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4 votes
Aaah I see where you're coming from and really appreciate the extra detail you've shared here, Dominic.
Can see how this could be useful for some businesses where approval flows go between external party approvers. Being open this would be quite an extension to the current Projects feature capabilities - while we'll feel out the interest through your idea I want to be transparent that this isn't something we have any plans of in the short term. Thanks
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Dominic Zarian
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An error occurred while saving the comment Dominic Zarian
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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.
Thanks for the update and the clear steer on timing. To be precise about the use case, this isn't asking Projects to do more internally. It is about the external approver. Contractors and agencies invoice on hours or days the client has confirmed, and that client is usually not a Xero user.
What's needed: the client approves through a link with no login, the approval is timestamped as an audit trail, and the approved time then creates a draft invoice. Related feedback is on the idea "UK Payroll - Allow Xero users permission to authorise employee timesheets", where agency users say they can't use Xero timesheets because the client has to authorise them.
Disclosure: I run Stars Accounting and have built a tool for this, StarsApprove (starsapprove.co.uk). It handles hours and day rates and syncs approved time to Xero. It's a 30-day free trial, and I'd like feedback from anyone who bills on client-approved time. Please also vote here so Xero can see the demand.