Can you import purchase orders into Xero?
No, not with Xero alone, going by its own help. Xero Central's purchase order articles describe three ways to make one: New purchase order, a contact's record, and Duplicate on approved or billed orders. None describes importing a file. Xero points to apps in its App Store, and its API can create purchase orders. Checked on 15 November 2026.
Tell me when it works The manual steps
This page asks whether we should build a purchase order import for Xero. That tool does not exist yet and nothing is promised.
What Xero offers for getting purchase orders in
| Route | What it does | Where it stops |
|---|---|---|
| New purchase order | You fill in one order on screen and save it as a draft or submit it for approval. | One order at a time, typed by hand. |
| From a contact's record | Xero's article says you can also create a purchase order from a contact's record. | Still one order at a time. |
| Duplicate | Copies one or several approved or billed orders. Xero creates one new order for each original. | The total line items can't exceed 100 lines, and it only copies orders that are already in Xero. |
| A connected app | Xero's article points to apps in the Xero App Store to automate purchase order workflows. | Each app is a separate product. |
| Xero's API | The PurchaseOrders endpoint adds or updates purchase orders. | It is for software, not for a file you upload in Xero. |
Rows one, two and four: Xero Central, Create a purchase order. Row three: Xero Central, Duplicate purchase orders. Row five: Xero Developer, Accounting API Purchase Orders. All checked 15 November 2026. None of the Xero Central articles describes a file import for purchase orders.
How to enter a purchase order in Xero by hand
These are Xero's steps. You repeat them for every order.
- Open the list. In the Purchases menu, select Purchase orders.
- Start an order. Click New purchase order.
- Fill in the top of the order. Enter the Contact, Date raised, Delivery date, Order number and Reference.
- Add the lines. For each line enter the Item, Description, Qty., Price, Disc., Account and Tracking. Click Add row for another line.
- Save. Click Save to keep it as a draft, or click the arrow next to Save and select Submit for approval.
What helps, and what to watch:
- Copy a cell down. Click a cell, then click the blue dot and drag it down to copy the contents to the cells below.
- Spell the supplier exactly. If you enter a name that is not already a contact, Xero adds it to your contacts.
- Drafts move on together. On the Draft tab, select the checkboxes next to several orders and click Submit for approval. Orders awaiting approval can be approved the same way with Approve (Submit and approve purchase orders).
- Nothing posts to the accounts. Xero's article says a purchase order is not included in the general ledger. The account on each line saves time when you later copy the order to a bill.
Duplicate instead of retyping
If the orders you need look like ones already in Xero, Duplicate is quicker than typing.
- In the Purchases menu, select Purchase orders.
- Select the Approved or the Billed tab. You can't duplicate from the All tab.
- Select the checkbox for each purchase order you want to copy.
- Click Duplicate. The new orders are on the Draft tab, where you can edit them.
Each new order links to its original, and the original's order number is copied into the Reference field. Duplicate does not help with orders that exist only in a spreadsheet or in another system.
What we are considering building
Purchase Order Import for Xero, a tool for one job:
- CSV or Excel in. One row per order line. Rows with the same order number become one purchase order.
- A preview first. Every order and every line, with the rows that cannot be created and the reason, before anything is written to Xero.
- Drafts out. The purchase orders are created as drafts in Xero, so you check and approve them there.
The file would use the fields Xero's API documentation lists for a purchase order:
| Column | Xero's documentation |
|---|---|
| Contact | Required. The endpoint does not create new contacts, so the supplier has to exist in Xero already. |
| PurchaseOrderNumber | Unique alphanumeric code. When it is missing, Xero generates one from your organisation's settings. |
| Date | Date the order was issued, YYYY-MM-DD. Defaults to the current date. |
| DeliveryDate | Date the goods are to be delivered, YYYY-MM-DD. |
| Reference | Additional reference number. |
| CurrencyCode | Defaults to the organisation's base currency. |
| Description | The description of the line. A line can be created with only a description. |
| Quantity | If a quantity is given, a unit amount must be given too. |
| UnitAmount | Rounded to four decimal places. |
| AccountCode | The account for the line. |
| ItemCode | The item for the line. |
| TaxType | An override, used when the default tax code of the account is not correct. |
| DiscountRate | Percentage discount applied to the line. |
Field names and notes: Xero Developer, Accounting API Purchase Orders, checked 15 November 2026. At least one line is required for a complete purchase order.
Download the sample file (CSV): two orders, three lines, made-up data. It shows the layout we have in mind. Xero itself cannot import this file.
This tool does not exist yet. Your answer decides whether we build it.
Tell us how many purchase orders you need to import
Two answers and an e-mail address. We write once, when the tool works or when we decide not to build it.
Questions people ask
Can you import purchase orders into Xero?
Not with Xero alone, going by its help. Xero Central's purchase order articles describe New purchase order, creating one from a contact's record and Duplicate. None describes importing a file. Xero's article points to apps in the Xero App Store for automating purchase order workflows.
How do I import purchase orders into Xero from Excel?
Xero's help describes no upload for purchase orders. You enter each order under Purchases, Purchase orders, New purchase order, or you use an app that creates purchase orders through Xero's API. The import tool described on this page is not built.
Can you copy a purchase order in Xero?
Yes. On the Approved or Billed tab, select the checkbox for each purchase order and click Duplicate. Xero creates one new order for each original, where the total line items don't exceed 100 lines. You can't duplicate from the All tab.
Can the Xero API create purchase orders?
Yes. Xero's documentation says the PurchaseOrders endpoint adds or updates purchase orders. A contact and at least one line are required for a complete purchase order, and the endpoint does not create new contacts.
Do purchase orders change the accounts in Xero?
No. Xero's article says a purchase order is not included in the general ledger. The account you pick on a line saves time when you copy the purchase order to a bill.
Sources, checked 15 November 2026. Xero Central: Create a purchase order, Duplicate purchase orders and Submit and approve purchase orders. Xero Developer: Accounting API Purchase Orders.
More Xero help: how to archive a tracking category in Xero, changing due dates on many invoices, checking account codes on bills before you approve them, our Xero tools and all guides.
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