Linking timesheets approved by the client to invoice generation
The clients that I provide services to seek as supporting documentation a timesheet that has been signed off by an authorised representative of the client. At the moment I use an excel spreadsheet to do this then manually generate an invoice on the total agreed hours. It woud awesome to have feature where you prepare a timesheet in xero, xero sends a link to the approver to sign the timesheet then xero pulls the hours into a invoice + any agreed expenses (with supporting invoices and signed off timesheet)
Harpal Singh-Samra
shared this idea
Hi Harpal, thanks for sharing this idea!
To make sure we’re heading in the right direction, we’d love a bit more information on your specific workflow.
Could you please confirm if you are looking for:
- The ability to add project time to invoices using Xero Projects?
- Or, are you asking for an integration with the AU version of Xero Payroll, so you can more easily link employee timesheet hours from Payroll directly to your invoices?
Knowing which tool you're currently using (or would like to use) for this process will help our team better understand the request. Thanks!
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Dominic Zarian
commented
Hi David,
To clarify: this isn't about AU Payroll or about pulling Projects time into invoices, both of which Xero already does.
The gap is client-facing approval. Right now, Projects only supports internal approval, the contractor or an internal admin signs off their own time. There's no way for the client themselves to review and approve the time before they're invoiced.
The workflow we need is:
1. Contractor logs time in Xero, whether that's days worked, hours, or a mix of time formats depending on the engagement.
2. Xero sends the client a link (no login required) to review that time.
3. The client approves or rejects, and that action is timestamped and retained as an audit trail.
4. Once approved, the time flows into a draft invoice automatically.This matters for two reasons. First, without client sign-off, an invoice based on self-reported time carries no independent verification, which matters for dispute resolution and for accounting standards more broadly. Second, plenty of small consultancies and single contractors bill this way and currently have to run a separate tool alongside Xero just for the approval step, which defeats the point of having timesheets and invoicing in one system.
This isn't AU-specific either. Any UK or international user billing a client on a timesheet basis has the same need.
Example: a single contractor works 4 days one week for a client on a day rate. They log Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri as worked in Xero. Xero emails the client a link. The client clicks it, sees the 4 days listed, and clicks approve. That approval is timestamped and stored against the timesheet. Xero then creates a draft invoice for 4 days at the agreed rate, with the approved timesheet attached as supporting evidence.