MinuteDock can be selective about which Xero Contact groups are synced, as well as automatically apply Xero accounting fields (Items, Tracking Categories, and Ledger Accounts) to your invoices based on the User, Contact, Project, or Task associated with each Time Entry.
Configure default settings
Set account-wide defaults that apply to all invoices unless overridden by more specific Contact/Project/Task settings.
Access Xero integration settings
Click the Xero button in the top-right navigation bar
Select Integration Settings from the dropdown menu
Locate the Invoicing Options section
Set your Contact sync settings
You can pick and choose which of your Xero Contact groups are synced into MinuteDock by checking/unchecking the tick boxes by each group under the Sync Settings section.
⚠️ Important: Xero's default Customers group only includes Contacts which have had an invoice made against them in Xero. New Contacts will not automatically go to this group.
If you find you have Contacts in Xero which aren't syncing through to MinuteDock, it's likely that those Contacts are not included in the Contact groups you have chosen to Sync. Since you can't manually add Contacts to the Customers group in Xero, this is the most likely culprit.
💡 Tip: You can create a custom Contact group in Xero for your 'MinuteDock Imports' and assign the Contacts you want to sync to that group.
Set your invoicing defaults
Choose default values for:
Item - The default service or product item from your Xero inventory
Account - The default ledger account for revenue recognition
Tracking Categories - Default categories for your Xero reporting dimensions
These defaults apply to all Time Entries unless overridden by more specific settings at the User, Contact, Project, or Task level.
Customise by User/Contact/Project/Task
Override default settings for specific Users, Contacts, Projects, or Tasks to automate field selection based on your business needs.
Understanding the priority order
MinuteDock applies settings in a specific priority order. Higher-priority settings override lower-priority ones:
Task settings (highest priority) - override all others
Project settings - override Contact and User settings
Contact settings - override User settings
User settings - override system defaults
System defaults (lowest priority)
ℹ️ Note: This order applies to Xero invoicing fields only. Billing rates use a different, more detailed order — see Setting up Billing Rates.
This means a Task's Xero invoicing settings will always be used if specified, regardless of other settings.
Configure User-specific settings
Apply Xero fields based on which team member performed the work:
Navigate to the Account screen using the top navigation bar
Go to the Team screen to view all Users
Open the User's settings
Look for Xero Invoicing Options on the right side
Select specific values or leave as "Default" to use system defaults
Click Update
Configure Contact settings
Apply Xero fields based on which client you're invoicing:
Navigate to the Contacts screen
Hover over the Contact and click the edit button
Scroll to Xero Settings
Choose specific values or leave as "Default"
Click Update Contact
Configure Project or Task settings
Apply Xero fields for specific types of work within a Contact:
Navigate to the Projects screen
Click Tasks in the sub-navigation (if editing a Task)
Hover over the Project or Task and click the edit button
Scroll to Xero Settings
Choose specific values or leave as "Default"
Click Update Project or Update Task
✅ Success! When you send invoices to Xero, the configured fields will automatically apply to each line item based on your settings hierarchy. You'll see these reflected in your Xero draft invoices, ready for final review.
Verify your configuration
After setting up your Xero field automation:
You might want to create a test invoice to verify your configuration before processing client invoices.
Check that the correct Items, Tracking Categories, and Ledger Accounts appear for different combinations of Users, Contacts, Projects, and Tasks.