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How to export your Xero data

Xero has no single full export. Here is the area-by-area list Xero recommends, who can run each one, the 500-transaction batch limit, and what the removal tool strips.

  • Updated2026-10-06
  • 4 min read
On this page
  1. Who runs it and how long it takes
  2. What to export, area by area
  3. Invoices and bills, in batches of 500
  4. Review the cleaned package on your computer before you upload
  5. What the removal tool strips, and what stays out
  6. Why we never connect to Xero

Xero has no single export of everything. Xero's own guide says that "to export all of an organization's information, you need to export data from individual areas of Xero and reports from our reports screen". A Xero user with the administrator role does it. You, or whoever runs your systems, run the removal tool on your own computer and review flagged items there. You upload only the cleaned package. We never connect to Xero.

Who runs it and how long it takes

  • Who: a user with Xero's administrator role, which for the US edition Xero says can run and export all reports.
  • Time: Xero publishes no figure.
  • Watch out: someone with only a sales and purchases role can export invoices and bills, but Xero drops some details from their file, like contact addresses.

Before you start, read How to export your Zendesk tickets and Selling, handing over or closing? Get your records checklist.

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What to export, area by area

Xero recommends these exports when you want a complete copy, and they are the ones buyers value:

  1. General ledger. Go to Accounting > Accounting settings > Export accounting data and choose the product; "Xero General Ledger" exports a TXT file. If you are exporting for a product other than Xero, Xero says all bank accounts in the chart of accounts need codes. If Xero prompts you to add a code to accounts, add one, because without it the file might not import into another accounting product. Confirm the label on your screen.
  2. Chart of accounts, contacts and fixed assets, each from its own area. The contacts export leaves out the employees group.
  3. Invoices and bills, in batches (next section).
  4. Reports, one per year where Xero says so: Balance Sheet for each year, Income Statement for each year, Trial Balance including past periods, Account Transactions (all columns, including FX if you use more than one currency), Receivable Invoice Detail, Payable Invoice Detail, Fixed Asset reconciliation, Inventory Item List, and Bank Reconciliation.
  5. Payroll reports only if we agreed to include payroll. Xero's payroll permission wording comes from its Australian article, so check what your edition offers; the removal tool strips pay details for named people either way.

Keep each file as Xero wrote it. Opening a CSV in a spreadsheet and saving it again can change dates and long numbers.

Invoices and bills, in batches of 500

Xero's export "includes all transactions by default, up to a maximum of 500", with one CSV row per line item.

Invoices: Start at Sales > Invoices, choose a tab like Draft or Paid, and click Export. For a date range, click Search first and fill in the dates.

Bills: Bills work the same way. Start at Purchases > Bills, choose a tab, and open the menu beside New Bill. Pick Export bills, check the details and click Export.

If an invoice or bill export fails, Xero says to check for special characters in the transactions, contact records and your organization details, remove them and try again. With more than 500 in a tab, export by date range, one batch at a time, and name each file by its range. Repeating invoice and bill templates cannot be exported.

Review the cleaned package on your computer before you upload

Your export stays on your computer. Check that it is complete, then run the removal tool and review the cleaned package there before you upload anything.

Check the files against what Xero shows on screen before you upload them.

  1. Open each file as Xero wrote it, without saving it again. Every file should open and show a header row followed by data rows.
  2. Count your invoices and bills. Xero writes each line item as its own row in the CSV, so a file has more rows than the tab has invoices. Compare the number of distinct invoice or bill numbers in the file with the number Xero shows for the same tab or date range. If you exported in batches, add the batches up and compare the sum with the tab's total.
  3. Run the Trial Balance and Account Transactions reports on screen for one date range and compare their totals with the exported files.
  4. Write a short note with each report name, its date range, any filters you set, the date you exported and the role of the user who exported.
  5. List what Xero leaves out of your files and add it to the note. Xero says "It's not possible to export the employees group" from the contacts export, and "You can't export repeating invoice or bill templates". A user with only a sales and purchases role also gets invoice and bill files without some details, "for example, contact address details".

What the removal tool strips, and what stays out

The removal tool strips these on your own computer, before you upload:

  • Customer, supplier and employee names, replaced with consistent labels.
  • Addresses, emails, phone numbers, bank account numbers and tax numbers.
  • Line descriptions and references that name a person.

What stays out by default:

  • Pay details for named people.
  • Client organizations, if your firm manages clients' Xero files, unless the client agrees in writing.
  • Tax return information, for firms that prepare returns.

You review the tool's flagged items on your own computer before you upload, and you review a cleaned sample before any buyer sees it (how personal data is removed).

Why we never connect to Xero

Xero's developer terms say "API Data cannot be used to train, fine tune, adapt, or enhance any AI Models", and they bar selling user data. That rule covers data pulled through Xero's API. The files the authorized user exports are your firm's own copy, which is why we ask for files. Why we ask for an export has the detail, and the estimate shows what your records could be worth.

Questions about selling company data

Can I export all my data from Xero at once?
No. Xero says that to export all of an organisation's information you export data from individual areas of Xero and reports from the reports screen. Export the general ledger, contacts, invoices, bills, fixed assets and the reports Xero lists.
Who can export from Xero?
For the US edition Xero says the administrator user role can run and export all reports. A user with a sales and purchases role can export invoices and bills, but some details, such as contact addresses, are left out of their file.
Why only 500 invoices at a time?
Xero's invoice and bill export includes up to 500 transactions. Above that you export in batches, for example by date range, and run the removal tool on every batch.

See what each of your systems documents about exporting