Important Update: (2025/2026 Release)

We are rolling out a major update to the Autotask to Xero Sync for the 2025/2026 release. This update focuses on improving billing accuracy, providing better visibility into configuration issues, and protecting your API limits.

While some of these changes update how the system handles specific scenarios, we have built tools to make this transition as smooth as possible for you.

Here is a summary of what is improving and the simple steps you can take to prepare.

1. Improved Contact Matching (UDF Requirement)

The Change: To ensure invoices are always sent to the correct person, we are refining how the sync handles Autotask Companies with multiple active contacts.

Previously: Setting a "UDF Position" (User-Defined Field) to identify the primary billing contact was optional.
Now: If a company has multiple active contacts, you must designate one as the "Accounts Position" using the UDF. This eliminates ambiguity and prevents billing errors where the wrong contact might be selected.

Who is affected?

Multi-Contact Companies: You will need to set the UDF for the primary billing contact.

If you have selected the option to “Update Xero Contacts During Sync,” you must configure this setting.
Multi-account setups: If you have multiple Xero organisations connected to a single Autotask instance and are using a UDF or a Line of Business (LOB) Parent/Child configuration, the UDF becomes mandatory for your environment.

Who isn't affected?

Single Contact Companies: No change. If a company only has one contact, the sync will continue to work automatically.
If you are not updating Xero contacts during the sync and no new Companies are being created, this change will not affect your current sync behaviour. However, you should still configure the UDF, as the sync checks for it and will log a warning message if it is not set.

How to prepare (The Easy Way): You do not need to manually check every customer. We have released a Contact Audit Report that does the heavy lifting for you.

Run the report to identify customers with missing UDFs.
Export the CSV file.
Import it back into Autotask to automatically update your contacts in bulk.

Note: For Purchase Orders, this same logic applies, though a contact is not strictly required for the sync to succeed.

2. Better Visibility for Empty Invoices

The Change: Occasionally, a billing item might be created without any attached line items.

Previously: The sync would simply skip these invoices silently.
Now: The sync will flag these as an error.

Why this is better: This change ensures you are immediately aware of potential configuration issues in Autotask, rather than having invoices silently fail to sync.

What if I want to keep the old behaviour? If you intentionally have empty billing items and prefer them to be skipped silently, simply contact our Support Team. We can easily revert this setting for your specific account.

3. "Quiet Mode" for API Stability

The Change: To protect your environment from hitting Autotask or Xero API limits, we are introducing Quiet Mode.

How it works: Between 9 PM and 6 AM (your local time), the sync will automatically reduce the frequency of API calls.
The Benefit: This ensures your API limits remain healthy for the next business day, ensuring smooth operation during working hours.

This feature is enabled by default and requires no action from you. If you have specific overnight processing needs, you can opt-out in your settings, but we recommend keeping it enabled for optimal stability.

4. Other Improvements

1. Voided invoices in Autotask can now void / delete in Xero
2. Additional People is now supported in Xero from Autotask
3. Improvements to grouping we now support company headings in grouping and services under a grouped item
4. Resyncing of invoices speed has improved
5. Purchase order on-demand sync speed has improved
6. Sync speed for large invoices with many billing items has improved.
7. Multi-currency support on credit notes
8. Autotask numbers on credit notes.
9. Support for Main Billing Contact (with UDF or by itself) from Autotask

5. Upgrade Timeline: Your Choice

We are rolling out this release in phases to ensure a smooth transition for everyone. You have two options for when this update applies to your account:

Automatic Upgrade: No action is needed. We will automatically update your account during our scheduled rollout window over the next 12 months.

Request an Upgrade: If you want to take advantage of these new features and stability improvements immediately, simply contact our support team, and we will prioritize your upgrade.