Send German e-Invoices from Gmail to Xero Draft Bills (n8n)

Turn German e-Invoices into Xero Draft Bills—directly from Gmail

If you receive German e-invoices (XRechnung or ZUGFeRD), this n8n workflow reads them straight from your Gmail inbox, validates the invoice data against EU e-invoice rules, and creates clean Xero draft bills you can review and approve—saving hours of manual entry (and avoiding incorrect totals).

What this workflow does

• Monitors Gmail for new emails with XML or PDF attachments.
• Extracts invoice data:
  • From XML invoices, or
  • From ZUGFeRD PDFs (data embedded inside the PDF).
• Validates compliance with core EU e-invoice requirements, including:
  • Invoice number and dates
  • Supplier details
  • VAT on every line
  • That amounts add up
• Handles exceptions intelligently:
  • If something is wrong, it replies to the supplier with exactly what to fix.
  • Anything unusual (e.g., plain PDFs, credit notes, other currencies, or VAT rates Xero doesn’t have) is sent to a person for handling.
• Creates Xero drafts safely:
  • Finds the supplier in Xero by VAT number (or adds it).
  • Books invoices one at a time.
  • Ensures the same bill is never booked twice.
• Reconciles totals:
  • Compares Xero totals with the invoice.
  • If totals differ, emails your bookkeeper and marks that email as read so it’s handled only once.

Use cases

• German procurement teams receiving XRechnung/ZUGFeRD invoices in Gmail and needing Xero draft bills for approval.
• Automation engineers deploying reliable e-invoice processing to reduce manual VAT and amount-entry errors.
• SaaS operators supporting customers who must validate invoices before importing them into Xero.

Technical details

• Integrations / nodes: Gmail, Xero, and decision logic using if, set, code, and switch.
• Setup essentials: Connect Gmail, connect Xero using a Xero developer app and the redirect address from the n8n Xero credential, create matching purchase tax rates in Xero (e.g., 19% and 7%), then configure E-Invoice Policy.