Xero bill approval
Approve Xero bills on WhatsApp, in one tap.
Barbara turns each supplier invoice into a draft bill in Xero, then sends your approver a short summary with Approve and Reject buttons. Nothing is approved in Xero until someone taps Approve.
Cleva · finance assistant
£1,240.00 inc VAT, due 31 Oct.
Draft is in Xero.
How it works
From invoice to approved bill
The invoice arrives
A photo or PDF on WhatsApp, an email to your company’s Cleva address, or straight from your connected Outlook inbox.
Barbara drafts the bill
She reads it, checks it isn’t a duplicate in Cleva or Xero, and creates a draft bill with the invoice attached, the due date and the expense account, telling you how she chose them.
Your approver taps a button
Approve and the bill is approved in Xero, ready to pay. Reject and the draft is deleted.
What the approver sees
Everything needed to decide, in the chat
The bill
Supplier, invoice number, amount with VAT and the due date, with the company named if you look after more than one.
How it was coded
The expense account Barbara used and why: the supplier’s own account in Xero, or how you coded their earlier bills.
Warnings
A new supplier, a low-confidence read, a receipt that says it’s already paid, or a supplier that is dissolved, insolvent or has just changed directors at Companies House.
One at a time
Several bills waiting? They come in order, “Bill 1 of 3”, and the next one follows as soon as you decide.
The original invoice
Open it in the Cleva app, or open the draft in Xero, before you decide.
Nothing forgotten
A weekday morning summary goes to approvers with bills waiting, and “bills” lists them any time.
Who can approve
Roles, not passwords
Each person joins your company on WhatsApp with a code from their invite. Their role decides what they can do:
- Submitters send invoices.
- Approvers approve bills, ask money questions and chase customers.
- Directors do everything an Approver does, plus the team, billing and connecting Xero.
Safe by design
Approval only. Never payment.
- Every bill starts as a draft in Xero
- Barbara never pays anyone, moves money or changes bank details
- Reject deletes the draft, so nothing half-done is left in Xero
- Duplicates are caught before they’re drafted
- Approve on WhatsApp, or several at once in the Cleva app
Questions about bill approval
Does Xero have bill approval built in?
In Xero, a bill can be saved as a draft or submitted for approval, and someone with the right access approves it in Xero. Barbara brings that step to WhatsApp: the approver gets the bill’s details and two buttons, without logging in to Xero.
Do approvers need a Xero login?
No. A Director connects your Xero once in the Cleva app. Approvers approve on WhatsApp or in the Cleva app.
What happens when I tap Approve?
The bill is approved in Xero and waits for payment there, exactly as if you had approved it in Xero. Barbara never pays it: you pay suppliers the way you do today.
What happens when I tap Reject?
The draft is deleted in Xero. Send a clearer photo or the PDF if it was read wrongly.
Can I approve several bills at once?
Yes, in the Cleva app. On WhatsApp, bills come one at a time (“Bill 1 of 3”) so nothing gets missed.
Can I set approval rules by amount or supplier?
Not yet. Anyone with the Approver or Director role can approve your company’s bills.
What does it cost?
Barbara is from £19 a month. Free trial: 14 days or 50 invoices.