Integration
ServiceM8 and Xero: what syncs, in which direction, and how fast
ServiceM8 sends an invoice to Xero only when you approve it. Payments and customer contacts then sync both ways within 30 minutes, Xero tax rates and Sales or Revenue account codes flow down to ServiceM8, and tracking categories refresh once a day. Invoices created in Xero, zero value invoices and credit notes never reach ServiceM8, according to ServiceM8's help centre.
Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.
What syncs, and when
| What | Direction | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invoices | ServiceM8 to Xero | Approved from Invoicing, Awaiting Approval (Online Dashboard or iOS app) | The job must be Completed first. Arrives in Xero as Awaiting Approval unless you change Send invoices to Xero as. Zero value invoices are not sent. |
| Edits to an approved invoice | ServiceM8 to Xero | Any change that alters the invoice total | The existing Xero invoice is updated with the new line items rather than a second invoice being created. |
| Invoice number and Reference | ServiceM8 to Xero | With the invoice | By default the ServiceM8 job number becomes the Xero invoice number and the PO number goes in Reference. If Xero issues the numbers, the job number goes in Reference instead. |
| Due date | ServiceM8 to Xero | With the invoice | Worked out in ServiceM8 from the client's payment terms. Payment terms set on a Xero contact do not come back to ServiceM8. |
| Payments taken in ServiceM8 | ServiceM8 to Xero | On approval if taken before approval; immediately if taken after | Deposited to the Default account for payments. The Xero reference is the payment type, for example VISA or EFTPOS. |
| Payments received in Xero | Xero to ServiceM8 | Within 30 minutes | Only for invoices that were exported from ServiceM8. The job shows as paid once the full amount is received. |
| ServiceM8 Pay deposits | ServiceM8 to Xero | When the customer pays, or within 30 minutes | Lands as a prepayment credit against the contact. Needs the Default account for payments set to a bank account. Applied to the invoice only once the job is Completed, fully paid and approved. |
| Customer contacts from Xero | Xero to ServiceM8 | All on first connection, then new or edited contacts within 30 minutes | Supplier only contacts are skipped. Contacts archived or deleted in Xero disappear from ServiceM8 within 30 minutes. |
| Clients created in ServiceM8 | ServiceM8 to Xero, then both ways | First approved invoice for that client | After that, name, phone, address and billing contact changes sync both ways within 30 minutes. The ServiceM8 billing address becomes the Xero postal address. |
| Items and materials | Both ways | Xero items within 30 minutes; ServiceM8 materials only on an approved invoice | Xero items arrive as Materials. Items made inactive in Xero are not deleted in ServiceM8. |
| Income account codes | Xero to ServiceM8 | Imported automatically | Only Xero accounts of type Sales or Revenue appear in ServiceM8. |
| Tax rates | Xero to ServiceM8 | All on connection, then on any change in Xero | Tax changes made inside ServiceM8 are not sent to Xero. |
| Tracking categories (add-on) | Xero to ServiceM8, values back with each invoice | Categories refresh once a day | Choose values on the job card; they travel with that job's invoice. New categories in Xero take up to 24 hours to appear. |
| Timesheets (add-on) | ServiceM8 to Xero | End of each pay period | Automated Timesheet Sync sends clock on and off times (not job check in times). Xero support is Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and needs Xero Payroll access. |
What does not sync
- Invoices created directly in Xero. They never appear in ServiceM8, and they can take a number ServiceM8 later needs.
- Zero value invoices, and jobs approved with Approve job(s) without sending to Xero.
- Credit notes. ServiceM8 cannot create them; raise them in Xero.
- Payment terms set on a Xero contact, and client specific terms set in ServiceM8 (only the resulting due date travels).
- The job or site address. Only the client's billing address goes across, as the Xero postal address.
- Tax rate changes made in ServiceM8.
- Xero contacts that are suppliers only.
- A receipt to the customer. When a Xero payment syncs back, ServiceM8 does not automatically send a receipt or paid invoice.
Set it up
- In ServiceM8 on a computer, go to Settings, ServiceM8 Add-ons and click Connect beside Xero Integration.
- Work through the setup wizard: set the tax setting, then log in to Xero when asked.
- Pick the Xero organisation to connect and click Authorise. If your Xero login sees several organisations, check this choice twice.
- Wait a few minutes while ServiceM8 imports your Xero customers, items, income accounts and tax rates.
- Open Settings, Preferences, Invoicing, Xero and set the Default account for payments (a bank account if you take ServiceM8 Pay deposits), the Xero invoice number option and Send invoices to Xero as.
- Set your default payment terms under Invoicing Terms, and any client specific terms on each client's Billing Details.
- Complete one small job, approve it from Invoicing, Awaiting Approval, and confirm the green tick and the invoice in Xero before the whole team starts.
One direction for invoices, two for almost everything else
The ServiceM8 and Xero connection is built around one rule: jobs and invoices start in ServiceM8. An invoice only leaves ServiceM8 when someone approves it on the Invoicing page, and nothing created as an invoice in Xero ever comes back. After that first push, the rest of the relationship is two way. Payments your bookkeeper records in Xero come back to ServiceM8 inside 30 minutes, contact changes flow in both directions on the same cycle, and Xero stays the master for tax rates and income account codes.
That split explains most of the confusion people have. A client you added in ServiceM8 last week is not in Xero yet, because clients only go across with their first approved invoice. A tracking category your accountant added this morning is not in ServiceM8 yet, because categories only refresh once a day. Neither is a fault.
The settings that decide what Xero receives
Three dropdowns under Settings, Preferences, Invoicing, Xero shape every invoice. Send invoices to Xero as decides whether invoices land as Awaiting Approval (the default) or Approved. Xero invoice number decides whether the ServiceM8 job number becomes the invoice number, which also moves the PO number or the job number into Xero's Reference field. Default account for payments decides where money recorded in ServiceM8 lands, and it must be a bank account for ServiceM8 Pay deposits to arrive as prepayments.
Due dates are worked out in ServiceM8, not Xero. ServiceM8 counts from the day the job was Completed or the first PDF invoice was produced, whichever came first, using the client's payment terms in ServiceM8. Terms you set on a Xero contact are ignored.
Where the sync usually surprises people
Deleting is not symmetrical. Delete a client in ServiceM8 and Xero archives the contact; archive a contact in Xero and ServiceM8 removes the client within 30 minutes. A bookkeeper tidying Xero can therefore empty clients out of ServiceM8, and the next invoice for that customer fails until the contact is restored.
Payments are the other trap. A payment recorded in ServiceM8 after approval goes to Xero immediately, so recording the same payment in both systems pays the invoice twice. Pick one place to receipt money, usually Xero's bank reconciliation, and let the sync carry it back.
When it stops working
If invoices stop arriving, work through the single invoice causes first: an unapproved job, a zero total, a duplicate invoice number or an archived contact. If nothing at all is moving, the connection itself has usually expired, which ServiceM8 flags on the Invoicing page 12 months after connecting or whenever the app is disconnected from Xero's side. The guides linked below cover both cases step by step.
Sources
- Invoices are sent to Xero when approved from the Invoicing page; changes that affect the total re-sync the line items; invoices created in Xero are not sent to ServiceM8; zero value invoices are not sent. Payments received in Xero against an exported invoice sync to ServiceM8 within 30 minutes, and the invoice is marked paid once full payment is received. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Contacts and items entered into Xero sync to ServiceM8 within 30 minutes; ServiceM8 clients and materials go to Xero only with an approved invoice; contacts deleted or archived in Xero are removed from ServiceM8 within 30 minutes; contacts deleted in ServiceM8 are archived in Xero; supplier only contacts are not imported; tax changes in ServiceM8 do not sync back to Xero. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Only Xero accounts set as Sales or Revenue type appear in ServiceM8. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Xero tracking categories only sync once a day, so changes in Xero take up to 24 hours to appear in ServiceM8; job level selections are sent to Xero with the job's invoice. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Due dates calculated from client specific payment terms sync to the accounting package; payment terms set in the accounting package do not sync to ServiceM8; the due date is calculated from the date the job was Completed or the first PDF invoice was produced, whichever came first. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- ServiceM8 Pay deposits sync to Xero as a prepayment credit against the client, only when the Default account for payments is a bank account, and are applied to the invoice once the job is Completed, fully paid in ServiceM8 and approved to Xero. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- ServiceM8 cannot create credit notes; credit notes are created in the accounting package. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- A client's billing address in ServiceM8 becomes the contact's postal address in Xero. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Automated Timesheet Sync exports clock on and off times as timesheets, and supports Xero in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- ServiceM8 does not automatically send a receipt or paid invoice when a Xero payment syncs back. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- To connect, go to Settings, ServiceM8 Add-ons, click Connect for Xero Integration, complete the setup wizard and select the Xero organisation to authorise; existing Xero customers and items then import over the next few minutes. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- When the ServiceM8 job number is the Xero invoice number, the Reference field shows the ServiceM8 PO number; when Xero generates the number, Reference shows the ServiceM8 job number. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.