• Status -- "AUTHORISED" or "DELETED"
• CurrencyCode -- e.g., "USD", "EUR"

Example:

Tool: XERO_CREATE_BANK_TRANSACTION
Arguments:
  Type: "SPEND"
  ContactID: "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890"
  BankAccountCode: "090"
  LineItems: [
    {
      "Description": "Office supplies",
      "UnitAmount": 75.00,
      "AccountCode": "429",
      "Quantity": 1,
      "TaxType": "INPUT"
    }
  ]
  Date: "2026-02-11"
  Reference: "Feb office supplies"

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5. List Payments and Bank Transactions

Review existing payments and bank transaction history.

Tools:

• XERO_LIST_PAYMENTS -- List payments linking invoices to bank transactions
• XERO_LIST_BANK_TRANSACTIONS -- List spend/receive bank transactions

Common Parameters:

• where -- OData filter, e.g., "Status==\"AUTHORISED\""
• order -- Sort expression, e.g., "Date DESC"
• page -- Page number for pagination
• If-Modified-Since -- Incremental updates since timestamp
• tenant_id -- Organization ID

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6. View Chart of Accounts and Connections

Tools:

• XERO_LIST_ACCOUNTS -- Retrieve all account codes for categorizing transactions
• XERO_GET_CONNECTIONS -- List active Xero tenant connections
• XERO_LIST_ATTACHMENTS -- List attachments on an entity (invoice, contact, etc.)

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Known Pitfalls

| Pitfall | Detail |

|---------|--------|

| Multi-tenant routing | If tenant_id is omitted, the first connected tenant is used. Always verify the correct tenant with XERO_GET_CONNECTIONS when managing multiple organizations. |

| High-volume filter rejection | On large accounts, some where filters like IsCustomer/IsSupplier may be rejected. Fall back to searchTerm with pagination. |

| OData filter syntax | Use double-equals (==) in OData filters, e.g., Status==\"AUTHORISED\". Single = causes errors. |

| Pagination required | Most list endpoints paginate results. Always check for additional pages and continue fetching until complete. |

| Date format | All dates must be in YYYY-MM-DD format. Timestamps for If-Modified-Since must be full ISO 8601 UTC datetime. |

| Bank account codes | BankAccountCode in bank transactions must match a valid code from the chart of accounts. Use XERO_LIST_ACCOUNTS to discover valid codes. |

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Quick Reference

| Tool Slug | Description |

|-----------|-------------|

| XERO_LIST_INVOICES | List invoices with filtering and pagination |

| XERO_GET_CONTACTS | Retrieve and search contacts |

| XERO_CREATE_PAYMENT | Create a payment linking invoice to bank account |

| XERO_CREATE_BANK_TRANSACTION | Record a spend or receive bank transaction |

| XERO_LIST_PAYMENTS | List payment records |

| XERO_LIST_BANK_TRANSACTIONS | List bank transactions |

| XERO_LIST_ACCOUNTS | Retrieve chart of accounts |

| XERO_GET_CONNECTIONS | List active Xero tenant connections |

| XERO_LIST_ATTACHMENTS | List attachments on an entity |

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