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Create the functionality to post supplier (overhead) invoices with an effective date within the current month, regardless of the actual date of the invoice itself. I.e. I want/need to be able to process supplier invoices that are received late as the date they have been generated, but to still recognise the expense in the current month's P&: rather than change a previous/historical one that has already been closed off/finalised.

I am in agreement with most of the previous commenters. Being able to post invoices in the appropriate period with the actual date listed on invoice is necessary to have accurate info for GAAP reporting and when being audited. Once a period is closed (12/2024 for example), an invoice with a date from December 2024 should not be able to post to the December period but should be posted in January 2025 but with the December invoice date, the actual invoice date needs to be listed to matching requirements for internal controls and audits. All other accounting systems I have used have a "post period" separate from the entry/invoice date; please reference other accounting systems or speak with partners at a reputable audit firm.

This is an essential need for a finance system that supports accruals accounting and all other finance systems I have worked with all have this functionality. It enables a proper month end close process, as otherwise figures can be forever moving (even if you lock down the reports or date - what do you do if you get an invoice through late? Either you back post it or you post it with the wrong date currently).

For audit and tax purposes you have to post invoices at their tax point but that means you can't lock down a period fully to accurately report in Xero at the moment. Having an additional field for posting date or period (which can be input similarly to invoice date) would fix this.

Posting date and Invoice Date is critical for month-end and year-end close. Basic function a finance system NEEDS.

This is one feature in QB that I miss. When setting up a repeating invoice, there are three dates needed. 1) Invoice date, 2) days past invoice date due, and 3) days before invoice to post. Then when number 3 day hits, the repeating invoice(s) will automatically post to my receivables. For people who have repeating invoices, this would be a nice feature.

When a customer pays early, we can only reconcile the payment received to the posted invoice. Either have the feature to set up pre-posting of invoices or allow us to reconcile payments to a repeating invoice yet to be posted.

I am shocked that a system that purports to be financial does not have this feature. It is a requirement of accounting and to be compliant with audit. I agree with others its not a nice to have but essential for the accurate running of any accounts. My predecessor moved us to Xero before I joined the company. However, this clearly something that is a critical requirement. With no known date to resolve, the lack of updates and the statement it is not currently being worked on, I have no alternative but to change systems.

As mentioned by others below, this is absolutely one of critical features. Not only would this allow for efficient accruals process, it also avoids having to manually manipulate invoice dates to account for locked periods etc. Please provide an update with an estimated timeline.

This isn't just a "nice-to-have"—it's a critical feature that all accrual accounting systems should support. By not offering this functionality, Xero risks losing startups and other businesses that require it to operate effectively.

It’s been about a year since Xero last communicated on this topic. Has there been any progress or updates? This feature is essential, and it’s frustrating to see no movement on such a basic yet vital need.

Looking forward to hearing where things stand.

From my point of view, we need a placeholder for date so that we can add-subtract and provide a range in the invoice for the servicing period.
Example : Weekly invoices need a placeholder in the description saying for which week this is being invoiced for. Giving a week number is fruitless as no one in the payment team will understand this. They need a range like 04 Nov 2024 to 08 Nov 2024 or 04/11/2024 - 8/11/2024 or 4-8 Nov 2024

Critical feature - I will be moving 40+ Xero subscriptions to another accounting system if Xero doesn't improve on basic features like this. Xero - listen to your customers. Adapt of be left behind.

This is very critical to be able to handle accrual accounting concepts.

This is a requirement when it comes to accrual-basis accounting and prevents the ability to do any sort of month-end or quarter-end close process, as using the invoice date would backdate transactions into "closed" periods. If the posting date is entered into the invoice date field, then you have incorrect invoice details in Xero that do not match the invoice itself. This is absolutely a critical requirement and I am very surprised this feature does not already or exist, or is even being worked on at the moment.

This is a business critical feature for basic month end closing if you are running a business with accrual accounting as your basis. Not only is it critical when running accrual accounting in order to have an effective close off, but it is a basic accounting feature that needs to be included.

Features to allow user to enter both "Documents Date" and "Posting Date" when we record for any single transaction instead only one column of "Date".

For example, the invoice date could be 30 of Jun 2024 but as we receive this invoice later, on 10 of Jul. With this, I cannot book this invoice in Jun ledgers, because the month had closed. So, I have to book (post) the invoice in Jul ledgers, on 10th.
Any updates would be appreciate.

This is absolutely vital for business's which have a hard close at the end of every month. Without this feature we have to enter the posting date as the invoice date which means aged payable reports are inaccurate.

As an SME with no bookkeeper, this has recently caused me a few (!) problems.

The current date field has no legend associated with it. I, wrongly, assumed that this must be provided for the invoice date. Well, surely the system knows when the bill was paid and imported to Xero, so why would there be a changeable date field if it wasn't for the invoice date - the 'unknown' missing bit of vital information associated with an invoice!!

I was stunned to discover that it was for the posting date. This has to be fixed, but I see that it was first raised over 2 years ago!

I'm not an accountant, but recording the invoice date is surely accounting 101. Yes, there are lengthy workarounds for this - but this isn't what I would call beautiful business.

@Hannah G and Xero Admin Team,

The why we need this separate field is related with the ability to close each month and don't need to open again when invoices come on a later date. Currently you need to either open again and post with the document date or post it in the current month with the current date and ignore the real date on the invoice/receipt.
The first option is not ideal as all the month reporting will change after posting an invoice. The second option creates confusion as the date used to post is not the real date on the invoice/receipt, it isn't ideal for audit trail.
I have seen the two fields in many other accounting softwares, so I am not 100% sure why Xero does not have it. I will be vary valuable if an Accountant is part of the admin team, because the Accountant will know why this is important and will be able to help the rest of the team understand.

Thanks in advance
Adriana

This would make month end go smoother. It should be a standard feature.

This would be an incredibly good resource to have. It should be standard!

Please feel free to get in touch with our team and we will assist in any way we can