Projectworks Xero Integration Guide [2026 Updated]

Connecting your project management software to your accounting system automates one of the most tedious parts of running a professional services firm: turning tracked hours and expenses into accurate invoices. If you use Projectworks for resource planning and Xero for accounting, linking them creates a single, streamlined workflow. This guide provides a detailed, step-by-step walkthrough for setting up and managing the Projectworks and Xero integration.

Why Integrate Projectworks and Xero?

Manually re-entering data from your project management system into your accounting books is not only time-consuming but also creates opportunities for error. A misplaced decimal or a forgotten expense can affect project profitability and client relationships. Integrating Projectworks directly with Xero bridges the gap between your operations and your finances.

Here’s what you gain from the connection:

• Fast and Accurate Invoicing: Generate an invoice in Projectworks from approved timesheets and expenses, and it instantly syncs to Xero as a draft or approved invoice, ready to be sent. This eliminates duplicate effort and reduces billing cycles.
• Real-Time Financial Visibility: When an invoice is paid in Xero, the payment status automatically syncs back to Projectworks. This gives your project managers an up-to-date view of account receivables and project budgets without needing to log into the accounting system.
• Simplified Expense Management: Project-related expenses entered in Projectworks are pushed to Xero as supplier bills, ensuring every cost is correctly allocated and accounted for.
• Consistent Data: Client information and contact details are synchronized between both platforms, maintaining a single source of truth and preventing discrepancies in your records.

This integration is especially valuable for agencies, consultancies, and any professional services firm that bills based on time and materials. It allows your finance team to focus on financial strategy instead of data entry, and project managers can oversee profitability with confidence.

Before You Begin: Prerequisites for a Smooth Integration

Proper preparation is key to a successful integration. Before you connect the two systems, take a few minutes to ensure you have everything in order. This will prevent common setup headaches and make the configuration process straightforward.

Here’s a simple checklist to run through:

1. Confirm Account Access: You will need administrator-level permissions in both your Projectworks and Xero accounts to authorize the connection and configure the settings. If you don’t have this access, you’ll need to work with someone on your team who does.
2. Align Your Chart of Accounts: The integration’s power lies in mapping data correctly. Open your Xero Chart of Accounts and review your codes for sales revenue, expense claims, and any other relevant accounts. In Projectworks, review your billing items. Ensuring they align upfront makes the mapping step much easier. For example, you might create separate revenue accounts in Xero for "Consulting Services Income" and "Subcontractor Income" and map them to the corresponding items in Projectworks.
3. Check Your Xero Plan: While most standard Xero plans support integrations, it's a good practice to confirm yours has all the necessary features, particularly if you need advanced reporting or multi-currency support. The Established plan is often recommended for project-based businesses.
4. Organize Tax Rates: Ensure that the tax rates you use in Projectworks have a corresponding equivalent in Xero. If you work with clients in different tax jurisdictions, confirm all necessary rates are set up in Xero first.

Taking care of these small details beforehand will transform a potentially complex task into a simple, follow-the-steps process.

Connecting Projectworks to Xero: A Step-by-Step Guide

The native integration between Projectworks and Xero is designed to be user-friendly. Once you’ve completed your pre-flight check, follow these steps to establish the connection and configure your data sync.

Step 1: Navigate to the Integration Hub in Projectworks

First, log in to your Projectworks account. The integration settings are typically located within the main administration area. Navigate to the Settings section of the app. From there, find and select the Integrations option. You will see a list of available third-party applications; locate Xero and click the "Connect" button.

Step 2: Authenticate Your Xero Account

After clicking "Connect," Projectworks will redirect you to the Xero login page. Enter your Xero credentials to sign in. Xero will then present an authorization screen asking you to grant Projectworks permission to access your company data (like contacts, invoices, and payments). This is a standard and secure process powered by OAuth. It allows the two systems to communicate without you ever having to share your password with Projectworks. Review the permissions and click "Allow access." Once authorized, you will be redirected back to Projectworks.

Step 3: Configure Your General Sync Settings

Now that the connection is active, you need to tell the systems how to behave. In the Xero integration settings within Projectworks, you'll find several configuration options. Start with the general settings:

• Default Invoice Status: Choose whether invoices created in Projectworks should arrive in Xero as Draft, Awaiting Approval, or Awaiting Payment (Approved). We recommend starting with "Draft" or "Awaiting Approval" to allow for a final review in Xero before the invoice is sent.
• Branding Theme: If you use specific invoice templates in Xero, you can select the default branding theme to apply to all synced invoices.
• Synchronization Direction: Generally, the data flow is from Projectworks to Xero. For example, client creation should happen in Projectworks and sync to Xero. It's important to establish a clear process with your team on where new data is created.

Step 4: Map Your Data Fields

This is the most important step for ensuring data accuracy. Data mapping tells Projectworks where to place specific information within Xero. You’ll need to map several key data types:

• Accounts: This is where you connect Projectworks billing items to your Xero Chart of Accounts. For each hourly rate or fixed-fee item you bill for in Projectworks, select the corresponding revenue account in Xero. This ensures your financial statements are accurate. For example, map "Senior Consultant Rate" to the "Consulting Revenue" account in Xero.
• Tax Rates: Match each tax rate configured in Projectworks to its identical counterpart in Xero. For example, link your "GST on Income" in Projectworks to the "GST 15%" code in Xero. Make sure the names and rates match exactly.
• Payments: Select the bank account in Xero where you receive client payments. When a payment is recorded in Xero against a synced invoice, the integration needs to know which account it came from.

Be meticulous during this stage. Go through each item one by one. Once finished, save your configuration. The initial setup is now complete.

Managing Your Data Flow: What Gets Synced and How

Once connected and configured, certain actions in Projectworks will automatically trigger data to be sent to Xero. Understanding this workflow is key to managing your projects and finances effectively.

• Clients: When you add a new client in Projectworks, the integration will create a corresponding contact in Xero. If you update the client’s billing address or contact information in Projectworks, that update will sync to Xero, keeping your records aligned.
• Invoices: This is the core of the integration. After generating an invoice from time and expense data in Projectworks, you'll have an option to "Copy to Xero." This action pushes the invoice directly into Xero with the status you selected during configuration (e.g., Draft). All line items, tax rates, and client details are carried over automatically.
• Payments: After an invoice is sent from Xero and the client pays it, you'll reconcile the payment with the corresponding bank transaction in Xero's bank feed. As soon as the invoice is marked as paid in Xero, that payment status syncs back to Projectworks, updating the project's financial dashboard. This gives project managers immediate visibility into which invoices have been settled.
• Expenses & Bills: If an employee submits an expense in Projectworks that needs to be billed back to a client, it's added to the next invoice. If it's a general company cost (not billable), the integration can create a draft supplier bill in Xero, coded to the correct expense account. This simplifies your accounts payable process.

Common Stumbling Blocks and How to Troubleshoot Them

Even with careful setup, you might encounter an occasional issue. Most are easily resolved with a bit of troubleshooting. Here are some of the most common problems and how to fix them.

Problem: Sync Errors Due to Data Mismatches

You might see a sync error that says "Account code is not a valid choice" or "Tax Type is invalid." This almost always points to a data mapping issue.

Solution: Go back to the Xero integration settings in Projectworks. The error probably means an invoice is using a billing item or tax rate that hasn't been mapped to an account or tax code in Xero. It could also happen if an account was archived in Xero but not updated in the Projectworks mapping. Go through your account and tax rate mappings again to ensure every item has a valid destination.

Problem: The Xero Connection Becomes Deactivated

Sometimes the connection can be interrupted, often because of a password change or an expired authorization token (a security measure). You’ll notice that invoices are no longer syncing.

Solution: In Projectworks, navigate back to Settings > Integrations. You'll likely see a "Reconnect" button next to Xero. Click it, re-enter your Xero credentials, and re-authorize the connection. Your existing mappings and settings will be saved.

Problem: Duplicate Contacts in Xero

If you already had a set of clients in both Xero and Projectworks before the integration, you might risk creating duplicates if the names don't match exactly (e.g., "ABC Corp" vs. "ABC Corp, Inc.").

Solution: Before making the integration live, perform a quick audit of your client lists in both platforms. Standardize names where possible. Most integrations are smart enough to match existing contacts, but it's good practice to clean up your data first. If a duplicate is created, you can merge the two contacts within Xero and the integration will sync with the merged contact moving forward.

Final Thoughts

Integrating Projectworks and Xero connects your daily project operations directly to your financial back-end, creating a powerful, automated workflow. By following the steps outlined here to configure mappings and manage data flow, you can spend less time on administration and more time focusing on client work and business growth.

Just as you manage a project's financial health, it’s also important to stay on top of your own firm's tax obligations and reporting responsibilities. When tricky questions come up about state filing requirements or complex federal regulations, searching through dense government websites takes time you don't have. With Feather AI, you can ask plain-language questions and get instant, citation-backed answers from authoritative IRS and state tax sources, helping you resolve complex queries in minutes, not hours.