Accounting

Bottle manages deliveries, customer invoices and payments. Xero remains your accounting system for the ledger, bank reconciliation and VAT returns.

What is synced

• Customers sync both ways. Bottle imports Xero contacts and creates Xero contacts for Bottle customers. Existing links are used first; otherwise contacts are matched by name. If both records changed since the last sync, Bottle’s changes take priority. Contacts marked only as suppliers are not imported.
• Invoices go from Bottle to Xero. They use the Bottle invoice number, lines, selected sales account and matching VAT rates. Bottle keeps whether an order price was entered including or excluding VAT, and sends the exact net and VAT amounts so Xero agrees with the customer invoice. Cancelling an invoice in Bottle voids it in Xero. Xero invoices are not imported.
• Payments sync both ways for linked invoices. Payments recorded in Bottle go to the selected Xero account for cash, card or bank transfer. A linked invoice fully settled in Xero is marked paid in Bottle and shown as Paid in Xero. Removing that settlement in Xero reopens it in Bottle when Xero was the source of the paid status.
• Xero controls its invoice branding and online-payment settings. Change these in Xero, not Bottle.

Invoice and payment changes trigger a sync. Scheduled checks run every few minutes, and Sync now starts a check manually. Repeated syncs do not create duplicate records.

Xero webhooks can trigger checks sooner. Without webhooks, changes are picked up by the scheduled checks.

Xero does not allow paid invoice lines to change. If the invoice is marked unpaid in Bottle, its Xero payment is removed before the lines are updated.

Bottle invoices are either paid or unpaid. A part-payment in Xero leaves the invoice unpaid in Bottle until Xero reports it as fully settled. Bottle does not import the part-paid balance. Credit notes and other allocations which fully settle the linked Xero invoice also mark it paid in Bottle.

Corrected invoices

When an owner or admin uses Correct and reissue in Bottle, the original invoice is cancelled and a corrected invoice is created under a new number. On the next sync, Bottle voids the linked original in Xero and creates the corrected invoice with its new lines and number. The two Bottle documents remain linked in Invoice history.

Bottle does not overwrite an authorised Xero invoice with corrected lines or reuse its number. If the original has a payment or credit allocation in Xero, resolve that allocation before reissuing. Xero will not allow an allocated invoice to be voided.

Connecting

Open Connections from your user menu and choose Xero. Select Connect Xero, approve access in Xero and return to Bottle. Choose the company you want to connect, then confirm. Check the company name carefully, especially if Xero also lists a demo company. Nothing imports before you confirm.

You have ten minutes to confirm. If the choice expires, start again with Connect Xero. Cancelling leaves your current connection unchanged.

To change to a different Xero company, disconnect the current one first. This clears its record links in Bottle, but does not delete customers or invoices in either system. Check existing records before syncing with a different company to avoid duplicates.

Choose your sales account and the bank accounts for cash, card and transfer payments. Invoice syncing waits until you select a sales account.

Cylinder rent and deposits

You can choose a separate Cylinder rent account and Cylinder deposit account under Sales and payment accounts. Leave either blank to use your sales account instead. Deposits and deposit refunds use the same deposit code. If your accountant records deposits as money held rather than income, you can select a liability account.

These are accounts from your connected Xero organisation, not a fixed Bottle list. Create new accounts in Xero, then select Refresh account list in Bottle. Rent accounts include sales and other-income accounts; payment accounts include bank accounts and accounts with payments enabled in Xero.

Changes apply when invoices are next sent or updated in Xero. Paid invoices already synced keep their existing codes. Older invoice lines without a linked product or recorded charge type keep the default sales code; Bottle does not guess from the wording on an invoice.

When Xero pauses a large sync

Xero limits how many requests can be made. A pause does not mean your customers have been lost. Bottle saves a completed customer import before sending updates and invoices, then waits until Xero allows more requests. The sync status shows the retry time. You can leave the page; the background checks continue.

The result shows customer and payment-status changes processed from Xero, and updates sent to Xero. These are changes handled during that run, not the total number of records. The matched count is the total number of linked records.

Customer, invoice and payment syncing can each be switched off separately.

Connection problems

If Xero cannot finish approval, Bottle returns you to the accounting page with an explanation and keeps your previous connection. Start again with Connect Xero and select the organisation you want to share.

If Xero temporarily limits requests, Bottle pauses checks for that organisation and retries after Xero’s waiting period. Do not disconnect or repeatedly press Sync now: this does not remove the limit. Your saved settings and existing links remain in place.

Xero allows one active contact for each name. If two Bottle customers have the same name and one is already in Xero, Bottle does not send the other, and the sync result names it. If they are the same customer, use Merge accounts to keep one. If not, change one of the names.

Keeping Xero from writing to your customers

If Bottle sends your invoices and reminders, disable duplicate emails in Xero.

Copy customer email addresses to Xero is off by default. Turning it on copies addresses; leaving it off does not remove addresses already stored in Xero.

Bottle warns if Xero invoice reminders are enabled. Turn them off in Xero under Sales → Invoices → Invoice reminders. Bottle cannot change that setting for you. The warning clears after the next sync.

Invoices are synced from the connection date by default. Change the start date to include earlier invoices, or enable Also send older invoices that are still owed for earlier unpaid invoices only. Check for invoices already entered manually before doing this.

What it will not do

• Import invoices which were created in Xero. Bottle only reads payment status from Xero for invoices it previously sent and linked.
• Delete your records when you disconnect.
• Send multiple street addresses for one Xero contact.
• Reliably match a renamed, unlinked customer by anything other than name.

If you rename an unlinked customer in only one system, it may be treated as a new record. Allow the initial sync to complete before renaming.

See Integrations on the Bottle website.