Support the US "auto tax" feature in the API
In US Xero we would like invoices to go into Xero with the "Auto Tax" element switched on - by default they go in as "Manual Tax".
We have looked at the Invoice endpoint on the Accounting API and can't see a way to do this, but did notice a Type for Auto Tax, but this is only available for GET (not POST).
We need to make use of this feature with POST, even if it's only the high level "Auto tax" setting of Manual/Auto (we are happy for the From and To to be populated based on existing data).
Currently users of our App need to visit each invoice, remove any payment, edit, turn on auto tax, save, reapply payment. Very painful.
Nathan Harper
shared this idea
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Jen Lee
commented
This is critical for heavy invoice volume and sales tax compliance in the US.
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John Waldrop
commented
We switched from QB to Xero and did not realize that the API could not turn on the Automatic Sales Tax for an invoice automatically and that we would have to touch each invoice. We really like Xero but now we have to consider whether to switch back to QB. I hope this gets resolved ASAP.
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Semjon Klimov
commented
Currently, sales invoices that use US Auto Sales Tax cannot be updated via the API, as the API does not support interaction with auto-generated tax data.
This limitation applies even when attempting to update non-tax-related fields, such as changing the invoice status from SUBMITTED to AUTHORISED.
As a result, we’re forced to implement workarounds - including avoiding Auto Sales Tax entirely in our system - which compromises the user experience.
Please consider allowing API updates to non-tax fields on sales invoices that use Auto Sales Tax. This would significantly improve integration workflows for partners and developers.
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Anna Atwi commented
Hello,
I echo Denys comment. Our company has a growing ecommerce platform on Shopify, and due to the cumbersome nature of the US Sales Tax code, the current Xero setup does not meet our needs to track economic nexus requirements and obtain accurate sales tax reports.
I currently have to edit every single invoice from the Shopify integration and split it into separate invoices for each Shopify order. I must split them out to allocate the revenue to the correct state (for nexus requirements). When we reach a nexus in a new state, we also become responsible for business income tax in those states, and the sales tax report is the only way to track revenue per state in Xero (that I am aware of).
If our Shopify platform continues to grow at this rate, Xero will be unusable in the near future as the time to manually process the invoices would quickly become a full time job. There has to be a way for Xero to be able to automate this process.
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Denys Skudilov commented
Hello,
I can confirm that the 'auto tax' feature is a critical requirement for us. We currently process between 50 and 100 invoices monthly, and this volume is steadily increasing. Our objective is to scale to over 2,000 invoices per month, and accurate, automated importing is essential for this growth.
Without the auto tax feature, we will unfortunately need to explore alternative accounting systems. Our current manual process is extremely time-consuming for our accountant, who must: visit each invoice, remove payments, edit the invoice, enable auto tax, save, and then reapply payments. This manual workaround is unsustainable and very painful.