Send a Xero invoice from to.co

You need Xero connected (see Use to.co with Xero), and to be an Owner or Finance member.

1. In my.to.co, go to Documents and open the Xero invoice. It must be approved in Xero.
2. Choose Send. A draft of the invoice opens with Xero's invoice number, dates, due date, lines, tax and terms. Xero's PDF of it and the files attached to it in Xero come too, checked for viruses first.
3. Check it. You can edit it.
4. Choose Issue. It is signed and gets a PDF. Your payment details for its currency are added, as on any invoice.
5. Choose Send by email, or Send for a business you trade with on to.co. The email address from Xero is filled in.

It keeps Xero's number, so the invoice has one number everywhere. If Xero records part of it as paid, your customer is asked only for what is left.

We add a note to the invoice in Xero. Its status in Xero doesn't change, and to.co never records a payment there.

Your customer opens it on your to.co page, with the amount due, the due date, your payment details, a PDF and a way to check it is the one you sent. It also has Pay online, which opens the invoice on Xero's own page: your customer can pay there if you have set up online payments in Xero. to.co never takes the payment. The button goes once Xero records the invoice as paid in full. It is on every plan. The link works for 30 days. To withdraw it, open the invoice in my.to.co and choose Withdraw link next to the email.

If it can't be sent

• A draft in Xero: approve it in Xero first.
• Voided in Xero: only an approved invoice can be sent.
• Paid in full in Xero: there is nothing to ask for. Download its PDF from Xero if your customer needs a copy.
• Unknown tax on a line: set the line's tax rate in Xero.

An invoice to.co already sent on to.co against a customer's order opens that invoice instead.

After you send it

When you record a payment in Xero, your customer's page says so: paid in full, or how much is paid so far. The amount due on the invoice stays as you sent it. to.co reads this when Xero tells it an invoice changed, and otherwise every six hours, while Invoices you approve in Xero for an order go back on to.co is on for your connection.

We also remind your customer if the invoice is still unpaid: up to three emails, 1, 7 and 14 days after the due date, while the link works (30 days from sending). Before each one we read the invoice in Xero again. There is no reminder once it is paid or voided there, and none at all while Xero's own invoice reminders are on, so your customer is never reminded twice. Each reminder says what Xero shows is still to pay and carries the same link. Turn them off under Between Xero and to.co in App connections. To send them, we keep your customer's email address, encrypted, until the reminders end.

A credit note you make in Xero is not sent to a customer you emailed. Send it to them yourself. For a business you trade with on to.co, a credit note allocated to the invoice in Xero goes to them on to.co.