FFP Guides

ServiceM8 how-to

How do you import supplier invoices into ServiceM8 jobs?

Turn on the Supplier Invoice Import add-on (Starter plan and up) and give suppliers your unique ServiceM8 import address. Staff quote the ServiceM8 job number as the PO at the counter, and any emailed PDF invoice with that PO is attached to the job, with supplier, amount and line items read from it.

Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.

Yes, natively

Yes, natively: the Supplier Invoice Import add-on attaches emailed or uploaded supplier PDFs to the job whose number matches the invoice PO.

Step by step

  1. Go to Settings, ServiceM8 Add-ons and switch on Supplier Invoice Import (Starter plan or higher).
  2. Click the add-on's Settings button and copy your unique supplier invoice email address.
  3. Give that address to each supplier as the invoice email for your account, or forward invoices to it yourself.
  4. Tell every staff member to quote the ServiceM8 job number as the order number or PO for every purchase, with no extra words.
  5. When an invoice arrives, open the job's Diary to see the detected supplier, invoice number and amount. Click it to view the original PDF.
  6. Open the dropdown on the Diary entry and choose Apply Total, Apply Line Items or Apply Bundle to Job.
  7. Review the new lines in Billing and set the cost and sell price before you invoice the customer.
  8. Check the ServiceM8 Inbox daily for invoices that could not be matched and attach them to the right job.
  9. For paper invoices, scan to PDF and drag the file onto the job card.
  10. Enter the supplier bill in Xero through your usual bills process.

Gotchas

  • Matching only works when the invoice PO is the ServiceM8 job number. A PO like 'Smith job' or a van number goes to the Inbox instead.
  • Line items are extracted only where ServiceM8 can read them. If it cannot, Apply Total to Job is the only option.
  • The import does not create a bill in Xero. Supplier invoices still need entering in Xero or they are never paid or reconciled.
  • Automated Supplier Import removes a supplier's materials that are missing from an updated price file. Jobs that already used them are not affected.
  • ServiceM8 has no built in purchase orders to send to suppliers. The job number is your PO.
  • Unmatched invoices sit in the Inbox until someone deals with them. Unattached invoices are costs that are never billed.

What the official help article misses: It does not say which plan the add-on needs, does not separate invoice import from the price list add-ons, does not say whether imported amounts land as cost or sell price, and does not mention that the invoice still has to be entered as a bill in Xero. Read ServiceM8's article.

Any supplier works, if the PO is right

There is no list of approved wholesalers for invoice import. The add-on reads PDF invoices from any supplier and matches them on one thing: the PO number printed on the invoice must match a ServiceM8 job number. Get that habit right at the trade counter and the invoice files itself.

ServiceM8 pulls the supplier name, invoice number, amount due and, where it can, the individual line items. If it cannot find a matching job, the invoice waits in your ServiceM8 Inbox for someone to attach it. Every email that arrives at the import address is also forwarded to the accounts email in your preferences, so your bookkeeper still gets a copy.

Paper dockets and invoices that were never emailed use the manual route: scan or save the PDF and drag it onto the job card. ServiceM8 checks whether it looks like an invoice and, if so, reads it the same way. Supplier quotes work too: upload the PDF to the job Diary and apply its items to the job.

Invoices are not price lists

Two separate add-ons get confused. Supplier Invoice Import is about what you bought for a particular job. Automated Supplier Import is about keeping your materials list priced: the supplier emails a CSV price file to a second unique address and ServiceM8 updates your Materials & Services, with a markup you choose. Reece has its own add-on, Reece maX, for syncing Reece product pricing. The older Reece Plumbing Pricelist add-on has not been available to new users since 2022.

Getting costs onto the job for margin

Once the invoice is in the Diary, open its dropdown and choose how to bring it onto the job. Apply Total to Job adds one line for the amount due. Apply Line Items to Job adds each item separately, which is best when you want to remove items bought for stock. Apply Bundle to Job adds them as a bundle that shows as one line to the customer while keeping the detail underneath.

Check each line before invoicing. ServiceM8's article does not say whether the imported amount becomes the line's cost, its sell price or both, so open the lines and confirm the cost and your markup are right. Seeing margin per job relies on those cost figures, and the Job Profitability and Markup Billing features are listed on the Premium plan and up.

The Xero side

The import puts costs on jobs. It does not create bills in Xero. ServiceM8's Xero sync covers invoices, payments, contacts and items, and supplier contacts are not imported. Keep your normal bills process (the copy sent to the accounts email is a good trigger for it), or the supplier is paid from Xero while the cost sits only in ServiceM8.

Sources

  1. Supplier Invoice Import gives the account a unique email address; staff quote the ServiceM8 job number as the purchase order, invoices whose PO matches a job number are attached to that job, and unmatched invoices go to the ServiceM8 Inbox. Received emails are also forwarded to the accounts email address in Preferences. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  2. ServiceM8 extracts the supplier, invoice number, amount due and individual line items where possible, and offers Apply Total to Job, Apply Line Items to Job and Apply Bundle to Job. PDFs dragged onto a job card are read the same way. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  3. On ServiceM8's Australian pricing, Supplier Invoice Import is included from the Starter plan up, Automated Supplier Import on all plans, and Job Profitability and Markup Billing from the Premium plan up. ServiceM8, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  4. Automated Supplier Import updates materials from supplier CSV price files sent to a unique email address; items missing from an updated file are removed, and previous jobs that used them are not affected. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  5. From 2022 the Reece Plumbing Pricelist add-on is not available to new users; the alternatives are the Reece maX add-on and the Automated Supplier Import add-on. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  6. ServiceM8 does not have built in functionality to create and send purchase orders to suppliers. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  7. ServiceM8's Xero sync covers invoices, payments, clients and items; supplier contacts in Xero are not imported. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.