Paying bills is a time consuming task for all small businesses. We’re working to update this process in Xero to reduce friction and streamline it where we can.
The existing batch payments interface was one of the first features to be built at Xero. We know it’s an important function. We want to provide a more beautiful bill payment experience while retaining the functionality, as well as allowing support for new payment integrations. This is why we’ve been developing a new bill-payments experience.
Let’s take a look at the new experience.
The new bill payments experience is accessed in the same way you usually access Batch Payments: by clicking the Batch Payments button on your Bills – Awaiting Payment screen.
Select your payment account and payment method
When entering the first screen, you’ll then need to:
- Select the account to make the payment from, as well as your payment method
- You can show Chart of Account type accounts with payments enabled by selecting ‘Show other account types’.
- Choose ‘Create a batch payment’ if you want to record payments on your bills, and optionally create a batch payment file.
- If a payment integration is supported for your bank account, you’ll have the option to use this as an additional payment method.
Edit your payment details
- On the screen you can edit your payment details before creating the batch in Xero.
- You can sort by any column, edit references or payment amounts.
- Payee account numbers can be edited if you have the bank-account admin permission.
- For payee references, if a default reference is saved to the contact in Xero, this will be used by default. If the default reference on the contact is blank, the invoice reference is used instead.
- Errors will appear if any payment details need to be updated. This should reduce manual rework of a batch, and help improve the chances that your batch payment file is accepted by your financial institution.
Review your payment details
After you’ve created your batch or sent your payment details to the bank, a summary of the payments you’ve made will be shown. You can then download a batch payment file, send remittance, or go back to the bills screen.
This update makes readability and editability of payment details easier. We’ve also made validation of payment detail errors earlier in the workflow, which means less rework for you if something is incorrect.
Find out more
Xero is continually working to improve the bills experience and functionality of the new interface. As a result you will now see some additional changes the next time you enter the batch payment flow. More information can be found in this new blog post.
The beta functionality might look prettier but it is not as easy to use. Can’t see invoice numbers in the batch and it is not clear what to put in the data entry fields. More mouse clicks to complete.
Hi Genevieve, thanks for the feedback. This new version of our bill payments experience hasn’t actually been released to customers.
The updates, which will be rolled out soon, will resolve some of the key issues raised by customers through the initial phases of the product. It should be easier and more intuitive to use.
In terms of how the references will display, if there is a default reference set on the contact, this will appear in the “Payee reference” column. If there is no reference on the contact, the invoice reference will be shown instead.
We’ve noted your concerns and would love to hear further feedback once you’ve had a chance to try out the new interface.
What have you done to fix the reference section of the invoice?
As you have nowhere for purchase order numbers to be referenced additional characters cannot be supported and manual correction is required on batches. Extremely time consuming and frustratingly makes the process very slow.
Thanks for your feedback on the purchase order numbers. It sounds like you might be referring to this feature request on Community — feel free to vote on the request and follow the discussion, voting helps us see how widely requested this is.
We appreciate the feedback regarding the special characters and lengths in reference fields too — we’ve passed that onto the right team.
I have a file that this new batch payment applies to and unfortunately does not work on my computer (although does work on other devices). I have requested that this file be removed from the pilot program which i have advised cannot be done. So therefore I have a file of which i used to be able to use the batch payment (under the old interface) but now cannot create any batch payments. This is a complete inconvenience and is certaintly not a feature that i will be paying for.
Hi, Rebecca. We’d like to check this out further as that doesn’t seem quite right. A member of our team has reached out to you on your original customer-service case, if you could respond to us there we can take a look at the issue more closely.
Hi Rebecca,
I encountered a similar issue with the ABA file created when using batch payments.
When I used the updated version my files were created with lower case .aba which was not compatible with my bank.
I found a solution that has worked for me– You will need to go into paid bills- open the client payment you processed – click on the less payment (blue font) . When it opens you select the export batch file option. This process created the .ABA file required.
Its double handling, however I hope this helps in the interim.
Can this be used for foreign currency bills, if not, why have you not introduced a function for batching foreign currency payments, as I have seem many posts asking for it.
Hi, Jennie. I’m afraid this new interface won’t support foreign-currency bills. While work on this isn’t currently scheduled, it is on our radar and updating the bill payments experience is a step in the right direction.
You may already be aware, we do have this page on Community where you can vote for this functionality and follow the discussion.
When will we be able to include BPayment in batch payments?
Thanks for writing in, Katrina. We’re aware some customers would find it useful to have BPAY functionality for batch payments, although don’t have a time frame for when this might be available.
We’d recommend taking a look at this page on Community where you can leave a vote for the feature and follow the discussion around this.
I selected the Pay form but the “Paying method” is not showing on the screen. I can proceed with the payments..
Hi, Tatianna. If you’re encountering problems, the quickest route to a solution will be Xero Central, where you can find support for your issue.
A few suggestions:
1. Previously you could see both the Reference entered in the Invoice as well as the Reference details for the Payee’s bank statement in the ‘Edit your payment details’ screen. This made it easy to copy and paste from one field to another. It would be great to have this again.
2. The system seems to automatically save the Reference details from the previous invoice into the Payee Contact’s Bank Details if that field is blank, which is then automatically entered into the next Batch Payment. This then overrides the Invoice Reference. It would be great if this didn’t happen as it then needs to be updated/deleted each time an invoice is created for that Contact.
3. The new Batch Payment screen removes the ability to access the menu tabs at the top of the screen, which means you can’t go to a different function/tool without exiting the Batch Payment screen or opening and logging in to a new browser tab.
Thanks for your feedback! I’ll answer each point:
1. Although the logic around how the “Payee reference” field is smarter than in classic batch payments, we do understand having a column for invoice reference would still be useful. We’re currently working on adding this column back in.
2. The new experience doesn’t update the contact’s default reference. If the “Details” field is blank on the contact (under Batch Payments), then the invoice reference will be used in the “Payee reference” field instead. If this isn’t the case, please let us know and we can check it out further.
3. It would be great to know what details you’re looking for when navigating away. We can then review this and see if there are other, more useful details we can show on the screen in the new payments experience.
Great to be included in the Pilot.
Editing a batch is harder now, it picks up the previous payee reference and doesn’t show the number of the bill currently paid. Need to open a separate tab and look up the bill number in order to edit the batch.
When trying the Send Detail to Bank method, no notification was received in my mobile app to allow to continue and authorise access.
Thanks for your feedback. The default reference set on the supplier will be populated in the “Payee reference” field. If no default reference is set, the invoice reference will be used instead.
We are looking to add the invoice reference as an additional column too which should make things easier.
Regarding the lack of notification, that doesn’t sound quite right – take a look at Xero Central where you can find support for this.
I won’t be using this service as the fees are too high for the small gain in time. I would rather still process the batch file myself.
It isnt working. How do i get passed this and use old system? I can only see the accounts to pay from on my screen and it wont recognise my selection or give me anyway to move past this. There is nothing else visible on screen.
After you’ve selected the bank account to make the payment from, you should be prompted to select a payment method before proceeding onto the next screen.
If this isn’t happening you might have found a bug. It would be great if you could raise a case with our support team from Xero Central.
I would rather do the batch payments the old way, I hope we don’t have to change to the new way permanently. So much more complicated to use!
I had my first experience using the updated batch payments function, and it was awful. Like what Genevieve Spence commented, I couldn’t see the invoice references, so had to open a separate window and check every single one. This batch only had about 20 invoices, but obviously the more you have in there, the worse it gets. The whole process took much longer than usual – very inconvenient! It would be better if Xero provided you with a choice of using the new batch payment function (like you can choose to use the new-look invoicing, but don’t have to), instead of forcing it on us without warning.
Thanks for writing in, Cassie. The invoice reference will be populated in the ‘Payee reference’ field if there’s no default reference set on the contact.
We do recognise that the invoice reference would still be useful, so we’re currently working to add this back in as an additional column.
As a NAB Connect user most of the new features are not applicable and the new version has made making a batch payment much harder. As soon as you choose one activity such as send remittances it takes you away from the screen and then having to navigate back to get the batch payment created is exceedingly time consuming and frustrating. The older version was easier to use especially for those of us who use batch payments.
Thanks for your feedback, Lynn. If you use NAB Connect, you can continue to create and use batch payment files as you have before through the new interface.
You’re correct that the way in which remittance advice is sent is a bit different now. We’ve taken your feedback on board and are looking at ways to improve this.
This is certainly not suitable for me. Not at all!! I can’t enter the bank details for every invoice in a batch when I have to pay up to 40 invoices in a batch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please get someone at Xero to immediately return the Xero I’m working with to the previous Batch Payment method.
I’m serious about this. Please act quickly, it’s month-end!
Sorry to hear this, Daniel. Having supplier bank account numbers isn’t mandatory if you select the payment method “Create a batch payment.” After editing your payments (where you can leave the account numbers blank if you wish), simply click the ‘Continue to payment summary’ button. This will let you continue through the flow.
Hi Amanda,
I have tried twice and it isn’t working. Really disappointed with the new feature, it looks flush but it doesn’t do the function as previous version.
This does not work for me either in batch I can not have the bank details being mandatory and I can not fix all the reference numbers that do not fit requirements. I need to beable to process any way and complete… can not see invoice numbers Please put me back on the old system ASAP I am not paying NAB fees for this service… Please remove me from the trial. This is waiting more time not saving me time.
Thanks for your feedback Charles, we’re always looking to improve the experience and will definitely take this on board. In answer to your queries:
– Account numbers aren’t mandatory. If you select the payment method ‘Create a batch payment’, you’ll just need to click ‘Continue to payment summary’ and you’ll be able to proceed through the flow.
– We’ve added another ‘Reference from bill’ column so you can now see the invoice reference
– The payment method to send payment details directly to NAB is optional. If you want to continue using batch payment files instead, you can go ahead and do this.
I would rather do the batch payments the old way, I hope we don’t have to change to the new way permanently. So much more complicated to use!
Thanks for reaching out Trudy – we want to provide a beautiful experience and are constantly reviewing feedback to make improvements. If you haven’t already, we’d really appreciate it if you could fill out the feedback survey. This will appear in a small box down the bottom-left corner of the Bills screen when you return there after completing your payment processing.
All supplier bills for our business are sorted, filed and paid in alphabetical order. Whilst you can sort by PAYEE in the “edit payment details” screen, when the bank file is uploaded into the NAB it has reverted to random sorting. This is making it very difficult for the person approving the payments to quickly check – instead he is searching through the stacks of bills looking for the next one.
Thanks for your feedback Belinda. If the batch payment files being created through the new experience are causing you some trouble, it would be great if you could raise a case with our support team so we can take an in depth look at it for you. You can find them here: https://central.xero.com/s/article/Get-help-from-Xero-Support#Web
I tried the new batch system today 7th November and I DON’T like it.
Its cumbersome and not at all user friendly, I want to see the buttons at the top of the screen, it’s ridiculous to have to scroll right down the bottom to select those buttons.
I DON”T want all my bank accounts listed, that’s just asking for problems
I don’t see why we need to have colour boxes next to the names, they are irrelevant,
I agree with Lyn commenting above I am a NAB connect customer and this was painful to do, I am time limited when I do my pays for subcontractors etc, so it needs to be simple for me, not everything needs to be prettied up.
We’re sorry to hear this Lee. We are always looking at ways to improve the experience based on feedback like this, so we’ll be sure to take it back to the team for review.
This “new” batch payment process is just unnecessary. It takes longer to complete the batch payment, it’s harder to look at and doesn’t even do it right. When ordering the invoice by alphabetical order in the new system they then are somehow not in alphabetical order when you view the payment in the bank account. It also doesn’t translate the payment reference to the payment summary report. So much more time is now taken to complete what was a 2 min task.
I highly hope this is not permanent.
Hi Ashleigh, thanks very much for sending this feedback through – we’ll be sure to take your suggestions on board for review.
It also does not translate the scheduled payment date to the actual payment date as the old way did.
Hi Ashleigh, thanks for this helpful feedback. We’ve made a change so that if the bills you’ve selected have the same scheduled date, this will be used as the default actual payment date. We hope this helps.
Hello Amanda,
I have organized few minutes ago the first batch payment for tomorrow,15th of November and I need to know if I will receive a message from Xero if the payment was done or not? Thank you very much.
Irina
Hi Irina,
If you choose to create a batch payment file, you’ll need to upload the ABA file into your online banking to approve the batch. For this payment method, Xero won’t notify you of any status updates.
However, if you sent payments through to NAB then you should be able to approve them in your NAB mobile app. After that, Xero will notify you of any status changes with the payments via Xero notifications (you can find out more about this here: https://central.xero.com/s/article/Access-Xero-notifications).
This new update has made something that was simple and easy to use into a nightmare. Make sure you choose the right method for payment otherwise you need to find the batch to do an ABA file for the bank import. KISS Xero???
Thanks for your feedback Raelene. As part of the update, you will need to select the payment method of your choice. All you need to do is choose “Create a batch payment”, and that will let you download an ABA file to upload into your online banking. We hope this helps.
Why are the batch payments no longer being created in alphabetical order? Prior to the creation of a batch payment you can sort the invoices to be paid by Payee. However, when you print the Batch Payments PDF after the batch has be created, details of multiple invoices to be paid for the same supplier are arranged randomly, and are therefore not listed sequentially.
The random order of items in the Batch Payment also affects the order of the payees uploaded to our bank via the ABA file.
Thanks for your feedback here Brendan. We’re always keen to hear how the batch summary reports experience can be improved and this is really helpful.
ABA files are generated in a different way, so if they are causing you some trouble it would be great if you could go ahead and raise a support case with our customer service team so we can investigate this further.
I am with everyone else above. The old way is so much easier to use – I’ve no idea why you have to change it.
It would be nice to go back to the old way please. thanks
Thanks for reaching out Anita. We’re always looking at how we can improve the experience based on customer feedback – if you haven’t already, we’d really appreciate it if you could fill out the feedback survey. This will appear in a small box down the bottom-left corner of the Bills screen when you return there after completing your payment processing.
How do I go back and edit the batch now?
Hi Tim, if you created a batch payment you’re still able to edit the batch from the Bank Accounts screen. Take a look at this Xero Central page for a detailed explanation on how to find and view a batch payment: https://central.xero.com/s/article/Find-and-view-batch-payments
This is user unfriendly and I lost my batch file for as I post dated it. I don’t have time to get trained on this and my bank makes it very complicated to use a csv file. I hate this and I do not need the stress of you changing without warning. I want to go back to old way.
Hi Lynn, if you chose to create a batch payment in the new interface your batch won’t be lost! You may just need to find it on your Bank Accounts screen again. See this Xero Central page for more details: https://central.xero.com/s/article/Find-and-view-batch-payments
If the batch payment file isn’t uploading into your online banking successfully, take a look at our Xero Central page on troubleshooting batch payments for some tips on why that might be the case: https://central.xero.com/s/article/Troubleshooting-batch-payments
If this is still causing you trouble, we recommend raising a case with our support team. You can do this through Xero Central: https://central.xero.com/s/
Good Afternoon
I have recently moved a large client from MYOB to Xero and find the Batch Pay function in Xero, old and new, slow and cumbersome. I was hoping that the new batch pay function would actually batch each of the supplier invoices so the balances being paid could be reconciled with the Supplier Statement Balances before saving the ABA file as I could in MYOB. I now have to do this in the bank . This file pays 150 to 200 invoices at month end. I would also like to be able to pay each suppliers invoices to a clearing account (like MYOB) rather than gathering several supplier invoice at once, as is done in Xero.
The pretty colours and funky screens don’t interest me I want to be able to process supplier payments quickly, accurately and efficiently. I wholeheartedly back everything raised previously by others.
Hi Anna, thanks very much for your feedback. The old and new batch payment interface work the same way in terms of creating batches. You’ve most likely already found that any bills selected on the Bills screen will be included in a single batch created in Xero.
If this is proving a bit troublesome, we recommend raising a case with our support team to see if they can offer further assistance. You can do this through Xero Central: https://central.xero.com/s/
Hi Is there a way to revert back to prior version?
The new is not easy to use – cannot see invoice numbers in payment details last page and looks very unprofessional when sending it to my manager.
Last batch I had to answer all sorts of questions which I did not have to before as all details used to be there.
Lots of wasted time for me and my manager.
Please let me know how to use previous version.
Hi Ania,
We’re aiming to roll out the new payments interface across Australia this year so it’s not possible to revert back to classic batch payments. That being said, thanks very much for your feedback – we’ll certainly take it on board for review.
If the final payment summary page doesn’t have enough detail, you can still create a batch summary report from within the flow. Alternatively, you can find and view the batch payment which should have the details you’re used to: https://central.xero.com/s/article/Find-and-view-batch-payments
The Batch Payment report use to be in alphabetical order, which made it easier to reconcile the invoices paid. The new Batch Report does not allow for printing in alphabetical order. Can this option please be correct.
Hi Helen, thanks very much for your feedback. We’re currently looking at ways to improve how batch summary reports are created through the new system, and will certainly take this on board for review.
I was happy with how it was previously.
I am unable to process batch payments the new way- once I select the bills to be paid and elect for batch payment, the screen moves to another page and nothing will load. Very frustrating and time consuming having to revert back to paying bills individually.
Hi Lynden, sorry to hear that you are having some trouble. Can you please raise a case with our support team via this link -> http://support.xero.com, so they can give you a hand? Thanks, ^BA
Am apparently one of the first to use the new batch feature… can’t fault it at this point. Seems more seamless and easy to use.
Is there anything in the pipeline where I don’t have to allocate all credits before I pay the monthly accounts. Many of our credits refer to previous months invoices that have been paid in full (parts that were purchased in one month and not received or used until the following month) and I am having to allocate the credits to current invoices which is incorrect.
Hi,
What has changed in the past month. We used to be able to use the batch payment option for over 2 years now and in the past month we have been unable to process multiple batch payments. I have put a question to the help desk and to date not response. Currently we have to pay our suppliers one batch at a time, as we get an error message when we try to upload the multiple payment ABA to ANZ.
Hi John, do you have a case number (starts with CX)? If so, I can follow this up with my support team on your behalf. Thanks, ^BA
I get the below error:
An error occurred while marking your payments as paid. Return to bills awaiting payment and try again.
Each time I try again, the same error pops up
Hi Gemma, sorry to hear that you are having some trouble here. Can you please raise a case via this link -> http://support.xero.com, with as much information as possible so that our support team can give you a hand. Thanks, ^BA
I’m sure this new version has introduced at least two more button clicks which are totally unnecessary (and there’s one click at the start of the old way which was also unnecessary).
I don’t need the “prettifying”, as now the window doesn’t fit on my screen (I permanently have two windows open side by side on a 1920×1080 screen and the minimum width for this new payment screen is about 1200px, well over half of the width of a screen.
The hilarious fact is that the old version fitted just fine.
Has this introduced any new functionality at all? Enhancement? I see no benefit over the earlier one, and more annoyance (more mouse clicks and reduced usability on a 960 wide window).
Can I just use the previous version?
Hi Xero,
This new version of batch payments is very time consuming. I am continually getting error messages and support is no help. I am spending so much more time now splitting batches into smaller batches. I am glad to see that we are not alone with this issue. How do we go back to old version?
Hi Jennifer, sorry to hear that you’re experiencing a few difficulties with batch payments. Can you please raise a case with our support team via this link -> http://support.xero.com so they can take a look and hopefully give you a hand. Thanks!
The new edit batch screen is an absolute retrograde step and does not function at all if you have a large number of accounts in your chart of accounts. Please revert to the existing Edit Batch screen until these problems are fixed. This might be one of the oldest features in Xero, but just making something prettier, definitely does not make it better. Many more keystrokes are required to process batches and the underlying problem, which has been present for nearly two years of the BACS file not carrying through reference numbers correctly has not even been fixed. This is frankly terrible and a waste of everyone’s time.
Hi Simon, I’m so sorry to hear that your experience is far from satisfactory. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us – I have passed your feedback on to my team asking them to investigate.
Hi again, Simon – I have followed up with my team and they have informed me that this is a feature request and a fix is currently under consideration. Keep an eye out here for further updates. Thanks!
hi, we are new to making batch payments and pay one supplier multiple bills each month – they are paid in individual amounts when we do batch payments and its a bit annoying for us and them.. is there a way we can pay multiple bills to one supplier as one transaction, not heaps of small amounts?
Hi Maddison, so sorry for the slow response – I was trying to find an answer for you. However, it’s probably best if you can please raise a case with our support team so that they can give you a hand (if you haven’t already done so). Thanks so much – hope you’re having a lovely day.