Automated Invoice Generation from CRM to Xero (n8n)

1. **Setup CRM Trigger**: Use the 'Webhook' node (for real-time) or the 'CRM' specific node (e.g., HubSpot, Pipedrive) to watch for 'Deal Updated' or 'Deal Won' events. 2. **Configure Xero Credentials**: In n8n, go to Credentials > New. Select 'Xero OAuth2 API'. Follow the OAuth flow to authorize n8n to access your Xero organization. 3. **Search for Existing Contact**: Add a 'Xero' node. Set Resource to 'Contact' and Operation to 'Get All'. Use a Filter parameter to search by the CRM's email: `{{ $json.email }}`. 4. **Logic Branching (IF Node)**: Add an 'IF' node to check if the previous step returned a Contact ID. Expression: `{{ $node["Xero"].json["ContactID"] }}` is not empty. 5. **Create/Update Contact**: Based on the IF node, add another Xero node. If false, use 'Create Contact'. If true, use 'Update Contact' to ensure the billing address is current. 6. **Format Line Items**: Use a 'Set' node or 'Code' node (JavaScript) to map CRM products into Xero's array format. Xero requires an array of objects containing `Description`, `Quantity`, `UnitAmount`, and `AccountCode`. 7. **Generate Invoice**: Add a Xero node. Set Resource to 'Invoice' and Operation to 'Create'. Map the Contact ID from Step 5 and the Line Items from Step 6. Set 'Status' to `DRAFT` for safety or `AUTHORISED` for automation. 8. **Data Transformation with Expressions**: Use n8n expressions like `{{ $now.format('YYYY-MM-DD') }}` for the invoice date and `{{ $json.total.toNumber() }}` to ensure numeric values. 9. **Error Handling**: Create a separate 'Error Trigger' workflow or use the 'On Error' settings on individual nodes to send a message to Slack or Email if an invoice fails (e.g., due to a missing Tax ID). 10. **Activate Workflow**: Save the workflow and toggle the 'Active' switch in the top right of the n8n UI.

| CRM Field | Xero Field | Transformation / Expression | Required | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | `deal_name` | `Reference` | `{{ $json.deal_name }}` | No | | `customer_email` | `Contact[EmailAddress]` | `{{ $json.email.toLowerCase() }}` | Yes | | `close_date` | `Date` | `{{ $json.date_closed || $now }}` | Yes | | `products[]` | `LineItems[]` | Use Code node to map Array | Yes | | `currency` | `CurrencyCode` | `{{ $json.currency }} || 'USD'` | Yes | | `n/a` | `AccountCode` | Fixed Value (e.g., '200' for Sales) | Yes |

• **Rate Limiting**: Xero has a limit of 5,000 API calls per day and 60 requests per minute. Use the 'Wait' node or 'Split in Batches' if migrating large historical datasets. • **Strict ISO Dates**: Xero will fail if the date is not a valid string (YYYY-MM-DD). Use n8n's `$now` or `DateTime` node to reformat CRM timestamps. • **Contact Matching**: Matching by name can create duplicates if there is a typo. Always try to match by `ContactID` (if stored in CRM) or `EmailAddress` first. • **Node Execution Limits**: If self-hosting on a small VPS, set `N8N_EXECUTIONS_DATA_SAVE_ON_SUCCESS` to `none` to prevent your database from filling up with large Xero payloads.

- [ ] **Credential Check**: The Xero node shows 'Connection successful'. - [ ] **Dry Run**: Execute the workflow manually using a test Deal ID from the CRM. - [ ] **Contact Search Logic**: Verify that if the contact already exists in Xero, a new one is NOT created. - [ ] **Invoice Draft**: Check Xero > Business > Invoices > Draft to see if the data mapped correctly (Line Items, Tax, Reference). - [ ] **Execution Log**: Check the n8n 'Executions' tab to ensure no '400 Bad Request' errors are hidden in the JSON output.