What happens when you publish
Publishing is when a receipt becomes a real transaction in your client's accounting software. Bills and expenses work with Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB and FreeAgent, sales invoices work with Xero, QuickBooks Online and MYOB, and credit notes work with Xero only. 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. In MYOB it's a Service bill, and the preview panel says To MYOB as an open bill: it's live in MYOB as soon as it's published.
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.
For a sales invoice: a sales invoice against the buyer or agent as a customer. In Xero it goes in as Draft or Awaiting Payment, depending on the client's setting. In MYOB and QuickBooks Online, it's open and live as soon as it's published.
For a credit note: a supplier credit note against the supplier, in Xero only. It goes in as Draft or Approved, the same as the client's bills.
The original receipt is attached to the transaction, except on a MYOB sales invoice, which you attach yourself in MYOB.
💡 You decide what gets published
A receipt only reaches the ledger when someone in your team publishes it, or, for bills and expenses but never sales invoices, when it matches a Publish with XBert rule you've set up, so you're always in control of what goes through and when.
👉 Read more here: How To: Publish Receipts Automatically with an XBert Rule
⚠️ Publishing doesn't reconcile the bank feed
XBert creates the bill, Spend Money transaction, sales invoice or credit note, 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, sales invoices and credit notes will go in as Draft or Approved. An approved bill or sales invoice also needs a due date. An approved credit note doesn't.
👉 Read more here: How To: Choose Whether Bills and Sales Invoices Go to Xero as Draft or ApprovedThe 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.
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.
Hover over it and you'll see Ask XI to publish this receipt.
The XI panel opens, and XBert works through the publishing steps one at a time.
Wait until you see All steps completed successfully!
The Receipt Capture work item is marked as completed, and Published changes to Yes on the Receipt Capture page.
Click View Record on the work item to open the transaction.
The publishing steps
The steps are named for the type of receipt you're publishing. Bills and sales invoices have their own names for steps 1, 2 and 5. A credit note uses the bill step names, so step 5 says Create bill, but XBert creates a credit note in Xero.
Step | What XBert does |
1. Validate bill data or Validate sales invoice data | Checks the receipt's details are complete and add up. This is where a bill or sales invoice set to Approved with no due date is stopped, where a sales invoice with a total below zero is held, and where a credit note that can't be published is held. |
2. Check for duplicate bills and bank transactions or Check for duplicate sales invoices | Looks for the same bill, expense or sales invoice already in the ledger. |
3. Validate tax registration | Checks the supplier's tax registration. On a sales invoice it's skipped, because the GST depends on your client's own registration. |
4. Create or update contact | Finds the supplier, or on a sales invoice the customer, in the ledger. If they're not there yet, XBert adds them as a new contact. |
5. Create bill or Create sales invoice | Creates the transaction in the ledger, with the receipt attached. |
6. Update notification status | Marks the Receipt Capture work item as completed. |
💡 How XBert spots a duplicate
Bills
XBert looks for a bill already in your client's accounting software with the same supplier, date and amount.
It also warns you if a bill has the same invoice number and supplier but a different date or a different amount (not both), or if there's an expense from that supplier for the same amount dated from the day before to a week after the receipt.
Expenses
XBert looks for an expense with the same supplier, date and amount. The date has to match exactly.
Sales invoices
XBert looks for a sales invoice already in your client's accounting software with the same customer, date and amount.
It also warns you if a sales invoice has the same reference and customer and either the same date or the same amount, or if there's a Receive Money transaction from that customer for the same amount dated from the day before to a week after the sales invoice.
If the same receipt was entered in the ledger with a different date, XBert may not be able to tell they're the same. Check the client's accounting software if you think a receipt may already have been entered.
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 or a supplier with no ABN. Read the message, then click Resume to carry on or Retry Step to run the step again. |
Failed on a step | Click Retry Step. If it fails again with the same message, send us a screenshot of it. If there's no Retry Step, retrying can't change the result, so follow what the message says. |
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. If it's a sales invoice with a total below zero, it can't be published, so record it as a sales credit note against the agent in your client's accounting software yourself, then delete the document in XBert. If it's a credit note for a client on QuickBooks Online, MYOB or FreeAgent, or one added as an expense, it can't be published either, so enter it in the ledger yourself, then delete the document in XBert. |
⚠️ 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.
👉 Read more here: How To: Continue Publishing a Receipt Held for Review
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.
A credit note is left unallocated, so apply it to the supplier's bill in Xero.
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