What happens when you publish

Publishing is when a receipt becomes a real transaction in your client's accounting software. It works with Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB and FreeAgent. XBert creates:

For a bill: a bill. In Xero it goes in as Draft or Awaiting Payment, depending on the client's setting. In QuickBooks Online, MYOB and FreeAgent, bills are created ready to pay.
For an expense: a transaction paid from the bank account the receipt was paid from. That's a Spend Money transaction in Xero and MYOB, an expense in QuickBooks Online, or an explained bank transaction in FreeAgent.

The original receipt is attached to the transaction.

💡 You decide what gets published

A receipt only reaches the ledger when someone in your team publishes it, or when it matches a Publish with XBert rule you've set up, so you're always in control of what goes through and when.

⚠️ Publishing doesn't reconcile the bank feed

XBert creates the bill or Spend Money transaction, but it doesn't match it to the bank feed line. You still reconcile in your client's accounting software, the same way you do now.

Before you start

Check and correct the receipt's details.
- 👉 Read more here: How To: Edit Receipt Details Before Publishing
For Xero clients, check whether bills will go in as Draft or Approved.
- 👉 Read more here: How To: Choose Whether Bills Go to Xero as Draft or Approved
The client must be connected. If their accounting software is disconnected, you'll see Reconnect instead of Publish.

Publish a receipt

Open the receipt's Receipt Capture work item.
1. From your work list, or from the Receipt Capture page by opening the receipt and clicking Open.
Click Publish at the top of the work item.
1. Hover over it and you'll see Ask XI to publish this receipt.
2. The XI panel opens, and XBert works through the publishing steps one at a time.
Wait until you see All steps completed successfully!
1. The Receipt Capture work item is marked as completed, and Published changes to Yes on the Receipt Capture page.
2. Click View Record on the work item to open the transaction.

The publishing steps

Step	What XBert does
1. Validate bill data	Checks the receipt's details are complete and add up.
2. Check for duplicate bills	Looks for the same transaction already in the ledger.
3. Validate tax registration	Checks the supplier's tax registration.
4. Create or update contact	Finds the supplier in the ledger. If they're not there yet, XBert adds them as a new contact.
5. Create bill	Creates the transaction in the ledger, with the receipt attached.
6. Update notification status	Marks the Receipt Capture work item as completed.

For an expense, the steps say bank transaction instead of bill, for example Create bank transaction.

If publishing doesn't finish

What you see	What to do
Action Required on a step	XBert needs you to check something before it carries on, such as a possible duplicate. Read the message, then click Resume to carry on or Retry Step to run the step again.
Failed on a step	Click Retry Step.
Not published - needs review on the work item	Publishing stopped part way. Click the banner (XI didn't publish this document. Click to retry publishing.) to try again.
Held for review	Something in the receipt's details doesn't add up. Correct it, then publish again.

⚠️ Check possible duplicates before you resume

If XBert finds a possible duplicate, you'll see Resuming will publish this document to the accounting system anyway. Check the client's accounting software first, so you don't create the same transaction twice.

After a receipt is published

You can't edit it in XBert any more. To make changes, edit the transaction in your client's accounting software.
Deleting the receipt in XBert doesn't remove the transaction from the ledger.

What's next

👉 How To: Find Receipt Capture Work Items on Your Work List

Need help?

If you have any questions, our support team is here to help!

Reach out via the chat widget on the bottom left of your XBert screen (Help), or email us at support@xbert.io

How To: Publish a Receipt