ApproveThis manages your Xero Integration approvals.

When Accounting Meets Accountability

Let’s be real – nobody got into business to chase down invoice approvals or play hide-and-seek with budget sign-offs. Yet here we are. If your finance team’s Slack is 60% “Who needs to approve this?” and 40% gifs of people screaming into voids, we’ve got your exit strategy.

ApproveThis and Xero are like the Batman and Robin of operational sanity. Xero keeps your numbers straight; ApproveThis keeps your decisions moving. Connect them through Zapier, and you’ve just built a financial approval system that works while you sleep.

Why This Combo Slaps

Mid-sized companies aren’t startups anymore, but they’re not enterprises either. You need tools that scale without the bureaucratic baggage. Here’s why this pairing works:

For the Finance Team

Xero tracks every penny. ApproveThis tracks every “yes.” Together, they create an audit trail even your grumpiest auditor will respect. Automate approval chains for bills/invoices so your AP team stops playing human ping-pong.

For Department Heads

Marketing needs fast vendor payments. Operations requires PO approvals. HR demands confidential payroll reviews. All get custom workflows without needing a PhD in your accounting software.

For Leadership

Real-time dashboards show cash flow impacts of pending approvals. Suddenly, that bottleneck in the $50k+ purchase process isn’t just annoying – it’s quantifiable.

Three Ways This Integration Pays Rent

1. Auto-Create Xero Invoices When Approvals Clear

Problem: Your sales team closes a deal, accounting has to manually create an invoice, someone forgets, client payment gets delayed.

Fix: Connect ApproveThis to Xero so approved contracts auto-generate invoices. Example: A Portland marketing agency uses this to turn approved client SOWs into invoices before the kickoff meeting even starts.

ApproveThis bonus: Set approval thresholds so small invoices auto-approve, while larger ones route to the CFO. Because nobody needs 4 people approving the $75 office snacks bill.

2. Force Accountability on Every Xero Bill

Problem: Vendors send bills directly to accounting, purchases happen without budget checks, month-end surprises ensue.

Fix: Trigger ApproveThis workflows for every new Xero bill. A Texas construction company uses this to ensure every subcontractor invoice gets site manager approval before accounting processes payment.

Killer feature: Vacation delegation automatically reroutes approvals when managers are onsite or OOO. No more “Sorry, I was neck-deep in concrete” excuses.

3. Auto-Allocate Credit Notes When Approvals Happen

Problem: Customer refunds get approved but never processed, leading to awkward “Why am I still being charged?” emails.

Fix: Connect approved refund requests to Xero credit notes. An e-commerce brand uses this to process 93% of refunds same-day. Their CSAT scores? Through the roof.

Pro move: Use calculated fields to auto-adjust credit limits based on approval history. Because trusting your sales team is good – verifying is better.

Setting This Up Without Losing Your Mind

If you can order DoorDash, you can build this integration:

1. Grab your Xero and ApproveThis logins
2. Create a Zapier account (free tier works)
3. Pick your trigger (e.g., “New Bill in Xero”)
4. Choose the ApproveThis action (e.g., “Create Request”)
5. Test with a real bill/invoice/credit note

Total setup time: Less than your last Teams meeting that should’ve been an email.

Who Actually Benefits?

Finance Teams

Stop being the approval police. Now when someone asks “Where’s my payment?”, you can actually answer.

Operations Managers

Custom workflows for POs, inventory buys, and contractor payments without begging IT for help.

External Partners

Client needs to approve an invoice? Vendor requires purchase order sign-off? They approve via email without needing Xero access. Your data stays secure, they stay happy.

The Bottom Line

Approval bottlenecks aren’t just annoying – they’re expensive. Late payments cost vendor relationships. Delayed invoices impact cash flow. Manual errors lead to audit fireworks.

ApproveThis + Xero via Zapier isn’t about flashy tech. It’s about making sure the right people say “yes” or “no” at the right time – then automatically handling what comes next. No heroics required.

Next step: If your approval process still involves chasing people through cubicles or Slack, grab a demo. We’ll show how to cut approval time from days to hours. Or keep using carrier pigeons – your call.