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Hi @Paul Nixon,

I understand the frustration around not being able to bulk export attachments directly from Xero, but it’s important to note that relying on Xero’s limitations as an excuse to a tax authority isn’t valid. If you review Xero’s Terms of Use, they clearly state that users are responsible for maintaining copies of all data entered into the platform. This includes any files or attachments uploaded.

If a business doesn’t currently have a copy of these documents outside Xero, it’s a serious risk and highlights the need for a proper backup strategy. Cloud accounting software is not a substitute for your own record-keeping obligations. Tax authorities expect you to have access to your source documents regardless of the software you use.

In short:

* Xero provides tools for compliance, but ultimate responsibility lies with the user.
* If you don’t have backups, now is the time to implement one—there’s no excuse for not safeguarding your data.

Having just read the comments regarding Xero Approved Apps it is disappointing that Xero do not allow users to bulk extract their data from uploaded files used to support transactions direct from the system. Its not about the "few bucks" I should not need a work around for such a basic requirement. This feels like going backwards and would we buy software that only posted a one sided credit entry and then bought add-ons for the debits. Guess I will have to keep the electronic list of files separately just like the old days with monthly lever arch files, just without having the paper. Only an option if you are a business with relatively few transactions!

To address Kelly's comment directly its not my problem that the complexity of the feature means that its not on your roadmap, its Xero, and thanks for giving me the evidence that if I am ever asked for a bulk download from the tax authorities or auditors that its not me being difficult its a Xero software failure.

To save everyone time reading through 14+ pages of frustration, I’ve compiled the list of Xero-approved apps mentioned here that handle backups and data restoration:

Control-C: https://apps.xero.com/!QfMrh/app/controlc
Boxkite: https://apps.xero.com/!QfMrh/search/app/boxkite
Numerint: https://apps.xero.com/!QfMrh/search/app/numerintbackup

FileXtract - but tis not part of Xero app developers

Do any of the readers here subscribe to a backup service? If so, congratulations—you already have the golden ticket. That service should hand you all your attachments neatly packaged, right? Problem solved.

Now, I get it—the idea of paying for yet another subscription might feel like buying an umbrella on a sunny day. But ask yourself: is it really that cost-prohibitive to spend a few bucks for peace of mind when an auditor or tax regulator is breathing down your neck? Compared to the alternative—clicking “Download” a thousand times—those few dollars start looking like a bargain.

Because honestly, if your plan is to wait for Xero to provide it or you manually download every file, you might want to block out your calendar until… well, retirement.

We (Control-C) will offer you a free backup for 30days, to backup and download all your attachments (extended if you have so much data it does not complete within the 30days) to anyone who mentioned that you read this post. You can find us in the Xero App Store and there is no obligation to continue the service after that.

@Carlos Pascual
Here’s the irony: by subscribing to Control-C, you actually resolve your non-compliance issue of not having a copy of all your data entered into Xero, as required by Xero’s Terms of Use—assuming you don’t already have a third-party backup in place to protect your subscribers’ data. In other words, you’re ticking the compliance box and, as a bonus, you get Bulk Export of Attachments included. 😉

Frankly, I don’t see any practical way to extract all the data you’ve entered into Xero without an automated solution. Doing it manually is not only time-consuming but also economically unviable compared to the minimal cost of an automated backup.

Exactly, we need bulk download all attached pdf receipts and invoices on each transactions. That is very critical whenever we do audit or required documents.

"Kelly & Team – relying on third-party integrations for basic data retrieval is a compliance risk, not a solution.

While we appreciate the transparency regarding the technical challenges of 'bulk printing' Excel files (as Campbell noted), this thread has conflated 'Print' with 'Export.' We don't need Xero to format Excel files for paper; we need Xero to allow us to extract our own substantiated data.

The Urgency: In the event of a tax audit or if a business needs to migrate software, we are currently unable to extract the source documents (PDFs/receipts) that substantiate our ledger without clicking one-by-one thousands of times. This makes Xero a 'black hole' for data.

Please decouple 'Bulk Print' from 'Bulk Export.' If the roadmap blocks printing, fine. But Bulk Export is a fundamental feature for data ownership and audit trails that needs to be prioritized immediately. We shouldn't have to pay extra subscription fees to third-party apps just to access our own historical records."

@Rob Storey

In Kelly's defence...

Bulk Print vs Bulk Export – Why They’re Connected but Not Competing

The core need behind this idea is bulk export – the ability to retrieve all attached files from Xero in one go for backup, audit, or compliance purposes. Once files are exported, printing them becomes straightforward using any standard print workflow outside Xero.

“Bulk print” is essentially a side effect of having bulk export. If you can export everything, you can print everything. The real challenge is getting the files out efficiently, not printing them inside Xero.

So, this request should be understood as:

Bulk export = essential feature
Bulk print = natural consequence of export, not a separate priority.

Focusing on bulk export doesn’t detract from the printing need—it actually solves it. If Xero delivers bulk export, users gain full flexibility to print, archive, or process files however they choose.

It does make sense to wrap both these up into one thread IMO

Why have you merged my comment about bulk file export into this again? Every time you do this the idea gets lost with the bulk print request which you state in this thread is the big problem. I don't want / need the bulk print facility, it is a legal responsibility that I securely store all files and if I can't bulk download this makes it a time consuming task to ensure backups! Please separate these 2 ideas - they a VERY different!

There is a long ongoing topic relating to bulk file export but it is very much tied into a bulk print requirement.
These topics need to be separated as it appears that the issue for Xero is the print function.
If these topics are separated at least we can then get the bulk file download that so many seem to need / want.
And again to be clear this is not a request for downloading invoices and their attachments but a bulk download of the files stored in Xero.

Its very important to have bulk downloads for all attachments on transactions. It is impossible to download each... hope you can have this new feature to help us. Thank you

📂 **New Feature Just Released:

🚀 **BULK Export All Invoices as PDF + Attachments**

You can now export your entire invoice history — organised by Contact Name → Invoice Number → Invoice PDF + all attachments. No more digging, no more manual sorting. Just clean, complete records at your fingertips.

ALSO — Coming Soon from Control-C!

🚀 **Unlimited Addresses for Xero Contacts**

Still stuck with just one address per contact in Xero? That’s about to change!

Control-C is launching a game-changing update that gives you the freedom to use as many addresses as you need — no workarounds, no frustration, and most importantly, no compromise to your historical invoice integrity.

🧠 **Why This Matters**

Xero’s current design means that if you update a contact’s name or address, every past invoice linked to that contact is retroactively changed. That’s not just inconvenient — it’s a serious audit risk. You lose the original invoice details, making it impossible to reissue a true copy or prove compliance.

Control-C solves this.

Our upcoming multiple-address support doesn’t just let you pick any address for any invoice — it also preserves the original invoice exactly as it was issued. Every change is versioned, every invoice is backed up, and your audit trail stays intact.

🛡️ **Total Peace of Mind**

- Immutable invoice history — even if you update a contact, the original invoice remains untouched.
- Automated backups with full version control.
- Audit-compliant record keeping, built into every invoice.

🚨 **Early Access: Sign Up Now!**

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📧 Email us at **earlybird@control-c.com** to register your interest.

Thanks Diana for your thoughtful reply—and I completely agree, having access to your attachments in bulk is essential, especially for audit or compliance purposes.

Just to clarify, the original request was for the ability to "bulk export and print" attachments from Xero. What you’ve described—QuickBooks Online exporting attachments into a ZIP file—is exactly what Control-C offers for Xero. We provide a bulk export of all invoice-related attachments in a structured format, ready for printing. Like QuickBooks, we don’t automatically print Excel (XLSX) files, because as we pointed out, those still require manual formatting and printing due to their variable layout.

So yes, the technology to bulk export is achievable (and we’ve built it), but the “print” part—especially for Excel files—is where things get tricky. QuickBooks doesn’t print XLSX files either; it simply gives you access to them in bulk, which is what most users need. If that’s the goal, Control-C already delivers that functionality for Xero.

Appreciate your engagement on this—it’s exactly the kind of feedback that helps move things forward.

Thanks to Campbell Green for trying to explain and resolve this query that has been ongoing for years. What I struggle to understand is that Quickbooks Online already has this bulk export facility of attachments. If the technology is as difficult to build as described, why can Quickbooks Online do it and Xero can't? You would imagine that Xero has the resources to buy the know how from Quickbooks if they can't develop it themselves? Quickbooks exports excel attachments into zip files so would still need to be manually printed but most people don't need an instantly readable picture of all the files, they just want access to those files should they/HMRC wish to look at any of them in the future.

There is no denying it, this one has been requested for years and definitely has merit.

Let me explain really briefly why this is not an easy or a possible task for Xero, or anyone to implement with a great deal of success.

The challenge with implementing a bulk export and print feature in Xero isn’t just about downloading files—it’s about how those files behave when printed, specifically Excel spreadsheets (XLSX), a file format Xero allows to be used as an attachment.

Unlike PDFs or images, Excel files aren’t designed for printing. They often span multiple pages, have variable layouts, and require manual formatting (like adjusting orientation, scaling, or selecting print areas) to look right on paper. Automating this process reliably across hundreds of files is extremely difficult, and that’s likely why Xero hasn’t offered a bulk print option—it’s not just a technical hurdle, it’s a formatting nightmare.

That said, the next best solution would be a bulk download/export of all attachments related to an invoice, organised in a logical folder structure. This would allow users to manually handle printing of complex files like XLSX while still saving time on retrieval.

If you're looking for a solution today, check out Control-C.com or find us in the Xero App Store - we are a certified Xero App Partner.

We currently offer exporting of an invoice, complete with its attachments and are about to release a bulk export of invoices and attachments, making it easier to manage your data - however printing Excel files will always need your manual touch. The good thing is you don't have to manually download your attachments one at a time through Xero, we do this for you. We will be creating subfolders by Contact, with all the invoices and their related attachments in separate subfolders by invoice.

I hope that helps clarify why this request is more complex than it seems. The expectation is unreasonable from a technical perspective and nothing to do with Xero's inability to deliver a complete solution for this request. For those wanting a more detailed drill into the reason why, please read the attached document.

I hope this is received by the Xero community as a helpful response (with a solution), as to why Xero are not going to build this anytime soon. I am sure Kelly would love to close this request after all these years. ;-)

RE Paul Nixon's comment below, how have we all been lulled into using Xero software, and indeed recommended it by our accountants, when it doesn't meet UK legislation? I would have assumed, quite wrongly, that compliance would be a huge feature in any accounting software and always has been in the past e.g. old style Sage - but now software suppliers don't seem to care.

very important

There's been many threads on this and it's extremely disappointing that Xero doesn't support bulk export. As Paul Nixon says in this thread, it's a legal requirement in the UK and we're entitled to request a copy of all our data.

Hi All

I have just asked the same question and received the same answer that files uploaded can not be bulk downloaded. Seems strange as the image must be somewhere on a data path. I am not that computer literate so will go with the explanation here.

However Xero do seem to be putting anyone using the software, without a separate backup of an invoice, in breach of HMRC regulations "CH13400 - Record Keeping: How records may be preserved: Computer records" where we should be able to reproduce any document supporting a transaction.

In addition there is a need to comply with proper accounting records with the Companies Act.

Only really an issue if you move software as you will need to maintain the Xero record for at least 6 years or as noted in comment by Gemma the business is closed. My issue is slightly different as I need the link to be verified for a potential dispute

Do Xero have any advise they can share with the community that will alleviate concerns regarding record keeping requirements under HMRC regulations and the Companies Act.

In summary though it would have been very useful if I could have downloaded the pdf uploads to a particular supplier account in one go as I need these to support a complaint regarding historical issues, and the download would have given me the audit trail showing that they have been accurately reproduced from the software.

This would be a useful functionality to have in Xero!