Enter your idea

hi Kelly,

we all know what the 'options' are ...we have been finding our own work arounds for many years now.

It is an essential accounting function that me and many others have been screaming for, for years. All that happens is when the votes get too high it’s combined with the same thing for sales, then when these get too high it gets split again under the guise of better understanding, but nothing ever changes and nothing gets implemented. All we get is making it look different or adding unnecessary AI. The functionality that we are all asking for is never added and when we all complain on these tickets over and over again we are ignored.

it seems to me to pacify us when the noise gets too loud, it gets to 'accepted' we've been here before and eventually it will go back to 'not at the moment' .... i just feel like we are going round in circles

I am sufficiently ancient that I used Sage Accounting (Sage Sterling as it was then) in its pre-Window days and it was possible to flag transactions as in dispute in that, so it's extraordinary that Xero still doesn't have this basic functionality. Does anyone from Xero go out and spend time with users in the real world to gain an understanding of these sort of issues, I wonder?

Chris – I completely agree. I’ve been following and commenting on this thread for several years now, and it’s frustrating to see that a request first raised in 2022 is still unresolved in 2026.

The ability to place a supplier bill into dispute is not an advanced or unusual feature – it’s a basic control that many other accounting platforms already provide. For businesses trying to manage supplier queries properly and maintain accurate records, this is a genuinely important function.

Is there an official avenue for complaints or escalation on long-standing feature requests like this? When so many users have been consistently asking for the same thing over a number of years, there really should be a clearer response, update, or action plan from Xero.

I agree with Chris below. I feel like Xero wasn't designed or developed by bookkeepers, just someone who's never worked as such saying 'wouldn't it be great if it could do this'

theres a huge focus on bells and whistles over basic functionality. (the Purchase orders being a case in point - it must be the only accounting software that doesn't provide this essential basic feature) I couldn't even get a payroll report filtering payroll types and had to spend over a few hours filtering a spreadsheet. Basic things overlooked.

I used Myob for over 20 years and it was highly functional and user friendly, unfortunately they fell behind when cloud accouting entered the picture.

For me the worst part about Xero is how they provide this suggestion platform then completely ignore it for years.

Gemma - like all the Xero developments - they give a feel good response to pacify the users into submission, then ignore them - and develop unresearched changes not wanted by users (the new home page)

Come on Xero - get on with the improvements requested by the users who pay your wages.

WHO AGREES WITH ME????

Not having this functionality is a massive problem. Without it the choice is to either leave disputed bills in draft (which is bad practice as the liability isn't showing on the accounts and it complicates cashflow planning) or use notes or the reference field to mark as in dispute (which is risky as it's all to easy to accidentally pay).

This basic but important functionality should be right at the top of Xero's development plans.

Is this issue ever going to be addressed, or are we all just pi**ing in the wind???

Invoice disputes are a normal part of the accounts process and may occur due to issues such as incorrect items, pricing discrepancies, quality concerns, timing issues, or other errors.

The standard approach is to record the invoice in the system as a liability while marking it as disputed, ensuring it is not paid until the issue is resolved.

This should be a basic standard feature included within Xero

I would also like to have a dispute/write off option for Invoices that have been sent out

I so agree with everone. There are so many updates requested by users that are being ignored by XERO.

Xero, please stop changing what is working and address the list of issues that users need to have fixed.

Frankly, it is insulting to see how you ignore users who pay your wages.

Just to reiterate (again) that I also feel it is a fundamental control that should be available to all businesses. I agree 100% with Andy Evans and the rest of the users that this is extremely frustrating to see and hear that Xero are rolling out all these new updates and features yet the main, most important one is being overlooked! AI seems to be the priority at the min and it is not acceptable.

Totally agree with other comments. We desperately need a way to clearly flag bills as being "in dispute" or "in query" to avoid manual workarounds and associated risks of accidental payment or bills being missed off the ledgers and causing cashflow shocks at a later date. This really needs to be a priority on Xero's development plan.

It's particularly frustrating when we see Xero praising itself for having "delivered 75 of your top ideas this quarter" when I can honestly say that not a single one of the new ideas delivered have been of any use to my business!!

This really needs to be addressed as a priority.

I would argue the ability to clearly flag a bill as “in dispute” or “under query” is not a cosmetic feature, it’s a fundamental control that EVERY business needs. Without it, we're forced to rely on manual workarounds that are simply ridiculous.

Xero prides themselves on having world class developers. I cannot understand the heel dragging on this.

It would be great to see more focus placed on strengthening these practical finance fundamentals, as they are essential.

Hello,

When we check a purchase invoice and the total does not match our order value (kept in a third party software) it would be useful to be able to flag/hold the invoice in the awaiting approval section so we have visibility in this list between those invoices that still need checking/approving and those that we wish to hold because they require further investigation.

Hi @Bianca,

You’re absolutely right that these forums should be a place to advocate for improvements to Xero’s core functionality.

I also want to be upfront: my post did have a commercial aspect. Control-C is a solution that grew out of my own experience as a small business owner, trying to overcome some of the limitations I faced in Xero. What started as a personal workaround became a product because others were facing the same challenges — and I saw an opportunity to help.

I believe this kind of grassroots innovation is part of what makes the Xero ecosystem so powerful. While I fully agree that no business should have to rely on add-ons to get basic functionality, the reality is that some features — like flagging bills as “in dispute” — have been slow to arrive.

For those who need a solution now, tools like ours can make a real difference. Yes, there’s a small cost involved — roughly the price of a coffee a week — but for many, that’s a worthwhile investment to avoid costly errors and streamline their workflow.

My intent in posting here is not to distract from the need for Xero to build these features natively, but to show that there’s real demand and real pain being felt by users. I hope that by sharing what we’ve built, we can help Xero prioritize these improvements — and in the meantime, offer something useful to those who need it.

Thanks again for engaging so openly. I really appreciate the dialogue and the shared goal of making Xero better for everyone.

Warm regards, 
Campbell Green 
Control-C

@Campbell Green - very simply. We NEVER pay for any add ons and nor should we ever need to. There are various other ways to back up, including regular downloads etc. We use those sufficiently for our needs. If there are ever any outages, we just raise manual invoices in the interim and then upload them to Xero later - simple. No accounts program should ever "require" third party add ons. And I actually find the fact that people/companies are advertising their third party add ons on here as "fixes" is counterproductive. These forums should be for getting Xero to fix stuff, not giving them excuses not to fix them.

Hi Bianca,

I appreciate you and Daniel being so direct. I genuinely agree with you: basic features like a dispute flag shouldn't require third-party tools, and your frustration with Xero on this is completely valid.

However, your statement that you **"NEVER pay for add ons"** really stood out to me, as it raises a critical question that I believe applies to many users here:

If you aren't using an add-on, how are you currently handling the mandatory backup of your Xero financial data?

As you know, every organization needs to maintain an independent copy of their critical data. If your only copy of your accounts is sitting within Xero, that puts your business at significant risk. With Xero now having close to 4.5 million customers, and Control-C only backing up a small portion of that figure, it highlights that a massive number of businesses are currently exposed without a proper **Business Continuity Plan**.

For example, when Xero had its recent service outages, if you had a tool like Control-C, you would have had full, immediate access to an up-to-date copy of your accounts outside of Xero's platform, allowing you to continue critical operations without interruption. How did you manage your business during that downtime?

We built Control-C as a 'Business Continuity Platform' because this data protection is the most important foundation for any business. The "disputed bill" fix, and other highly-requested features like "Multiple addresses for a single Contact", are truly just valuable bonuses that come with the necessary protection of your financial records.

I offer this not as a sales pitch, but because ensuring your financial data is safe and accessible is paramount. I encourage you to consider if the cost of not having a continuity plan outweighs the cost of the add-on.

It is a fundamental process within accounts that regularly happens where bills are disputed, incorrect items may have been delivered, the price not as quoted, quality issues, timing issues, and a heap of other reasons.

It is a standard process to add bills onto the system, so as they are where they should be as a liability, but to mark them as disputed, so that they are not paid until issues are resolved.

Whilst your suggestions above all sound reasonable, they are not of any use in this matter whatsoever.

I am not sure of the point of this forum, as despite 1470 votes on this idea alone - it is blatantly not being listened to by Xero and they are not resolving the issue.

It is not a nice to have feature, it is fundamental to the credit control system

I also don't feel (as brilliant as it is) that we should have to pay for a basic feature that other leading software gives in the subscription costs! If a Xero partner can identify this as a number one topic, then why aren't Xero doing the same and prioritising it?

Agree with @Daniel Coates We NEVER pay for add ons, especially when it is something that Xero should pull their finger out and fix urgently as it's a flaw in their system.