Record

Drum to Xero

Xero to Drum and limitations

Client invoice

An approved Drum invoice can create or update its linked Xero invoice, subject to finance access, validation and status restrictions. The project invoice-to company must map to a valid Xero Contact.

Refreshes can update invoice details, line items, dates, sent status and payment information. Changes are processed in the background, not guaranteed immediately.

Credit note

Create and approve a client credit note on the project's Credit Notes tab. An eligible Drum credit note can create its linked Xero credit note and allocate it to the linked invoice, subject to finance access, validation and status restrictions.

A credit note created only in Xero does not create a matching Drum credit note. Refreshes update an already-linked credit note only. Create credit notes in Drum when you need them on the project and in Xero. If one was already raised only in Xero, contact Drum support before you create another credit in Xero. Support may be able to link that existing Xero credit as a one-off. Otherwise coordinate with accounts on the Xero record, then create the matching credit note in Drum so project financials stay correct.

Project-cost bill

An eligible project cost can create or update a linked supplier bill. If Xero rejects the bill (including archived supplier contacts and nested line-item validation errors), Drum shows the Xero error messages and does not keep a bill status or Xero bill id on the cost. See If a supplier bill will not push to Xero.

Refreshes update bill status, dates, payment information and supported line-item details. Check the cost after editing the linked bill; this is not a guarantee that every field or deletion is mirrored.

Expense-claim bill

Eligible expense claim items are combined into a Xero bill. Manage the claim's items and project allocations in Drum.

Refreshes update claim-level status, dates, tax treatment, reference and payment information. They do not rebuild individual expense claim items from edited Xero bill lines.

Staff allowance

No Xero bill or payroll integration.

Allowances are a payroll concept. Process payment through payroll outside Drum and record payment in Drum when appropriate.

Timesheet (payroll hours)

No current Drum → Xero Payroll timesheet push for standard accounts. The older payroll timesheet UI was removed. Export hours with Insights Timesheet Summary, Detailed Timesheet or Single Staff Timesheet → Export Excel instead.

Xero does not write weekly timesheet hours back into Drum timesheets.

Leave

Drum does not send leave applications to Xero Payroll as a timesheet substitute.

When leave import from Xero is enabled and payroll employee / leave-type mapping is set up, eligible Xero leave can create leave time in Drum, including leave that starts on a future date. This is leave sync, not a timesheet → payroll hours push. There is no Refresh button on the timesheet for that import. Drum runs the import about every six hours. On Xero Staff Matching you can also select Sync Leave Now (about a five-minute cooldown between manual runs). Leave whose start date is before today is not imported automatically for Australian or New Zealand Xero Payroll; enter those days on the timesheet yourself when needed. Leave types appear under the Leave heading when Show on Timesheets is on in Settings → Leave Types, so staff can enter leave hours on the timesheet while the import catches up. Same-name duplicate leave types can confuse leave import (manual bookings and Xero imports can land on different rows). Clean duplicates first with Settings → Leave Types → Sync Leave Types (and Xero pay-item import for AU/NZ), which attaches a Xero leave type id to a same-name unlinked orphan, or moves tracked leave onto the already-synced row and archives the orphan when time credit types match. Deleted leave types stay deleted. Two different Xero ids, or two unlinked same-name rows without a matching Sync, stay separate. Healing needs an admin Sync Leave Types or a later leave / pay-item import; it is not automatic for every already-connected account. Steps and when Sync will not merge: If Detailed Timesheet shows two columns for the same leave type. Setup steps: How to import leave from Xero.

Purchase order

Use the current Drum purchase-order workflow to record the commitment before a supplier cost exists.

The old workflow that began by creating a cost is obsolete. Follow the current PO guides, then allocate supplier costs as they arrive.