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

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.

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

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.

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"

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"

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

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.)

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.

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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