Harvest + Xero
Connect Harvest and Xero to Automate Time Tracking and Accounting
Stop re-entering data by hand. Sync billable hours, invoices, and project costs between Harvest and Xero automatically.
Why integrate Harvest and Xero?
Harvest and Xero do different jobs — one tracks time and project budgets, the other handles accounting and cash flow. They work well together, but without an integration, your team ends up manually exporting invoices, re-entering client data, and chasing down discrepancies across both platforms. Connecting Harvest and Xero through tray.ai means billable time flows straight into accurate, ready-to-send invoices, and your books stay current without anyone touching them.
Automate & integrate Harvest & Xero
Use case
Automatic Invoice Creation from Harvest Timesheets
When a Harvest invoice is generated or approved, tray.ai creates a matching invoice in Xero with all line items, hours, and rates accurately mapped. Finance teams don't have to re-enter anything, and billing goes out faster. The integration handles currency, tax codes, and client references so both systems stay in sync.
Use case
Client and Contact Synchronization
When a new client is added in Harvest, tray.ai automatically creates a matching contact record in Xero, complete with name, email, billing address, and currency preferences. Your accounting system always reflects your active client roster without anyone doing it twice. Updates to client details in either system can also be pushed across to keep records consistent.
Use case
Payment Status Updates from Xero to Harvest
When an invoice is marked as paid in Xero, tray.ai updates Harvest to reflect that payment status, giving project managers real-time visibility into which clients have settled their accounts. Both platforms stay in sync and nobody has to reconcile statuses by hand. Teams can also use this signal to trigger follow-up workflows or unlock next project phases.
Use case
Project Budget and Cost Reporting
tray.ai can pull project cost data from Harvest — including tracked hours against budget thresholds — and push summary reports or journal entries into Xero for accurate cost-of-goods-sold and project profitability accounting. Finance leaders get a clear picture of project margins without exporting and manipulating spreadsheets. Automated reporting schedules keep data current at month-end close.
Use case
Expense Sync from Harvest to Xero
Expenses logged against projects in Harvest are automatically pushed to Xero as billable expense line items or purchase records, so out-of-pocket costs land in your accounting system without delay. Each expense is attached to the correct client, project, and tax category. Finance teams can review and approve expense records in Xero without chasing team members for documentation.
Use case
Automated Overdue Invoice Alerts and Follow-Ups
When an invoice in Xero hits a defined overdue threshold, tray.ai checks the corresponding project record in Harvest and triggers automated alerts to the account manager, or sends a payment reminder directly to the client. Finance teams don't have to monitor aging reports manually. Teams can customize thresholds and escalation paths to match their collections process.
Use case
Multi-Currency Project Billing Reconciliation
For businesses working with international clients, tray.ai maps multi-currency invoices from Harvest to the correct currency settings and exchange rate records in Xero. This prevents mismatches in reporting and keeps you compliant with local accounting requirements. Finance teams can trust that international billing is handled consistently across both platforms.
Get started with Harvest & Xero integration today
Harvest & Xero Challenges
What challenges are there when working with Harvest & Xero and how will using Tray.ai help?
Challenge
Mapping Harvest Line Items to Xero Account Codes
Harvest organizes billable time by task and project, while Xero requires revenue to be posted to specific chart-of-accounts codes. Without a mapping layer, invoice line items can land in the wrong account, causing misreported revenue and headaches at audit time.
How Tray.ai Can Help:
tray.ai's data transformation tools let teams define flexible mapping rules between Harvest task types and Xero account codes. Those mappings can be updated without code changes and apply consistently across every invoice sync.
Challenge
Avoiding Duplicate Clients and Invoices
When finance and project teams create records independently in Xero and Harvest, duplicates pile up fast — double-billing risks, confused clients, and accounting reports that take hours to untangle.
How Tray.ai Can Help:
tray.ai checks for existing records in Xero before creating new contacts or invoices. Matching runs on email addresses, client names, and reference numbers, with conflict resolution rules that teams can configure to fit their process.
Challenge
Handling Multi-Currency Billing Accurately
International clients may be invoiced in different currencies in Harvest, and those currency settings have to match precisely in Xero for accurate foreign exchange accounting and reporting. Mismatches produce incorrect revenue figures and compliance problems.
How Tray.ai Can Help:
tray.ai maps currency codes from Harvest invoices directly to the corresponding currency settings in Xero, so exchange rate handling and multi-currency reporting stay accurate. The platform also supports conditional logic for edge cases where currencies differ from the default.
Challenge
Keeping Sync Reliable Through API Rate Limits
Both Harvest and Xero enforce API rate limits, which can cause sync failures during high-volume billing periods — like month-end — when large batches of invoices, time entries, and expense records all need processing at once.
How Tray.ai Can Help:
tray.ai handles rate limit management automatically using built-in retry logic, request throttling, and queue management. Every record gets processed reliably even during peak periods, so teams don't have to worry about failed syncs or missing invoices.
Challenge
Reconciling Historical Data During Initial Setup
When first connecting Harvest and Xero, businesses often need to backfill historical invoices, client records, and expense data. Done manually, it's slow and error-prone. Done carelessly, it creates duplicates in both systems.
How Tray.ai Can Help:
tray.ai supports one-time historical data migration workflows scoped by date range, client, or project. Deduplication checks run throughout the backfill, and detailed logging gives teams a clear audit trail of every record created or updated during the initial sync.
Start using our pre-built Harvest & Xero templates today
Start from scratch or use one of our pre-built Harvest & Xero templates to quickly solve your most common use cases.
Harvest & Xero Templates
Find pre-built Harvest & Xero solutions for common use cases
Template
Harvest Invoice to Xero Invoice Sync
Automatically creates a fully itemized invoice in Xero whenever an invoice is generated or approved in Harvest, mapping client details, line items, hours, rates, and tax codes without manual intervention.
Steps:
- Trigger when a new invoice is created or approved in Harvest
- Fetch full invoice details including client, line items, tax codes, and currency from Harvest
- Look up or create the matching contact record in Xero
- Create a new invoice in Xero with all mapped line items and due date
- Store the Xero invoice ID back in Harvest for cross-reference tracking
Connectors Used: Harvest, Xero
Template
New Harvest Client to Xero Contact Creator
When a new client is added in Harvest, this template automatically provisions a matching contact in Xero with all relevant billing and contact details, keeping your accounting records in sync from day one.
Steps:
- Trigger when a new client is created in Harvest
- Extract client name, email, billing address, and currency preference
- Check Xero for an existing contact with a matching email to avoid duplicates
- Create a new Xero contact if no match is found
- Log the Xero contact ID for future invoice linking
Connectors Used: Harvest, Xero
Template
Xero Payment Received to Harvest Invoice Status Update
Monitors Xero for fully paid invoices and automatically updates the corresponding invoice status in Harvest, giving project teams real-time visibility into client payments without leaving their project management tool.
Steps:
- Trigger when an invoice is marked as fully paid in Xero
- Extract the invoice reference number and client details from Xero
- Search for the matching invoice in Harvest using the reference ID
- Update the Harvest invoice status to reflect payment received
- Optionally notify the project manager via email or Slack
Connectors Used: Xero, Harvest
Template
Harvest Expense to Xero Purchase Record Sync
Pushes approved project expenses from Harvest into Xero as purchase transactions or expense line items, so complete cost records are maintained in your accounting system automatically.
Steps:
- Trigger when an expense is approved in Harvest
- Fetch expense details including amount, category, project, and receipt data
- Map Harvest expense categories to Xero account codes
- Create a spend money transaction or expense claim in Xero
- Tag the transaction with the appropriate project or tracking category
Connectors Used: Harvest, Xero
Template
Monthly Project Cost Summary to Xero Journal Entry
At the end of each month, this template aggregates tracked hours and costs by project from Harvest and pushes summarized journal entries into Xero for accurate project profitability reporting and cost accounting.
Steps:
- Trigger on a scheduled monthly basis
- Query Harvest for all time entries and costs within the billing period by project
- Calculate total labor costs using tracked hours and internal billing rates
- Format the data as journal entry lines mapped to Xero account codes
- Post the journal entry to Xero with the correct period date and narrative
Connectors Used: Harvest, Xero
Template
Overdue Xero Invoice Alert with Harvest Project Context
Monitors Xero for invoices past their due date and enriches the alert with project and client context from Harvest before notifying the responsible account manager to take action.
Steps:
- Run on a daily schedule and query Xero for all overdue invoices
- For each overdue invoice, look up the related project in Harvest
- Retrieve project manager and client contact details from Harvest
- Compose a detailed overdue alert with invoice amount, days overdue, and project context
- Send the alert to the account manager via email or Slack with a direct link to the Xero invoice
Connectors Used: Xero, Harvest