Common issues when connecting Adfin to Xero, and how to fix them.
Just gone live? Invoices showing overdue in Xero
If you've recently completed a direct debit migration, your first collections run later than usual: mandates take 3 working days to activate, and your customers then get 3 working days' notice before we collect. During that window invoices can show as overdue in Xero.
There's nothing to change. As each collection starts, Adfin marks the invoice as paid in Xero and the overdue status clears on its own. From your next billing cycle, collections run on the normal, faster schedule.
Duplicate invoices sent from Xero and Adfin
If your customers receive two invoices (one from Xero and one from Adfin), this is usually due to incorrect invoice settings in Xero.
By default, Adfin handles invoice distribution when one of your Adfin branding themes is assigned. If Xero is also set to send invoices, duplicates can occur.
Solution: Adjust your Xero settings:
Log in to your Xero account.
Navigate to your repeating invoices.
Check whether your invoices are set as 'Approve and send' or 'Approve only'.
Change the setting to 'Approve only' so Adfin manages invoice distribution exclusively.
GoCardless is still collecting invoices even though your Adfin branding themes are configured
If you're a GoCardless for Xero user (i.e. you likely started using GoCardless with Xero before 2021), Adfin branding themes may have been automatically enabled for your automated GoCardless collections.
To disable these branding themes in GoCardless:
Log in to GoCardless for Xero: https://xero.gocardless.com/
Navigate to your Branding Themes settings: https://xero.gocardless.com/merchant/settings/brandingthemes
In the 'Automated payments' column, toggle off any Adfin branding themes.
Click 'Save changes' in the bottom right.
This prevents Adfin themes from being automatically used by GoCardless for future collections.
See the screenshot below for reference.
An invoice sent by Adfin has not been marked as sent in Xero
If your invoice in Xero has transitioned into a lock period, we are unable to mark the invoice as sent. To solve this, you will have to remove the lock period.
An invoice isn't importing from Xero
Run through these four checks:
The invoice is on one of your Adfin branding themes. Invoices on a non-Adfin theme aren't processed unless you use 'All Invoices'. Check your Xero integration settings in Adfin to review your configuration.
The invoice has been approved in Xero, not left in draft.
There isn't already an invoice in Adfin with the same invoice number, in any status.
The Xero contact has an email address.
If all four check out and it still won't import, get in touch via live chat (the Get Help button in the bottom left of the Adfin console) and we'll take a look.
New customers aren't importing from Xero
Check your customer import setting in your Xero integration settings in Adfin. You can import all customers, or only selected contact groups; if you're using contact groups, make sure this customer's group is selected.
Also worth knowing: Adfin imports customers, not plain contacts. A Xero contact becomes a customer in Adfin once an approved invoice is raised against them.
I edited an invoice in Xero and it didn't update in Adfin
Adfin syncs changes from Xero while an invoice is unpaid, overdue or scheduled. Once a collection has been submitted, or the invoice is paid, settled or voided, the invoice is locked to edits from Xero, so changes you make there, including manual payments and marking it as paid, won't pull through.
Two things to know about the lock:
If you change the amount or due date in Xero while the invoice is locked, Adfin notifies you so you know the change didn't apply.
Voiding the invoice in Xero at this point won't void it in Adfin. A collection that's already been submitted still completes, though if it fails Adfin won't retry it. If the charge shouldn't have gone ahead, refund your customer directly once it completes.
If a submitted collection fails and the invoice returns to unpaid, syncing from Xero picks up again.
Reusing an invoice number
You can reuse an invoice number in Adfin only if the original invoice was deleted. If it was voided, the invoice still exists, so its number can't be used again.
An invoice created in Adfin hasn't appeared in Xero
When Adfin creates an invoice in Xero, Xero requires every line item to post to an account. If a product on the invoice isn't mapped to an account and has no default sales account in Xero, Xero rejects the invoice, so neither the invoice nor its payment appears there, even though both are visible in Adfin.
To fix it, open Products and services in Xero, edit the products used on the invoice, and set a sales account on each.
For payments collected without an invoice, the Xero account they post to is chosen in Adfin instead: see Customise how you sync payments without an invoice to Xero.
I marked an invoice as paid in Xero but Adfin hasn't updated
When you record a payment against an invoice in Xero, Adfin picks it up, marks the invoice as Paid externally, and stops chasing and collecting it. This works for any payment type, and you can confirm it in the invoice's Activity log in Adfin.
The one exception is an invoice with a direct debit collection in flight. What happens depends on the collection's status:
Scheduled (not yet submitted): the invoice is still open to updates, so the payment pulls through as normal and the collection is stopped.
Submitted: the invoice is locked. Changes made in Xero don't pull through, and the collection still completes. If the payment shouldn't have been taken, let it complete and refund your customer directly.
Xero shows the invoice as paid but the money isn't in my bank yet
This is expected, and it's about where the money is at each step.
When Adfin collects a payment, the invoice is marked as paid in Xero and the payment is recorded against your Adfin clearing account, the Adfin bank account in your Xero chart of accounts. The money sits there until your payout.
The payout typically follows 2 working days after collection. At that point Adfin posts a transfer in Xero from the clearing account to your bank account, covering everything paid out that day. That transfer is what you reconcile against the payout on your bank statement.
So a gap where Xero says paid but your bank statement doesn't yet is just the settlement window.