Turn signed quotes into Xero draft invoices
When the last signer signs, one Zap finds the client in Xero and creates a draft invoice with the lines they agreed to and the quote number as its reference. Finance checks it and approves it, as before.
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- Building QuoteCloud since 2013
Build a Zap with QuoteCloud's Zapier app, on Essentials and up. QuoteCloud's Document Signing Complete trigger starts it once every signer has signed. Xero's Find or Create Contact finds the client, and Create Sales Invoice creates a draft with the price table's lines, the QuoteCloud document number as the reference and, in the same Zap, the signed PDF attached.
Last reviewed by the QuoteCloud team
Two overlapping panels with sample data. Behind, Ridgeline Trade Services' job quote RT-4127 for Hannah Whitfield: a heat pump hot water replacement with a safe tray, $5,079.80 including tax, signed on site with a $1,523.94 deposit. In front, an illustration of the draft invoice a Zap created in the accounting app: contact Hannah Whitfield, reference RT-4127, the same lines and total.
Why not just re-key the signed quote?
Ridgeline Trade Services quotes hot water, switchboard and air-conditioning jobs on site. Before the Zap, Nadia Brooks in the office retyped every accepted quote into Xero at the end of the week: the client, eight or ten lines, the add-ons they ticked, the quote number in the reference.
Now the draft is waiting in Xero a minute after the client signs. Nadia reads it against the attached quote, sets the due date and approves it. The typing, and the typos, are gone; the checking stays with her.
- The Zap waits for every signer, so a half-signed quote never becomes an invoice.
- Status Draft is Xero's default for Create Sales Invoice: nothing is sent to the client until finance approves.
- The QuoteCloud number goes in the Reference, so deposits and payouts match by it.
How do I create a Xero invoice from a signed QuoteCloud quote?
Four steps, one Zap. Every name is the exact event you pick in Zapier.
ZapSigning complete: draft invoice in Xero
-
When
QuoteCloudTriggerDocument Signing CompleteFires once every signer has signed.Passes on
- Document number
- Signer name and email
- Line items
- Totals
-
Then
XeroSearchFind or Create ContactSearches by name, and creates the contact when there's no match, so the invoice never lands on a duplicate.Searches on
- Contact Name
- Primary Person - Email
-
Then
QuoteCloudActionGenerate or Fetch Document PDF LinkA short-lived link to the signed PDF, used in the next step. More on the signed PDF.Mapped in
- Document Number
-
Then
XeroActionCreate Sales InvoiceStatus Draft. Leave Invoice Number blank for Xero's own sequence; the QuoteCloud number goes in Reference.Mapped in
- Contact Name
- Status: Draft
- Reference
- Line items
- Attachment
-
Or
SlackAction · optionalSend Channel MessageTell accounts a draft is ready, in Slack or Microsoft Teams.Mapped in
- Channel
- Message
The same job can be built in Make, bring your own: Make's built-in OAuth connection to QuoteCloud and QuoteCloud's API, beside Make's own Xero modules.
Hannah Whitfield signs RT-4127 on site at 9:31 on Wednesday and pays the deposit. At 9:32 Xero has a draft for her, INV-1186, reference RT-4127, eight lines totalling $5,079.80, with the signed quote attached. On Thursday morning Nadia sets the due date and approves it.
Result
Every fully signed quote reaches Xero as a draft invoice on the right contact, with the right lines and reference, without anyone typing it.
QuoteCloud's Zapier app: Essentials and up
How trade businesses connect QuoteCloudWhat the draft looks like in Xero
The Zap fills what it knows from the signed quote: the contact, the reference, the lines with their item codes, quantities and prices, and the attachment. Each line's account and tax rate come from the Xero item behind its code, or from fixed values you set in the Zap.
What it leaves to you: the due date, the branding theme if you don't set one in the Zap, and the decision to approve.
- Xero needs either an Item Code, or a Description and a Unit Price, on every line.
- Amounts are tax exclusive unless you set Line Amount Types.
- A due date is only required once the invoice is approved.
Sales invoice · INV-1186Hannah Whitfieldhannah.whitfield@example.com Set by a Zap
Draft| Item | Description | Qty | Price | Account | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CALL-STD | Call-out & site assessment | 1 | $95.00 | 210 · LabourTax on sales 10% | $95.00 |
LAB-PLMB | Licensed plumber | 3.5 | $118.00 | 210 · LabourTax on sales 10% | $413.00 |
LAB-ELEC | Licensed electrician | 1 | $125.00 | 210 · LabourTax on sales 10% | $125.00 |
HWP-270 | Heat pump, 270 L | 1 | $3,480.00 | 200 · SalesTax on sales 10% | $3,480.00 |
PRT-TV20 | Tempering valve | 1 | $185.00 | 200 · SalesTax on sales 10% | $185.00 |
KIT-HWS | Valves, fittings & connectors | 1 | $140.00 | 200 · SalesTax on sales 10% | $140.00 |
DSP-STD | Removal & disposal | 1 | $60.00 | 200 · SalesTax on sales 10% | $60.00 |
PRT-TRAY | Safe tray & drain | 1 | $120.00 | 200 · SalesTax on sales 10% | $120.00 |
Set by a Zap
- Subtotal
- $4,618.00
- Total tax 10%
- $461.80
- Total
- $5,079.80
- Amount due
- $5,079.80
Attachments
- RT-4127 signed.pdf1.4 MB
History & notes
- Note: deposit $1,523.94 paid by card through Stripe on RT-4127Wed 14 Oct, 9:33 am · Added by a Zap
- Attachment added: RT-4127 signed.pdfWed 14 Oct, 9:32 am · Added by a Zap
- Draft invoice created, reference RT-4127Wed 14 Oct, 9:32 am · Added by a Zap
Illustration with sample data, not Xero’s screen.
Field map for the draft-invoice Zap
| Xero: Xero field | Direction | QuoteCloud: QuoteCloud field | Goes into | Example (sample data) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Find or Create Contact | |||||
| Contact Name | QuoteCloud to Xero | Signer name (or a Bill to data item) | Search value | Hannah Whitfield |
Search By: Name. |
| Primary Person - Email | QuoteCloud to Xero | Signer email | Xero contact field | hannah.whitfield@example.com |
Used when the contact is created. |
| Create Sales Invoice | |||||
| Contact Name | QuoteCloud to Xero | Name from Find or Create Contact | Invoice field | Hannah Whitfield |
|
| Status | QuoteCloud to Xero | Fixed: Draft | Invoice field | Draft |
Xero's default. |
| Reference | QuoteCloud to Xero | Document number | Invoice field | RT-4127 |
The key for every later Zap. |
| Line items: Item Code | QuoteCloud to Xero | Line items: SKU | Invoice line | HWP-270 |
Check the field in the test data. |
| Line items: Description, Quantity, Unit Price | QuoteCloud to Xero | Line items: label, quantity, price | Invoice line | Heat pump, 270 L · 1 · 3,480.00 |
|
| Attachment | QuoteCloud to Xero | PDF link (Generate or Fetch Document PDF Link) | RT-4127 signed.pdf |
Same Zap: the link is short-lived. | |
All values are sample data. The full map for every Zap on this site is on the field map page.
Variations on this recipe
Approved instead of draft
Set Status to Awaiting Payment and map a due date if you trust the signed quote as it stands. Then deposits can be recorded straight away, and Send Sales Invoice by Email can follow.
A Xero quote as well
Xero's Create New Quote Draft takes the contact, title, reference and terms. Its published fields have no line items, so test what it carries before you rely on it.
Tell accounts in chat
Add Send Channel Message for Slack or Microsoft Teams: who signed, the total and the reference, so the draft is reviewed the same day.
Build it in Make instead
Bring your own: Make's built-in OAuth connection to QuoteCloud and QuoteCloud's API or Zapier endpoints, beside Make's own Xero modules. No ready-made QuoteCloud app on Make.
Stop re-keying signed quotes
QuoteCloud's Zapier app is on the Essentials plan and up. Start a free 14-day trial and build the draft-invoice Zap with a test quote.
Build the draft-invoice Zap in five steps
Start with Document Signing Complete
In Zapier, choose QuoteCloud's Document Signing Complete trigger and test it with a fully signed test quote.
Find or create the contact
Add Xero's Find or Create Contact, searching by name, with the signer's email for new contacts.
Fetch the signed PDF
Add QuoteCloud's Generate or Fetch Document PDF Link with the document number.
Create the draft invoice
Add Xero's Create Sales Invoice: the contact, Status Draft, the document number in Reference, the line items and the PDF link as the attachment.
Test, then turn it on
Sign a test quote sent to an @example.com address, check the draft in Xero against the quote, then switch the Zap on.
Questions about draft invoices
Will the Zap send the invoice to my client?
No, not unless you add that step. Create Sales Invoice creates a draft by default, and Xero's Send Sales Invoice by Email only works on invoices that are Awaiting Approval, Awaiting Payment or Paid. Most finance teams keep the draft, check it and approve it in Xero as usual.
What if the client already exists in Xero?
Xero's Find or Create Contact searches by name first and only creates a contact when there's no match, so the invoice lands on the existing contact. Matching on the exact name matters: keep names the same in both apps, or use the account number as described on the contacts page.
Which number does the Xero invoice get?
Xero's own. Leave Create Sales Invoice's Invoice Number blank and Xero gives the next number in its sequence. Put the QuoteCloud document number, such as RT-4127, in Reference: it's the value every later Zap and your month-end matching use to find the invoice.
Does this Zap carry a QuoteCloud document fee?
No. It reads a signed QuoteCloud document and creates an invoice in Xero; it doesn't create a QuoteCloud document. The per-document fee of US$2.00, $1.80 or $1.60 by volume is for documents created through Zapier or the API. QuoteCloud's Zapier app is on Essentials and up.
More on QuoteCloud and Xero
Five use cases with the exact Zapier steps, a page for bookkeepers, then how to connect, test and what it costs.
- Price-table lines and Xero itemsThe chosen price-table rows as invoice lines, and your QuoteCloud product library kept in step with Xero items.
- Record QuoteCloud deposits in XeroDeposits paid on the quote through Stripe or PayPal, recorded against the Xero invoice by its reference.
- Attach the signed PDF to the Xero invoiceThe signed quote goes on the invoice as an attachment, in the same Zap, as the record of what was agreed.
- Find or create Xero contactsEvery invoice lands on the right Xero contact, and new contacts reach the other app without duplicates.
- QuoteCloud and Xero for accountants and bookkeepersWhat to set up in Xero, the controls that stay with you, month-end matching, and fee proposals to repeating invoices.
- Connect Xero to QuoteCloud, step by stepCheck the plan, connect QuoteCloud and Xero in Zapier, build the invoice Zap and test it.
- QuoteCloud to Xero field mapEvery field the Xero Zaps on this site pass, which way it travels and a sample value.
- Test and troubleshoot the Xero ZapsTest with a sample quote, then fix the usual problems: duplicate contacts, missing accounts, payments on drafts.
- What QuoteCloud with Xero can and can't doWhat the Zaps do, where they stop, Zapier or Make, and what we haven't confirmed yet.
- What the Xero connection costsEssentials and up for Zapier; Zaps that create Xero invoices, contacts or payments carry no QuoteCloud document fee.
- FAQAnswers to the questions finance teams ask before connecting QuoteCloud and Xero.
Signed at 9:31. A draft in Xero at 9:32.
Start a free 14-day trial and turn every fully signed QuoteCloud quote into a Xero draft invoice with one Zap.