Xero Job Management Software NZ — Connect Your Jobs to Your Accounting

Xero is excellent accounting software — it handles invoicing, bank reconciliation, GST returns, and financial reporting. But it wasn't designed to manage trade jobs. It doesn't handle quoting, scheduling, site management, or the operational side of running a trade business.

The result is that most NZ tradies using Xero alone end up with a disconnected workflow: they quote jobs in Excel or Word, track work on a whiteboard or in their head, and then manually create invoices in Xero by retyping all the details. Every manual step is an opportunity for errors and a waste of time.

A job management tool that integrates with Xero bridges this gap. You manage the operational side — quoting, scheduling, job tracking, customer records — in the job management tool. When a job is complete, the invoice flows to Xero automatically, with the correct customer, line items, and amounts. No retyping.

The business benefit goes beyond time-saving. Connected data means you can see which jobs are profitable (by comparing quoted amounts to actual costs in Xero), which customers are slow to pay, and where your revenue actually comes from. Xero alone gives you financial data; Xero plus job management gives you operational intelligence.

Not all Xero integrations are equal. This is important to understand before choosing a tool, because "integrates with Xero" can mean very different things:

One-way sync (push only): Your job management tool creates invoices and pushes them to Xero. Customer records may also sync one way. But payment information doesn't come back — you have to check Xero separately to see if an invoice has been paid. ServiceM8 and some smaller tools use one-way sync.

Two-way sync: Data flows in both directions. Invoices push to Xero, and payment status, customer updates, and financial data pull back to your job management tool. This means you can see payment status, overdue invoices, and customer financial history without leaving your job management platform. ATT, Tradify, and Fergus offer two-way sync.

The practical difference matters more than it sounds. With one-way sync, your team ends up checking two systems — the job management tool for job details and Xero for payment status. With two-way sync, everything is visible in one place.

What typically syncs:

• Contacts/customers: Created in either system, appear in both
• Invoices: Created in the job management tool, pushed to Xero for accounting and payment tracking
• Payments: Recorded in Xero (via bank reconciliation), status syncs back to the job management tool
• Products/services: Some tools sync line item libraries, others don't

One important caveat: even with two-way sync, your job management tool and Xero are not identical copies. The job management tool is your operational hub; Xero is your financial hub. They share data but serve different purposes.

ATT's Xero integration is available on the Professional plan ($199/mo NZD excl. GST). Here's what the connected workflow looks like in practice:

Setup: Connecting ATT to Xero takes about 5 minutes. You authorise ATT to access your Xero organisation, map your chart of accounts (if needed), and enable sync. Existing Xero contacts can be imported to ATT so you're not starting from scratch.

Day-to-day workflow:

• Build a quote in ATT, with Mate AI assistance if needed
• Customer accepts the quote digitally
• Convert the quote to a job, schedule it in the calendar
• Team completes the work, updates job status from their phone
• Generate an invoice from the job record — line items, customer details, and amounts all pre-filled
• Invoice pushes to Xero automatically
• Customer pays (recorded in Xero via bank reconciliation)
• Payment status syncs back to ATT — job shows as paid

Progress invoicing: For larger jobs, create multiple invoices against one job — deposit when confirmed, progress claim at a milestone, final invoice on completion. Each syncs to Xero independently.

AI invoice scanning: When you receive supplier invoices (Resene paint, scaffold hire, equipment), ATT can scan them and suggest which job to allocate the cost to. This feeds into basic job costing without manual data entry.

What doesn't sync: ATT doesn't sync timesheets or payroll data to Xero (use Xero Payroll or a payroll tool like Smartly). Bank transactions stay in Xero — ATT pulls payment status but doesn't replicate bank reconciliation.

If ATT isn't the right fit for your trade, several other NZ platforms offer quality Xero integration:

Tradify has been a Xero-connected app for years and the integration is mature and reliable. Two-way sync covers contacts, invoices, and payments. Tradify also supports MYOB and QuickBooks — useful if you ever need to switch accounting platforms or if your accountant has a preference. For generalist trade businesses, Tradify's Xero integration is excellent.

Fergus offers detailed Xero integration with a focus on job costing. It syncs invoices and payments, but also tracks purchase orders and supplier costs against Xero records. For builders and contractors where job profitability tracking is critical, Fergus's Xero integration goes deeper than most.

ServiceM8 pushes invoices to Xero but uses one-way sync — payment status doesn't automatically flow back. For service trades doing high volumes of smaller jobs, this may be acceptable. If two-way sync matters to you, Tradify, Fergus, or ATT are better choices.

WorkflowMax (now BlueRock) was the original Xero-connected job management tool and is now being replaced. If you're currently on WorkflowMax, you'll need to migrate — ATT, Tradify, and Fergus are all viable alternatives.

For a broader comparison of these platforms, see our Tradify vs Fergus vs ATT comparison and the job management software NZ hub page.

If you're already on Xero and want to add ATT, the setup process is straightforward:

• Step 1: Start your ATT trial. Sign up for a 14-day free trial at automatethetrades.co.nz. No credit card required.
• Step 2: Connect Xero. In ATT settings, click "Connect to Xero" and authorise access. You'll need to be a Xero admin or have permission to connect third-party apps.
• Step 3: Import contacts. Pull your existing Xero contacts into ATT so your customer list is ready to go. This usually takes a few minutes for most trade businesses.
• Step 4: Set up your quote templates. Build templates for your most common job types. For painters, this might be: house exterior, house interior, fence, commercial, new build. Add your standard line items and labour rates. See how to price painting jobs for rate guidance.
• Step 5: Create your first job. Build a real quote for a current prospect, send it, and track the job through to invoicing. Testing with a live job during the trial period gives you the best sense of whether the tool works for your business.

The Xero connection can be paused or disconnected at any time without affecting your Xero data. During the trial, invoices pushed to Xero are real — make sure you're comfortable with this before pushing your first invoice (or use a Xero demo organisation for testing).

For painters looking for detail on the full ATT feature set, visit our painting business software page.