💶 Clerk Invoices: The Bridge from Jira and Tempo to Xero

[#1]

Hi, Community! 👋

At Hello Clerk we build financial apps for the Atlassian ecosystem. In this series of articles, we are sharing our experience in automating various financial tasks in Jira.

In today's fast-paced business environment, efficiency and accuracy are paramount. Managing project expenses and generating invoices can be time-consuming and error-prone tasks, especially for organizations that heavily rely on project management and time-tracking tools like Jira and Tempo. To address this challenge, the Clerk Invoices app offers a powerful solution, enabling automatic invoice creation from Jira and Tempo, followed by seamless export to accounting software such as Xero. In this article, we'll explore how this integration can improve your financial workflow.

Benefits of Automatic Invoice Creation with Clerk Invoices

• Time Savings: By automating the invoice creation process, Clerk Invoices frees up valuable time for your finance team. This means fewer manual tasks and more time for strategic financial planning.
• Reduced Errors: Manual data entry is prone to errors. With Clerk Invoices, you can significantly reduce the risk of invoicing mistakes, which can lead to costly disputes with clients.
• Customization: Clerk Invoices allows you to create customized invoice mockups that reflect your brand and meet your clients' expectations.

Setting Up the Automted Jira to Xero Invoicing

The Clerk Invoices app is a tool that enables you to automate the creation of invoices in Xero directly from your Jira or Tempo worklogs. Here's how the integration works:

1. Install Clerk Invoices App: Begin by adding the Clerk Invoices app to your Jira Cloud instance, a straightforward process that you can easily complete via the Atlassian Marketplace.
2. Connect Clerk Invoices with Xero: After you've successfully installed the app, establish a connection with your Xero account. This integration process is quite straightforward, involving only a few simple steps. Navigate to Settings > Integrations, then select the "Connect Xero" option, and adhere to the onscreen instructions.
3. Define Team Roles: To simplify the invoicing process, outline the various roles within your team. This allows for the assignment of specific responsibilities to team members, thereby guaranteeing the effective management of all aspects of the invoicing process.
4. Team Structure and Role Assignment: Define your team's organizational framework and explicitly specify which team members are assigned to fulfill particular roles. This ensures that each team member's contributions are accurately reflected within the invoicing process.
5. Sync Xero Clients: All your Xero clients will be automatically synced with Clerk Invoices, making it easy to manage and generate invoices for each client.
6. Rate Card Configuration: Create a unified rate card applicable to all clients, or customize rate cards individually to match each client's unique needs. These rate cards establish the billing rates for various services, ensuring precise and accurate invoicing.
7. Invoice Templates Creation: Produce invoice templates that provide a clear structure for each invoice you intend to generate. Clerk Invoices offers flexibility by enabling you to apply multiple time filters during the time importing process.
8. Generate Invoices: Open the Invoice Generator in Clerk Invoices and generate all invoices for your clients from the invoice templates. This can be done with just a couple of clicks, saving your time.
9. Automatic Invoices Sync: Every created invoice will be automatically forwarded to Xero. If necessary, you can alternatively employ manual sync mode for enhanced control.

Enhanced Functionality

Clerk Invoices comes equipped with supplementary capabilities that enhance the seamless interaction with Xero:

• Configure Xero Products or Services: Simplify the integration between Clerk Invoices and Xero by associating Xero products or services with individual invoice items.
• Define Xero Tax: Ensure precise taxation by applying Xero taxes to each invoice item in Clerk Invoices.
• Comprehensive Time Reports: Clerk Invoices can effortlessly attach comprehensive time reports to Xero invoices in the form of PDF files, offering transparency and clear insights to your clients.

Conclusion

In today's business landscape, efficiency and accuracy in financial processes are non-negotiable. The Clerk Invoices app offers an innovative solution for organizations using Jira and Tempo, allowing them to automate invoice creation and seamlessly export them to Xero. This integration streamlines your financial workflow, reduces errors, and improves cash flow — all critical factors for business success. 

For more information on Clerk Invoices' Xero integration, you can refer to this help center article. 

Embrace the power of automation and elevate your invoicing process to a whole new level using Clerk Invoices!

[Aaron Geister]

Really looking forward to testing this for our use case.

[Anton Skorniakov]

@Aaron Geister would be happy to help you along this way! 🤗