Quoting is only one part of the commercial workflow. For construction companies, contractors, estimators, and trade businesses, the real handoff happens when a client accepts the work and the quote needs to become an invoice. That step is often where clean estimating turns back into manual admin: copying client details, retyping line items, checking totals, adding tax, and making sure the finance system matches the quote that was actually approved.
The CostForge Xero integration is designed to close that gap. It connects the structured quote record in CostForge with the invoicing workflow in Xero, helping teams create and send invoices from accepted quote work without rebuilding the same commercial detail twice. It can also be configured to auto-create invoices, auto-send them to clients, and split a quote into deposit and balance invoices using the deposit percentage you choose.
Why Quote-to-Invoice Handoffs Matter
A quote contains more than a final price. It holds the client, job context, scope, line items, tax treatment, payment assumptions, internal costing decisions, and the version the client accepted. When that information is transferred manually into an accounting platform, mistakes can creep in quickly.
A total can be copied incorrectly. A line item can be missed. A revised quote can be invoiced from an older value. A client name can be typed differently in two systems, making records harder to reconcile later. None of these problems are dramatic in isolation, but they create friction at exactly the point where a business should be moving from approved work to payment with confidence.
The goal of the CostForge and Xero connection is practical: keep estimating disciplined in CostForge, then let Xero handle the invoice process your finance workflow already trusts.
Auto-Create Xero Invoices from Accepted Quotes
With the integration, accepted quote work can become the starting point for invoice creation in Xero. Instead of treating the invoice as a fresh document that has to be built again, CostForge uses the quote data already prepared by the estimator and approved by the client.
For teams that want the fastest route from accepted quote to billing, invoice creation can be set to happen automatically when the quote is accepted. That means the finance step is ready without someone manually copying the approved scope into Xero.
That means the important commercial context can travel forward: client and job details, quote totals, line item structure, tax context, and the invoice-ready values that need review. The result is a cleaner handoff between the people who priced the work and the people who manage billing.
This is especially useful for businesses where quoting and invoicing are handled by different people. An owner, estimator, project manager, or office administrator can work from the same accepted source rather than piecing together the final invoice from notes.
Review Before Sending, or Auto-Send to the Client
Automation should make invoicing faster, but it should still fit the way your business wants to work. The integration supports a review-before-send workflow when the invoice needs a final check. CostForge can help prepare the invoice from the accepted quote, then the invoice can be checked before it is sent through Xero.
That review step matters because real jobs often need a final look. A deposit might be required before work starts. A phased project might need a first invoice now and a later invoice on completion. A quote may include internal notes or items that should be presented differently at invoice stage. The integration is there to reduce repetitive entry while keeping the business in control of the document that goes to the client.
For repeatable workflows, invoices can also be set to auto-send to the client through Xero. That is useful when an accepted quote should immediately trigger the next finance step without waiting for another manual action. Xero remains the place where the invoice is sent, which keeps the accounting workflow familiar while reducing duplicate admin between systems.
Set Up Split Invoices with Deposit Percentages
Not every accepted quote should become one full invoice straight away. Many construction and trade businesses take an upfront deposit before work begins, then invoice the remaining balance later. The Xero integration supports that workflow by letting you split invoices and set the deposit percentage.
For example, a business could set a 30% deposit invoice on quote acceptance, with the remaining 70% handled as the balance invoice. The exact percentage can be set to match the payment terms for the job. This gives teams a cleaner way to manage deposits without manually calculating and recreating invoice values from the approved quote.
Send Invoices Through Xero
Many trade and construction businesses already use Xero as their accounting system, so the invoice does not need to live in a separate quoting tool forever. CostForge focuses on estimating, job structure, client-ready quotes, invoice automation rules, and the accepted commercial record. Xero handles the accounting side, including invoice delivery and the finance activity that follows.
This separation is intentional. CostForge does not need to replace the accounting system. It needs to make sure that when a quote becomes billable, the information passed into Xero is clear enough to act on.
Cleaner Records for Growing Teams
The Xero integration is not just about saving a few minutes on an invoice. It is about keeping the commercial record cleaner as a business grows. A sole trader may be able to remember which quote became which invoice. A team with multiple estimators, clients, jobs, revisions, and payment stages needs a stronger process.
When the quote and invoice workflow is connected, it is easier to answer basic operational questions. Which accepted quote created this invoice? Which client and job does it belong to? Was the invoice based on the latest quote value? Has the job moved from estimate to billable work? Those answers help owners and administrators keep work moving without hunting through inboxes or spreadsheets.
Built for Construction and Trade Workflows
Construction and trade quoting can be detailed. A quote may include labour, materials, subcontractors, allowances, plant, markup, VAT or tax labels, optional lines, hidden internal notes, and staged work. CostForge already helps structure that information before the quote is issued. The Xero integration extends the same discipline into the invoice handoff.
For the client, the experience is simpler: they receive a professional quote, accept the work, and then receive the right invoice through the expected finance channel. That may be a deposit invoice, a balance invoice, or a full invoice, depending on the workflow set for the job. For the business, the process is calmer: the quote record remains in CostForge, the invoice moves through Xero, and the team spends less time rekeying information that already exists.
What This Means for CostForge Users
The new integration gives CostForge users a clearer route from accepted quote to sent invoice. Build the estimate with the detail your team needs. Present the quote professionally. Record the accepted work. Then use the Xero connection to auto-create the invoice, auto-send it to the client if appropriate, or split the invoice into a deposit and balance payment without starting from a blank page.
It is a practical step toward a more joined-up commercial workflow. The estimating tool keeps the numbers traceable. The accounting tool keeps billing and finance in the right place. The connection between them reduces admin, lowers the chance of transfer errors, supports deposit-led payment terms, and helps accepted work move toward payment faster.
You can read more about the feature on the CostForge integrations page, view the Xero integration feature overview, or start free with CostForge and build a quoting process that is ready for invoicing from the moment the client says yes.
