How to export invoices from Xero to Excel

To get invoices from Xero into Excel, export them from the invoices list or export a Receivable Invoice report. The invoices list gives a CSV in Xero's import format, one row per line item. The reports give a readable list that exports straight to Excel. The right one depends on what the spreadsheet is for.

Quick answer

Export invoices as CSV from the invoices list

1. Go to Sales, then Invoices.
2. Pick a status tab, such as Paid or Awaiting payment, or All.
3. To narrow it down, click Search and set a start date, end date and date type.
4. Click Export and save the CSV.

Things to know about this file:

• One row per line item. An invoice with three lines takes three rows, and the contact and invoice details repeat on each. To total by invoice, use a pivot table on the invoice number, or the report below.
• At most 500 invoices per export. For more, export in batches by status tab or by date range and paste the files together.
• Xero's import format. The columns are the ones Xero expects when you import invoices: good for moving data between organisations, poor for reading.
• Credit notes come out too. Credit notes, prepayments and overpayments export the same way, so check what's in the file before you total it.
• No payment dates. The file doesn't say when an invoice was paid. The Receivable Invoice Detail report has a Last Payment Date column you can add.
• Dates can come out the wrong way round. Open the CSV with Data > From Text/CSV and pick the right locale, rather than double-clicking the file.

Export a readable invoice list with the Receivable Invoice reports

1. Go to Reporting, then All reports, and open Receivable Invoice Summary (one line per invoice) or Receivable Invoice Detail (line by line).
2. Set the date range and choose whether it searches by invoice date or due date.
3. Add columns if you need them, such as Balance, Last Payment Date or Invoice Sent, then click Update.
4. Click Export and choose Excel.

Use the report when someone wants to see what you billed: customer, invoice number, dates, amounts and what's still owed, laid out like the report. Credit notes and overpayments are listed too. Deleted and voided invoices are included by default, so filter them out before you send the file on.

For supplier bills, the same two routes exist: Purchases, then Bills, then Export bills for the CSV, or the Payable Invoice Detail report for a readable list.

Which one to use

• Moving invoices to another Xero organisation or system: the CSV export, because it's already in the import layout (payments don't come across).
• Analysing sales by item, account or line: the CSV, with a pivot table.
• Sending a list to a director, client or credit controller: the Receivable Invoice Summary report.
• Chasing what's unpaid: Xero's Aged Receivables Detail report, which shows how overdue each invoice is. Reportpost also emails an unpaid invoices list every week if you schedule one.

Getting the invoice list every week or month

Every export in Xero is a manual click, and Xero's standard report screens have no schedule option. If someone needs last month's invoices in Excel on the 1st of every month, Reportpost sends them. You connect Xero (read-only), choose the invoices raised list, pick a period such as last week or last month and a day and time, and add up to 20 recipients. The people who get the file don't need a Xero login. Each send pulls fresh figures from Xero and attaches:

• Excel, one sheet per list, or CSV, one file per list. Each has one row per invoice: number, customer, date, due date, status, total and the amount still due. If you invoice in more than one currency, there's a currency column and a total for each currency.
• Only approved and paid invoices are included. Drafts are a separate list, and voided or deleted invoices are left out.
• Credit notes raised in the same period as negative lines, so the total is sales less credit notes.
• A PDF copy as well, if you choose PDF and Excel or PDF and CSV.

To see who you billed most, add Sales by Customer to the same schedule. It gives one line per customer for the period, after credit notes, with sales excluding tax, tax, what's still owed and each customer's share of sales. The same schedule takes unpaid invoices, draft invoices or unpaid bills, and reports such as the Profit and Loss. On the Bookkeeper and Practice plans, one schedule covers several client organisations in a single email (up to 10 on Bookkeeper, 11 on Practice), with separate files for each.

Reportpost sends invoice totals, not line items, so for line-level analysis you still want the CSV export. Try the demo with sample data, no signup needed. Plans start at US$12 a month for one organisation, excluding VAT, with a 14-day free trial.

Common questions

How do I export all invoices from Xero at once?

The invoice export stops at 500 invoices, so export in batches by status tab or date range. If a readable list is enough, run the Receivable Invoice Summary report for the whole date range and export it.

Can I export invoices from Xero as PDFs in bulk?

Yes, as one file. Go to Sales, then Invoices, tick the invoices, click Print and choose whether to mark them as sent. Xero downloads a single PDF with all of them. Xero has no option to download them as separate PDF files. That request is open on Xero's product ideas forum.

Why does my Xero invoice export have several rows per invoice?

The CSV has one row per line item, with the invoice details repeated on each line. Pivot on the invoice number to get one row per invoice, or use the Receivable Invoice Summary report instead.

Are credit notes in the invoice export?

Yes. Xero exports invoices, credit notes, prepayments and overpayments in the same CSV format, and the Receivable Invoice reports list credit notes as well.

Related: exporting Xero reports to Excel, exporting bank transactions to Excel, where every other Xero export lives and a weekly list of unpaid invoices.