# How to match a bill to a purchase order in Xero

In Xero, open the purchase order, compare each bill line to the purchase order line on quantity and unit price and query any difference before you approve.

Matching a bill to a purchase order means checking the invoice lines against what was ordered (and sometimes received) before you pay.

## Before you start

- Purchase order and bill permissions (Administrator, Standard, Sales and purchases or Purchases)

## The Xero way

Where to find it: Purchases > Purchase orders > open an approved order > Create bill

1. Raise and approve the purchase order.
2. When the supplier invoice arrives, open the approved order and click Create bill.
3. Edit the items and quantities to bill, then click Create bill.
4. Compare quantities and prices with the supplier invoice, then save or approve the bill. The bill's History and notes link back to the order, and the order number is in Reference.
5. To bill many orders: Purchase orders > Approved tab > tick up to 25 orders (under 100 line items in total) > Create bill. Xero makes one draft bill per supplier. Orders with different tax rates or currencies become separate bills.

## Limits in Xero

- You cannot create a bill from an order in draft, awaiting approval or billed status.
- Xero Central describes no price or quantity mismatch alert between the bill and the order.
- Xero Central describes no goods receipt step.

## Good to know in Xero

- The order shows a [number]% billed field once saved. The percentage uses quantity ordered.
- The Xero purchase orders page says Xero matches the order to the invoice. Xero Central describes a link and a billed percentage, not a match check.

## The Pulsify way

1. Sync your open POs from Xero to Pulsify.
2. Forward the supplier's invoice. Pulsify links it to the right purchase order.
3. Pulsify matches each line on quantity and unit price, to within 1 cent.
4. Review flags for price differences, extra quantity and lines not on the PO.
5. Approve. The bill is created in Xero against the purchase order.

Pulsify connects to Xero in one click. Approved bills are created in Xero with the source file attached.

What Pulsify does not do here:

- Pulsify has no tolerance setting. It compares to the cent.
- Flags are warnings. Your approver decides.

## Example in Xero

Example Plumbing Supplies sends an invoice for approved order PO-0042. You click Create bill on the order.

- Order line: 40 x pipe at $18.50: $740.00 (Copied to the bill by Create bill)
- Invoice line: 40 x pipe at $19.80: $792.00 (You change the price and spot the $52.00 gap yourself)
- Courier fee: $35.00 (Extra line, not on the order)

Xero shows no alert for the $52.00 price difference or the $35.00 courier fee. Compare each line with the invoice before you approve.

## Common mistakes

- Trying to create a bill from an order in draft, awaiting approval or billed status. Only approved orders work.
- Assuming Xero checks the match. The order shows a billed percentage, not a mismatch alert.

## Common questions

### How do I link a bill to a purchase order in Xero?

Open the approved order and click Create bill. The bill's History and notes link back to the order and the order number is in Reference.

### Does Xero flag a price or quantity that differs from the order?

Xero Central describes a link and a billed percentage. It does not describe a price or quantity mismatch alert, so compare the bill with the supplier invoice yourself.

### Can I make bills from several orders at once?

Yes. On the Approved tab tick up to 25 orders and click Create bill. Xero makes one draft bill per supplier.

### What does Pulsify flag?

A unit price that differs from the PO, a quantity above the PO line and lines that are not on the PO.

## Sources

- https://central.xero.com/0/article/Creating-bills-from-purchase-orders
- https://central.xero.com/0/article/Create-purchase-orders-AU
- https://www.xero.com/au/accounting-software/purchase-orders/

Source: https://www.pulsify.tech/how-to/match-a-bill-to-a-purchase-order-in-xero/ (last checked 2026-10-19)