OnboardMe can now run recurring billing schedules for you: define the client, line items, frequency, and dates in OnboardMe, and the system creates bills on the due dates.
This is separate from Xero Repeating Invoices, which still exist when Xero Ledger is connected. Repeating invoices are created and maintained in Xero; OnboardMe Recurring Billing is managed in OnboardMe and generates standard OnboardMe bills on a schedule.
What’s new
Two ways to handle recurring invoices (you choose per proposal)
In proposal Billing, under Billing Options:
Include Billing — proforma bills and one-off invoicing (unchanged).
Xero Repeating Invoices — legacy path when Xero is connected: templates live in Xero; changes are done in Xero.
OnboardMe Recurring Billing — new module: schedule and line items live in OnboardMe; bills are generated automatically on each run date.
Set up recurring billing on a proposal (Billings step)
On any proforma invoice (while the proposal is still editable):
Turn on Include Billing.
Build the invoice (line items, tax, client, reference, etc.).
Use the recurring billing action on the invoice row (repeat icon) to open Set Up Recurring Billing.
The schedule copies the invoice’s line items and amount per period. You configure:
Bill client (including onboarding clients where applicable)
Frequency — Daily, Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly, Quarterly, Annually
Start date and optional end date
Due days (payment terms per generated bill)
Reference Number - Usually the Xero Job Number
Description - Description for the bill (not shown to clients)
Branding Theme - Visible when Firms are connected to Xero Ledger. This will be the Branding theme the invoices generated will use.
Send Via Xero / QuickBooks -Visible when Firms are connected to Xero Ledger / Quickbooks. Indicates if the Bill created will be emailed out of Xero upon creation.
Bill upfront: If the invoice is marked bill upfront, the upfront invoice stays in the list as the initial charge; recurring billing covers future periods only.
Standard invoice: Converting to recurring replaces that one-off invoice with a single Recurring Billing row showing frequency, client, dates, and line-item summary. You can edit or remove the schedule before the proposal is accepted.
When the proposal is accepted, the recurring schedule is saved and becomes active for automated processing.
Practice-wide management (Bill Payments)
Under Bill Payments → Recurring Billing you can:
See all active and terminated schedules for the practice (client, frequency, next run, end date, total per period, status)
Edit a schedule (client, dates, line items, active/terminated)
Open Run history per schedule (run date, status, linked bill number, errors)
Generated bills appear on the Bills tab like any other bill manually created in OnboardMe.
The separate Xero Repeating Invoices tab remains for practices that still use Xero-native repeating templates (view, edit, push to Xero).
Automatic bill creation
A background process runs 3x per day and creates a bill for every schedule whose next run date is due. Each run:
Creates an OnboardMe bill with the scheduled line items and due date
Advances the schedule to the next period (based on frequency)
Records the run in Run history (success or failure, with bill link when successful)
Schedules respect end date and Active / Terminated status.
Validation and client review
Billing validation requires a bill client on OnboardMe recurring schedules before you continue.
Proposal preview and client review show recurring billing totals and schedule summary where recurring is enabled (alongside existing bill and Xero repeating displays).
Before vs after
Before | After |
|---|---|
Recurring invoices only via Xero Repeating Invoices (create and edit in Xero) | OnboardMe Recurring Billing — define schedule in OnboardMe |
No central list of OnboardMe-managed recurring schedules | Bill Payments → Recurring Billing lists and edits all schedules |
Changes to repeating billing required Xero | Edit schedule, line items, dates, and status in OnboardMe |
No automated OnboardMe bill generation from a schedule | Daily process creates bills on each next run date |
Limited visibility into what ran and when | Run history per schedule with status and bill linkage |
Still available: Xero Repeating Invoices when Xero Ledger is connected (Billing Options → Xero Repeating Invoices).
Where to find it
Task | Location |
|---|---|
Set up recurring on a proposal | Proposal wizard → Billing step → invoice row → recurring billing action, or review the Recurring Billing accordion after conversion |
Manage all schedules | Bill Payments → Recurring Billing tab |
See bills created by a schedule | Bill Payments → Bills (and Run history on the schedule) |
Xero repeating templates (legacy) | Bill Payments → Xero Repeating Invoices (when Xero is connected) |
Tips for practices
Use OnboardMe Recurring Billing when you want schedules, amounts, and clients controlled in OnboardMe and bills generated into your normal billing workflow.
Keep Xero Repeating Invoices only where you intentionally rely on Xero’s native repeating invoice behaviour.
After bills are generated, treat them like any other bill for ledger sync, payments, and client comms.
Use Run history if a period did not bill — check failed runs and error messages before the next run date.
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