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Send supplier invoices to Xero as draft bills (Make)

Watch an Outlook folder, extract invoice data with AI, and create a draft bill in Xero.

MakeAccounts payableIntermediateHuman check: High
Tools
Make: Microsoft 365 Email (Outlook), Xero, OpenAI (ChatGPT)
Time saved
~3-5 hrs/month (estimate)
Difficulty
Intermediate

Steps

  1. Start with the Microsoft 365 Email 'Watch Emails' module on an AP folder.
  2. Add an Iterator over the attachments and a filter for .pdf file names.
  3. Use the OpenAI (ChatGPT, Whisper, DALL-E) module to read the document and return structured JSON (vendor, number, date, due date, total, tax).
  4. Use Xero 'Search Contacts' to find the supplier.
  5. Use Xero 'Create a Bill' with status Draft, then attach the original PDF to the bill.
  6. Add an error handler route that emails you when no contact is found.

Keep a human check here: High risk

Keep bills as DRAFT in Xero and approve them by hand. Never let the scenario set them to AUTHORISED.

Node and module names match Make's docs as of Oct 2026. Apps rename triggers and actions sometimes, so check yours in the editor. Try it with test data or a sandbox company first.

Build it

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