Xero e-invoicing in the UK

Xero already lets UK businesses register on the Peppol network from inside Xero and receive e-invoices from VAT-registered suppliers, which arrive as draft bills for review and approval. Gov.uk confirms that from April 2029 all VAT invoices must be issued as e-invoices, with the implementation rules due in a roadmap at the Budget on 28 October 2026.

This guide covers what Xero itself says about e-invoicing in the UK, how registration works, what gov.uk has confirmed, and what receiving e-invoices alongside PDFs means for the people who process bills. Every source was checked on 16 October 2026.

What has gov.uk confirmed about UK e-invoicing?

• The Budget 2025 document (26 November 2025) says that from April 2029 businesses will be required to issue all VAT invoices as e-invoices, with a roadmap on implementation to follow.

• The Tax update 2026 summary (23 June 2026) announced that Peppol will be the core interoperability network for e-invoicing in the UK.

• HMRC’s Transformation Roadmap update (first published 2 July 2026) says the roadmap at Budget 2026 will set out the milestones to implementation in April 2029. The Budget is on 28 October 2026.

The government’s consultation response says VAT invoices are typically issued for business-to-business and business-to-government sales, and that invoices in PDF or Word format, images and HTML invoices in an email were not treated as e-invoices in the consultation. Our guide to the UK e-invoicing mandate covers the rest of the timeline.

What does Xero say about e-invoicing in the UK?

Xero’s own UK pages say:

• On its UK eInvoicing page, that you can register with the Peppol network from within Xero to start receiving eInvoices from VAT-registered suppliers, and that Xero customers can receive eInvoices from businesses and UK government agencies registered for eInvoicing.

• On its eInvoicing software page, that received eInvoices appear in Xero as draft bills for approval, that you can only receive eInvoices if you are VAT-registered, and that you can only send them to VAT-registered businesses.

• In its UK launch post of November 2023, that receiving came first with sending to follow, and that Xero hosts its own Peppol access points.

• In its guide for accountants, published 11 June 2026, that Xero supports Peppol e-invoicing today and that advisers can register clients to receive e-invoices now.

Because Xero hosts its own access points, a Xero organisation does not need a separate Peppol access point to receive. For what an access point is and who needs one, see our explainer on whether you need a Peppol access point.

How do you register for e-invoicing in Xero?

Xero’s accountant guide gives these steps. You need the subscriber, adviser or standard role in the organisation:

1. In the Business menu, go to Bills to pay.

2. Select Automate bill entry, then Register to receive e-invoices.

3. Enter the business’s VAT number and choose Search for business information.

4. Check the details and confirm they are correct.

5. Enter the business contact details, agree to the terms and complete the registration.

Once registered, Xero says the business can receive e-invoices from any supplier on the Peppol network, each one appearing as a draft bill. Xero points to Xero Central for detailed registration guidance, which is the place to check what sending looks like for your organisation today.

Will Xero’s e-invoicing meet the 2029 rules?

Nobody can say yet, Xero included, because the formats and the rules for connecting are still to be set in the roadmap. What is known is that the government has named Peppol as the core interoperability network for UK e-invoicing, and Xero’s e-invoicing already runs over Peppol. Xero’s accountant guide tells advisers to watch for the technical standards from Budget 2026. After 28 October, check what Xero publishes about how it will support the UK rules, and when.

What changes for an AP team receiving e-invoices alongside PDFs?

E-invoicing stays voluntary for most UK suppliers until April 2029, so a Xero organisation that registers will still receive most bills as PDFs for some time. Running both well comes down to a few things:

• Draft bills from two sources. Peppol bills arrive pre-filled, while PDFs still have to be captured and coded. Both need the same review before approval.

• Account codes and tracking categories. An e-invoice carries the supplier’s data, and your team still decides how each line is coded in Xero.

• Purchase orders. Where you raise orders in Xero, each bill still needs checking against the order, whatever format it arrived in.

• Duplicates. A supplier who has just moved to Peppol may also send the same invoice by email.

For the manual routes into Xero, see our guide to importing bills into Xero.

Where Stratas fits

Stratas receives Peppol, UBL and XML invoices alongside the PDFs and scans your suppliers send today, and every format is validated, approved and posted to your ERP the same way. Your team works one queue. Supplier details, VAT, totals, order references and duplicates are checked on arrival, and anything that fails is held with the reason attached.

Invoice number, supplier, order reference, VAT and totals then map to the fields Xero expects and post with the original file and a complete audit trail. See our Xero AP automation page, our UK e-invoicing mandate guide and e-invoicing with Stratas.