Bills - Flag a Bill as 'in dispute / query'
Ability to flag individual bills as in dispute
Purpose | To enable review and ensure the business does not make payment for a bill when it's currently 'under query'

Hi community, we acknowledge the strong feelings in this idea and why you need a feature to flag bills directly within Xero. We really appreciate all your feedback and the detailed explanations of how this would help streamline your accounts payable.
We are dedicated to providing a solution for this over the longer term, but this will take some time requiring changes that sit beneath the face of bills.
In lieu of a direct feature for this we wanted to highlight some of the options discussed by the community here:
- Add a note to the bill: A detailed note on the bill itself can serve as a clear internal reminder of the dispute.
- Utilise tracking categories: Creating a specific tracking category like "Disputed Bills" can help you filter and report on these items.
- Adjust the due date: Temporarily extending the due date can prevent accidental payment while the dispute is being resolved.
- Update the reference to add a notation such as [reference number] - Do not pay
- Adjust the planned date to be very far out in the future
We know these options won't fit all needs here, and we are invested in continuing to develop Purchase and more specifically bills in Xero to suit your needs.
We'll continue to provide updates with any progress that steps closer to enabling you to flag bills that are in dispute in Xero. Thank you for continuing to engage and share insights through this idea.
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Neil Phillips commented
I emailed ceo@xero.com on 31 May and got a call back about this, with a promise that they would get the AP team to respond but nothing to date.
A post was made to this forum but it seems to have disappeared.
Need to do the same with the twin thread for dispute flags on sale invoices. -
Sara Martin commented
Hi Debbie,
It was in both, when the comments got to about 300, Xero splt it with some **** and bull excuse as a way to remove the comments and start all over again. both thread have similar numbers of votes again. they are just ignoring it and have no intention of ever implementing this if you ask me
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Debbie Bradley commented
7 months on since admin post! - Have you a clearer picture yet? - What is taking so long! Why do this in sales and not in bills? - it really doesn't make sense.
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Esme Layton commented
Ability to flag approved bills/purchase invoices so that you can keep an eye on specific ones that may need further review, without having to have them sit in awaiting approval getting lost or repeatedly reviewed as the client adds more to Xero. Ie. you approve an invoice but need to check the VAT treatment so you flag it to review later
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Dominique Brown commented
I agree this is business critical , there needs to be a flag to mark a purchase invoice in dispute so it doesn't come up on an automated payment run . The risk here of making a disputed payment is high . Our ability of being able to control this within Xero is low . Very surprised that this basic functionality isn't available.
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Tony Hocking commented
It's an oddity that this isn't possible - we're trying to keep the Finance Team on board with things that are going on - we currently have to dispute in our ApprovalMax rather than allowing it into Xero - as on regular schedules "approved" bill sget paid, and then all leverage is lost with the supplier. This is a business fundamental, not just an accounting fundamental.
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Christopher Moore commented
Hi Sharon,
I agree with Will - this and many other missing functions are so basic that they should have been included as core requirements in the absolute first basic spec before a line of code was written. Xero are charging a rate now that should include them.
I accept that modules such as Projects and Expenses, to which I subscribe and use, are not needed by all and are reasonable functions to provide as chargeable add-ons.
But 'in dispute' flags for bills and invoices - amongst many others - are absolutely fundamental IMHO and should be included for what we pay now.
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Julia Bastin commented
Spot on Will Broome!
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Will Broome commented
Hi Sharon,
Sorry to disagree - I would NOT rather pay more - as this and about 100 other things everyone keeps bang ing on about - should be basic features for any accounting package worth it's salt.
The fact they are not - means we're already being fleeced for the dev team to sit with coffee changing things they think could 'look' better.
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Sharon Davies commented
I agree with all the comments raise today. I'd rather pay a little more and get the these functions included in the base package. You could even have 2 or 3 packages.
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Christopher Moore commented
Julia - yes, you've hit the nail on the head.
Arnis - 👍
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Julia Bastin commented
Totally agree, there are too many basic functions that Xero refuses to add. They seem to be obsessed with cosmetic changes that are totally unnecessary and look dreadful. Xero, please add the essential accounting functions and stop buggering up the aesthetics
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Arnis Veisbergs commented
Christopher,
I totally agree.
We are actively exploring options to move to a different solution -
Christopher Moore commented
@JimAlexander I agree totally with @ArnisVeisbergs and @WillBroome that, however good your add-in is, this functionality is so fundamental to any competent accounting system that it should be provided within the Xero basic subscription.
Someone elsewhere has pushed their addin (Statey) for getting aged totals in statements - another fundamental feature, and another I'm not prepared to pay money to get. At this rate if we buy all the addins needed to make Xero competent, we'd end up with a bill that'd make a fully fledged Microsoft Dynamics implementation look cheap!!
I don't know what add-in developers get charged by Xero as commission for selling their products, to provide functionality Xero can't be bothered to include?
I'm increasingly believing Xero have changed their model from selling a competent accounting product for a monthly subscrtiption, to selling a basic framework and making money from developers by taking commission for all the other bits Xero doesn't provide. Shameful and an approach that won't wash.
Our year end is coming up in a few months and I'm likely to decamp - I've had enough of the abuse we're being delivered from Xero.
Xero - Xero competence for non-Xero cost!
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Arnis Veisbergs commented
Hi Jim,
Thanks but no - thanks!
This is a basic functionality and should not require a 3rd party add-in. -
Will Broome commented
Hi Jim
Great though your 'tool' maybe (and I am sure it is) I do notice that you have to pay https://inbill.com.au/#pricing
Why should we have to then pay for yet another piece of software - when actually this functionality is something the existing software should have built in years ago and is not, dev-wise, that difficult.
Just Xero taking the ****
I wouldn't offer my services to help bail Xero out of their self-made position.
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Jim Alexander commented
Hey all,
I'm a developer / director of a tool called InBill. This is one of the features the app has to give your company better management of your Xero bills.
Mark bills Urgent, Disputed, prompt users to approve etc.
If this is something you're interested lets talk!
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Chris Conroy commented
I can't believe that this is still not sorted! I posted months ago saying how important (and surely simple!) this was, and there was already a stack load of similar comments. Since then I keep seeing more and more users join in.
Come on Xero, this must be embarrassing for you, missing one of the oldest functions in any accounting software. I had it when we first started using Pegasus almost 30 years ago...are you really suggesting that this is not a run of the mill function which should've have been there since day one?
Please listen to your users, otherwise why bother with these idea forums. Kelly, can you please, please, please explain WHY this is not something you have plans for when clearly it's frustrating users? I had a new member of staff start recently, new to Xero, and all the credibility went out of the window when she found out that you couldn't put a supplier bill on hold or under query when the "awful old fashioned Sage" she was used to using could. She thought it was a joke.
Come on - you can do better.
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Stuart Isbister commented
Hi Kelly
As Denise commented this is not a helpful response. You need to say WHY you have no plans to to develop - particularly as it is clearly need by so many and is a feature of other systems. You need to remember that the vocal ones on here are just the tip of an iceberg. -
Denise Wilson commented
Not a great response Kelly.
As users we require our software to be FUNCTIONAL. We don't care about how beautiful it is.
We need to flag Bills under Query so we don't accidently pay them. How hard is that?