I-COSTWhat the connection does
- Approved supplier invoices go to Xero as draft bills. Minus invoices go as draft supplier credit notes. Your finance team approves them in Xero as usual.
- Suppliers are matched to Xero contacts. I-Cost looks for a contact with the supplier's email address first, then one with exactly the same name. If there is no match, it creates the contact. You can check and change the matches under Suppliers in Xero.
- Projects can be tracked. If you choose a tracking category, each bill is tagged with its project.
- Paid dates come back. Every 4 hours, or when you press Check payments now, I-Cost reads each bill's status and paid date from Xero. The paid date shows on the order, in the Item tracker and in the supplier portal.
- Suppliers can be told when they are paid. I-Cost emails the supplier in your company's name when a bill is paid. This is on by default. Switch off Tell suppliers when an invoice is paid if you do not want it.
What I-Cost never does. I-Cost never approves, pays or deletes anything in Xero. It never sends a VAT amount: it sends the amount before VAT and the VAT rate you chose, and Xero works out the VAT. I-Cost never sees your Xero password; you sign in on Xero's own page.
Price
- Live connection: £10 a month for your whole company, on top of £35 per user per month. It is not self-serve: the I-Cost team switches it on when you ask. If you pay by card, it is added to your subscription.
- Without it, free: go to Purchase orders › Export bills for Xero and download a CSV file in Xero's bill import layout. Then import it in Xero yourself.
Getting started
- Start a free trial or sign in. Start a free 7-day trial (no bank card needed), or sign in to I-Cost. Already use Xero? Sign up with Xero fills in your name and email for you; it does not give I-Cost access to your books.
- Ask us to switch it on. In I-Cost, go to My Account › Connected apps › Xero and press Ask us to switch it on. We tell you when it is on.
- Connect once. Your company's I-Cost admin presses Connect to Xero, signs in to Xero, chooses the organisation and allows access.
- Choose your Xero settings. Go to Purchase orders › Export bills for Xero › Xero settings. Choose the account and the VAT rate. Both lists come from your own Xero. Bills are not sent until you have chosen them. Set the payment terms in days and, if you want, a tracking category for projects.
- Send invoices. Tick approved invoices and press Send to Xero. Or switch on Send each invoice when it is approved to send them by themselves. Then approve the drafts in Xero as usual.
Only company admins can connect or disconnect Xero. Admins, people with the Finance role and people who can add purchase orders can send invoices, check payments and change the Xero settings.
What data is shared
| Direction | What | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Into Xero | Draft bills and draft supplier credit notes | Invoice number, invoice date, due date, amount before VAT, account, VAT rate, tracking option and a link back to the purchase order in I-Cost |
| Into Xero | New contacts | Supplier name and email address, only when no matching contact is found |
| Into Xero | Tracking options | Project names, only if you chose a tracking category |
| Out of Xero | Bill status and payments | Status, paid date and amount paid, for bills I-Cost sent |
| Out of Xero | Contacts | Contact names and email addresses, to match your suppliers |
| Out of Xero | Accounts and VAT rates | Your chart of accounts and VAT rates, for the lists in Xero settings |
| Out of Xero | Organisation | The organisation name, to show which Xero you are connected to |
Access I-Cost asks Xero for
offline_access: stay connected without you signing in to Xero each time.accounting.invoices: create draft bills and credit notes, and read their status.accounting.contacts: find supplier contacts and create new ones.accounting.settings: read accounts, VAT rates and the organisation name, and add tracking options.accounting.payments.read: view payments, to show the paid date and amount.
I-Cost keeps the connection's access keys encrypted. More about how I-Cost handles data is in the I-Cost privacy notice and on our Security & trust page.
If something does not work
I-Cost says Xero is not connected
I-Cost shows the reason next to the Xero card in My Account › Connected apps. The most common one is that the connection was removed in Xero under Settings › Connected apps. Your company admin presses Connect to Xero again. Your settings and supplier matches are kept.
An invoice was not sent to Xero
The reason shows next to the invoice on the Export bills for Xero page. For example, Xero refuses a bill when the same supplier already has a bill with that invoice number. Fix it in Xero or in I-Cost, then send it again. Invoices already marked as paid by hand in I-Cost are not sent.
The account or VAT rate was archived in Xero
I-Cost stops sending bills until you choose again. Go to Purchase orders › Export bills for Xero › Xero settings and pick an account and VAT rate that are active in Xero.
How do I disconnect?
In I-Cost, your company admin goes to My Account › Connected apps and presses Disconnect from Xero. Or remove I-Cost in Xero under Settings › Connected apps. Bills already in Xero stay there. Paid dates stop coming back to I-Cost. To stop paying for the connection, email us and we switch it off.
What happens if our company leaves I-Cost?
The Xero connection is removed automatically when the company account is closed or suspended, or 14 days after the plan or free trial ends. Nothing in Xero is deleted.
Help
Email info@i-cost.co.uk with your company name and what you see. We reply on working days.