Knowledge Base

What Xero Exports Do

The Xero export feature prepares CSV files that can be imported into Xero.

The current export workspace can produce:

• a contacts CSV
• a sales invoices CSV with one row per invoice line
• a sales invoices CSV with one row per invoice

This is a CSV export tool only. It does not connect Octavia to Xero automatically or push invoices into Xero for you.

Where To Find It

Xero exports are currently available from:

• Reports -> Xero exports

Your school must have the Xero Exports entitlement enabled, and you must be a school admin to run the exports or edit the Xero export settings.

You can also manage the main Xero export settings from:

• School Settings -> Integrations

What You Can Configure

Your school can save default Xero export settings, including:

• whether Xero export is enabled
• whether invoice exports default to line items or invoice headers
• whether amounts export as display/gross amounts or ex-tax amounts
• a default Xero sales account code
• a default Xero tax type
• billing-type mappings
• custom line category mappings

These settings let you decide which account code and tax type Octavia should place on exported invoice rows.

How Contact Selection Works

Octavia chooses the contact using the same billing-recipient rules it already uses for billing communication.

In practice:

1. If the invoice belongs to a family billing contact, that parent is used.
2. Otherwise, if the student is set up to manage their own billing and has a student email address, the student is used.
3. Otherwise, the payment-responsible parent is used.
4. If no payment-responsible parent is set, the first linked parent is used.

This keeps the Xero export aligned with who Octavia treats as the billing contact.

How Invoice Export Modes Work

Octavia supports two invoice export shapes.

Line-item export

Use this when you want one export row per invoice line.

This gives the most detailed breakdown of charges in Xero and is usually the best choice when your accountant wants to preserve the individual line descriptions.

Header-only export

Use this when you want one export row per invoice.

This gives a more compact import with one row for the invoice total.

How Mapping Works

Octavia can fill Xero AccountCode and TaxType values during export.

It resolves them in this order:

1. custom line category mapping
2. billing-type mapping
3. school default
4. blank

That means you can keep your setup simple with only school-wide defaults, or make it more detailed by mapping different billing types and custom invoice categories separately.

If you leave the mapping blank, the export will leave those Xero fields blank too.

Column Mapping Overview

The export follows a stable column mapping so you can understand what Xero will receive.

Contacts export

Current blank fields in the contacts export include:

• postal and street address fields
• tracking fields
• bank account fields
• tax-code fields
• other optional person/contact template fields

Invoice export

Both invoice export modes use the same core Xero columns.

Current blank fields in the invoice exports include:

• postal address fields
• inventory item code
• tracking fields
• branding theme

Difference between the two invoice export modes

In line-item mode:

• each row represents one Octavia invoice line
• the description comes from the invoice line
• quantity comes from the invoice line quantity

In header-only mode:

• each row represents one Octavia invoice
• quantity is always 1
• the description comes from the invoice header
• the amount is the invoice total rather than a single line amount

Amount Mode

Octavia stores both:

• the display/gross amount families see
• the ex-tax accounting amount

Your Xero export settings let you choose which amount version is placed into the invoice export.

In general:

• choose display/gross amount if you want the export to match what families saw on the Octavia invoice
• choose ex-tax if your accountant wants the import values to work with Xero tax handling more directly

If you are unsure which option your school should use, check with your accountant before setting this as your default.

Date Range Filtering

The Xero exports workspace can optionally limit the export to a selected invoice date range.

Current behavior:

• if you leave both dates blank, the export includes all eligible invoices
• if you choose a date range, the same range is applied to the contacts and invoice exports so they stay aligned
• the downloaded filename includes the selected date range

What Is Intentionally Blank

Some Xero template fields are intentionally left blank in the current export version.

This includes areas such as:

• postal and street address fields
• tracking fields
• bank-account fields
• other optional Xero template columns your school may not need

This is expected behavior in the current version.

Manual Invoice Categories

If your school uses custom/manual invoice lines, you can also map custom line categories for Xero export.

When that is set up:

• manual lines can carry a Xero category
• the export can use that category's account code and tax type mapping

This gives you more control over ad hoc charges such as books, exam fees, or merchandise.

Before Importing Into Xero

Before importing, it helps to confirm:

• which invoice export mode your accountant wants
• whether amounts should be gross or ex-tax
• whether your account code and tax mappings are complete
• whether you want the whole export or only a specific invoice date range

If you are testing the feature for the first time, start with a small date range so you can check the imported result in Xero before doing a larger export.

Support

If your school needs help deciding how to map Octavia billing types or custom invoice categories into Xero, contact Octavia support with the export format your accountant wants.