---
title: "Xero 5: Invoices and Credit Notes in Xero"
url: "https://epona-support.ardex.tech/en/article/xero-5-invoices-and-credit-notes-in-xero"
language: "en"
last_updated: "2026-10-13T06:10:06.212Z"
---

# Xero 5: Invoices and Credit Notes in Xero

What arrives in Xero when EPONA creates an invoice, and how to read its status in EPONA

EPONA creates invoices from Financials/End of Period, or from Create Invoice on the Transactions view, and sends each one to Xero in the background as soon as it's created, usually within a minute. There's no file to export and import into Xero at month end. While an invoice is on its way, both status columns show Draft.

Available to admins and managers.

## What arrives in Xero

-   Invoice - arrives as an approved sales invoice (Awaiting Payment in Xero)
-   Credit - arrives as an approved credit note

Invoices and credit notes are numbered from one shared sequence, using the Invoice Prefix or Credit Note Prefix and the Next Number in Settings/Financial Settings — for example INV-EP10001, then CN-EP10002.

Where a batch of charges includes credits, EPONA creates a separate credit note for them rather than netting them off the invoice. EPONA does not allocate credit notes to invoices — allocate them in Xero.

## Invoice details

-   Date - for End of Period, the effective date; for Create Invoice, today's date. Credit notes take Xero's default date
-   Due date - worked out from the Due Date rule in Settings/Financial Settings (invoices only)
-   Reference - blank by default; the horse's name where your workspace is set up to invoice each horse separately
-   Contact - the linked Xero contact (see Xero 4)
-   Amounts are Tax Exclusive
-   The EPONA invoice PDF is attached to the Xero invoice, and shows on Xero's online invoice

## Each line

-   Description - the horse's name, then the charge, then its date, for example "Starlight - Farrier trim on 12 Aug 2026". Where a horse is shared, the billable party's percentage is included: "Starlight @ 50% - Farrier trim on 12 Aug 2026". Lines not tied to a horse carry the description only. Dates can be switched off per workspace.
-   Quantity, unit price and any discount
-   Account and tax rate - copied from the product when the charge was created, or chosen on an ad hoc charge

Lines not tied to a horse come first, then lines are grouped by horse name. No item code is sent.

Xero calculates the GST on each line. EPONA reads Xero's totals back and compares them with its own; if they differ, the invoice is flagged as a discrepancy (see Xero 6).

## Emailing invoices

When you choose to create and send, Xero emails each invoice from your Xero organisation — using Xero's own email settings, template and branding theme — to the email addresses on the Xero contact (see Xero 4). Credit notes are not emailed. In EPONA, View PDF shows the invoice as Xero produces it.

## Reading the status in EPONA

Click Financials at left of screen, then Invoices. Two columns show where each invoice is up to:

-   Xero Status - the status in Xero: Draft, Awaiting Approval, Awaiting Payment, Partially Paid, Paid, Void (Sync Failed, in red, where something went wrong)
-   EPONA Status - EPONA's summary of the same thing

| Xero Status | EPONA Status |
| --- | --- |
| Draft, Awaiting Approval | Draft |
| Awaiting Payment, Partially Paid | Open |
| Paid | Closed |
| Void (also shown for invoices deleted in Xero) | Cancelled |

## When an invoice does not reach Xero

Xero checks each invoice on its own, so one invoice can fail while the rest go through. A failed invoice shows Sync Failed in the Xero Status column, and opening it lists the reasons in yellow. Common causes:

![](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/a7cd6123-55bd-497b-8e49-823e0dae342e)

-   The client couldn't be linked or created in Xero - for example a duplicate name or a missing detail. Correct the contact, then click Sync with accounting on the contact profile
-   An account or tax rate that is no longer in Xero
-   An invoice date before the lock date set in Xero
-   A lost connection

Fix the cause, then click the Refresh icon at the right-hand end of the invoice's row (the row icons show their names when you hover). EPONA sends the invoice again, and will not create it twice in Xero. Do the same if an invoice stays Draft for longer than expected.

Note - Refresh puts the invoice in Xero but doesn't email it, even if it was created to be sent. To email it, open the invoice and click Resend.

![](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/393e8a2c-2a47-41c5-91b9-a8c6dd61bb44)