Overview
Built for groups that run more than one Xero organisation
In Xero, every entity is its own organisation, with its own suppliers, bills, approvals and payment batches. A group with 20 entities runs 20 separate payables processes. Your team logs in and out of files, keys bills one entity at a time and rebuilds the group picture in spreadsheets.
Most AP tools for Xero follow the same model. They connect one organisation at a time, so each one only sees its own bills. Each file gets faster, but the group stays split.
Derive connects every Xero organisation in your group to one place. Your finance team runs bills, approvals, suppliers, purchase orders, contracts, budgets and payments for the whole group, and each entity keeps its own Xero file.
What your team gets
• One inbox for every entity. Bills from every organisation arrive in one place. Group finance sees every active invoice on one screen. Entity managers see only their own. • An AP Agent that prepares each bill. It reads the invoice, matches the supplier and the entity it belongs to, prepares the GL and tax coding from your own accounting instructions, and runs ABN, GST and bank detail checks. Your team reviews and approves. The AP Agent never approves or pays a bill.. • Duplicate checks across the group. Derive flags an invoice sent to more than one entity, based on matching invoice numbers, amounts or billing details, before anyone approves it.. • Bank detail changes caught anywhere. A changed supplier bank detail stands out wherever the invoice lands, because Derive compares it against that supplier across every entity.. • Approvals with context. One rules engine sets who approves what, with limits by entity, amount or category. Approvers see the invoice, its source email, the checks and the budget on one screen.. • Spend controlled before money moves. Purchase requests show their budget impact before approval and become purchase orders. Supplier contracts and renewals sit beside the bills that follow, with alerts 30, 60 or 90 days ahead.. • Batch payments for the group. Build one payment run across entities from approved invoices, and review the batch before anything is paid..
Who Derive is for
Groups running 5 to 50+ entities on Xero with a lean finance team. That includes franchise networks, property groups, multi-site operators, hospitality, healthcare, childcare and education, construction, professional services, and groups with entities in more than one country. We work closely with CFOs and Financial Controllers who want less busywork for their teams.
What customers say
RecordPoint (entities across the US, EMEA and Australia & NZ): 95% of spend pre-authorised, $120K+ cost avoidance and 5x faster invoice processing. “Derive gave us control over a chaotic spend process without adding complexity. It’s become the system our entire business relies on to manage spend with confidence.” Matt Wood, CFO, RecordPoint
Derive + Xero
One connection for every organisation
Derive connects to one or many Xero organisations through a single integration. Each organisation is mapped to Derive’s multi-entity layer, which sees every entity at once. You can connect or disconnect entities independently, so you can start with a few and add the rest later.
What Derive reads from Xero
For each organisation, Derive pulls in:
• Chart of accounts. • Tracking categories. • Tax rates. • Currencies. • Contacts and suppliers. • Bank accounts. • Invoice history.
Syncs run nightly or on demand. The AP Agent uses this data, plus past bills and how your team coded them, to prepare new bills the way each entity already works.
What Derive sends to Xero
• Approved bills. Each approved bill is created in the right entity’s Xero organisation with its account code, tax rate and tracking categories, plus the supporting documents, the approval record, a timestamped audit log and any notes or exceptions. • Purchase orders. Approved purchase requests become purchase orders that sync with Xero. • Suppliers. Supplier onboarding and updates sync between Derive and Xero, so workflows always use the correct contact. Suppliers can be created from a purchase request and checked before their first invoice appears in Xero.
What comes back from Xero
Payment status syncs back from Xero, so your team can see what has been paid across the group without opening each file.
The right organisation, every time
When a bill arrives in the shared inbox, the AP Agent works out which entity it belongs to and matches the supplier, so it is posted to the right Xero organisation without anyone looking it up. Derive uses the supplier, request type, cost centre, invoice currency and department to choose the entity.
Xero stays your accounting record
Nothing is migrated. Each entity keeps its own Xero organisation, ledger, reporting and bank reconciliation. Derive adds a group-level layer for purchasing and payables on top.
Access and security
• Built on Xero’s OAuth 2.0 framework, with encrypted data transmission and strict permission scopes.. • Access is set per role. Group finance sees the whole group; entity managers see only their own entities’ bills, budgets and requests.
Pricing plans
This app includes a free 14 day trial
Custom
- Accounts Payable
- Purchase Orders
- Procurement
- Contracts
- Budgets
Getting started
Select Get this app on this page to connect Xero and request a demo. It is the quickest way to begin, and our team takes it from there.
Our team works hands-on with your finance team to design and roll out your workflows. It typically takes weeks from kickoff to full deployment, including the Xero integration and training.
Setup, step by step
- Connect your entities. Link each Xero organisation in your group. You can start with a few and add the rest later..
- Sync your data. Derive pulls in suppliers, accounts, tracking categories and tax rates for every entity..
- Set your approval rules. Decide who approves what, with limits by entity, amount or category, in one rules engine for the whole group..
- Point bills to Derive. Send every entity’s supplier invoices to one inbox. The AP Agent starts preparing bills and learns from your past bills and how your team codes them..
- Invite your team. Add group finance, approvers and entity managers. Entity managers see only their own entities..
- Go live. Review and approve your first bills, then build your first group batch payment..
Start with what you need
Accounts Payable works on its own, so many teams start there. Add Procurement when you want purchase requests, approvals and purchase orders. Contracts and Budgets connect to both. Budgets can be tracked as bills arrive, even before you use purchase orders.
How the AP Agent learns your standard
The AP Agent builds your accounting handbook as it works. It keeps instructions for each supplier and each entity, such as how to code a bill or whether to combine its lines. When a reviewer corrects a bill, the correction updates the instructions for that supplier and entity, so the same fix isn’t needed twice. You can change any policy in plain English.
Tips for a smooth start
• List your entities and who approves what in each one before setup. It makes the rules engine quick to configure.. • Gather your current supplier agreements. Existing contracts can be added, with their dates, values and renewal terms.. • Decide which people should see the whole group and which should see one entity.. • Start with the entities that receive the most bills.
Pricing and support
Pricing depends on the modules you use and your invoice volume, and is scoped with you in the demo. Our team works with you through rollout, and the AP Agent never approves or pays anything without your team.
