If an item fails to publish from Dext to Xero, an error message will appear on the item. This article covers the most common errors, what causes them, and how to resolve them.

When an item fails to publish, a yellow status badge appears on the item row. Hover over the badge to see the error message, or open the item to see it in the Please resolve these issues panel on the Item details page.

If your account uses approval workflows, items go through approval before publishing. A failed item will appear in the Approvals tab rather than the Inbox. If editing is not allowed in the approval workflow, the item details are read-only in this state - to edit the item, select Cancel request to return it to the Inbox, make your changes, request approval again, and then publish.

This error means the category assigned to the item has been archived in Xero. To resolve it, reload your categories list in Dext and select an active category. If you want to use the original category, unarchive it in Xero first, then reload.

See How to refresh your accounting software data in Dext.

This error usually means the tax rate and category are incompatible - for example, a sales tax rate applied to a cost item, or a costs category applied to a sales item. It can also affect line items.

Check that the tax rate and category on the item (and each line item) are appropriate for the document type, then publish again.

This error has the same cause as Account code "###" is not a valid code for this document above. Check that the tax rate and category are compatible for the document type, then publish again.

This error appears when an expense claim was published to Xero before, then unarchived without clearing its publishing data. Dext still treats the claim as published, so it blocks the update.

To fix it:

The error message stays on the claim after you clear the publishing data. Publish despite the error: it goes through.

To check whether a claim was published before, open it and select the History tab. If you can't find the earlier version in Xero, go to How to publish Expense claims to Xero

This error means the item was previously published to Xero but has since been deleted or voided there. Before clearing publishing data in Dext and republishing the item, make sure the original item is voided or deleted in Xero to avoid duplicates.

See How to republish an item.

This message means the item is set to publish to Bank Accounts, but its payment method isn’t linked to a Xero bank account. Bank Accounts is for costs you’ve already paid, so Dext needs a linked payment method to publish.

If the Publish to field shows Bank Accounts greyed out and you can’t change it, your Xero plan is Cashbook or Ledger. On these plans, Bank Accounts is the only publishing destination available, so every item needs a bank-linked payment method, even an unpaid bill. Upgrade your Xero plan, then reconnect Xero in Dext to bring back Purchases, Classic Expense Claims, and Sales. Go to How to publish documents to Xero

If you can change the Publish to field, assign a payment method that’s linked to a Xero bank account, or link the current one. Go to How to link a payment method to a bank account

This error appears when an item has previously been published to Xero and then edited, leaving it in a state that can no longer be updated. Before clearing publishing data in Dext, delete the item in Xero to avoid duplicates.

See How to republish an item.

This error usually indicates a connection issue or a temporary problem with Xero. Check Xero's status page for any known issues first. If there are none, reconnect the integration and try publishing again.

See How to reconnect with Xero.

This error means Dext published the transaction data successfully, but couldn't send the document image due to Xero's API file size limits. The data is in Xero - only the image is missing.

To fix it, go to your Costs Archive in Dext, open the item, and select Republish image. This sends only the image without creating a duplicate transaction in Xero.

This error occurs when a spend money transaction in Xero has already been published and cannot be updated directly. Log in to Xero and void the item first, then clear its publishing data in Dext and republish.

See How to republish an item.

This error means the date on the document falls before the period lock date set in Xero. Either update the lock date in Xero if appropriate, or correct the document date in Dext to fall within the open period, then publish again.

See How do Xero lock dates affect publishing in Dext?

This error appears when an item has already been published to Xero and has moved beyond draft status - for example, to Awaiting approval or Paid. Log in to Xero and void the existing item first, then clear its publishing data in Dext and republish.

See How to republish an item.

This error appears when the Product/Service applied to the item or a line item is linked to an inventory-type category in Xero, but the item in Xero isn't marked as Track inventory item.

To resolve it, go to Xero and mark the relevant product or service as a tracked inventory item. Then refresh your integration data in Dext to sync the change, and publish again. See How to refresh your accounting software data in Dext.

This error appears when the payment method assigned to the item isn't linked to a bank-type account in Xero. There are 2 common causes:

This error has 2 causes.

Cause 1 - Rounding mismatch on line items: If you've applied a percentage tax rate to a line item, Xero's calculation may not match the actual tax amount on the main item. To fix this, set the tax field on the line item to Extracted amount and enter the tax amounts manually, making sure the line item totals match the main item.

Cause 2 - Tax genuinely exceeds the net amount: In some cases, the tax amount on a document is correctly greater than the net amount, but Xero's API won't accept this. In this case, the item can't be published from Dext and will need to be entered manually in Xero.

This error appears when publishing to the Classic Expense Claims section of Xero, and the Xero user doesn't have the required permissions for that section.

To fix this, update the user's permissions in Xero - make sure the Business and Accounting checkbox is selected and assign the appropriate role. For guidance, see About user roles in Xero and User role access to classic expense claims.

Once the permissions are updated, refresh your chart of accounts in Dext, then publish the items again. See How to refresh your accounting software data in Dext.

This error means an invoice already exists in Xero with the same invoice number. Change the invoice number (document reference) on the item in Dext to one that doesn't already exist in Xero, then publish again.

This error appears when no bank account is linked to the payment method assigned to the item. See How to link a Payment method to a bank account

This error occurs when publishing to the Classic Expense Claims section of Xero, and the Dext user hasn't been linked to a Xero user. Go to Users in the sidebar, select Link users to Xero, match each Dext user to their corresponding Xero user, and select Close. Then publish the item again.

This error usually means there's an issue with the Xero subscription status. It can also appear if the Xero plan is Simple, which limits the number of bills that can sit in Awaiting approval status.

Confirm the subscription status is active in Xero or upgrade to a higher Xero plan, then reconnect the integration in Dext and publish again.

See How to reconnect with Xero.

This error is sent from Xero and means you've reached the approval limit on your Xero plan. Upgrade your Xero plan, then reconnect the integration in Dext and publish again.

See How to reconnect with Xero.