Monthly accruals in Xero

An accrual books a cost you have had but not yet been billed for, such as a quarterly utility bill that arrives after the quarter. In Xero this is done with manual journals. A single manual journal can have an Auto Reversing Date, so Xero reverses it on the date you choose. Repeating journals can’t: the idea “Repeating journals – Option to auto-reverse” asks for it, with users saying it is “too easy to miss reversing the journals manually”. The Prepayments & Accrual Schedules idea asks for accrual schedules too; Xero says there are no plans for it.

The manual way in Xero

1. At month-end, post a manual journal: debit the expense, credit the accruals account.
2. Set an Auto Reversing Date, usually the first day of next month, so the accrual reverses when the bill is entered. Auto-reversing has to be set on each journal; the import template has no field for it.
3. Or leave it in place and code the supplier bill to the accruals account when it arrives.
4. Keep a list of open accruals and tie it to the balance sheet.

What Amortline does

Amortline uses the second approach: build up the accrual each month, and clear it with the bill.

• Add an Accrual line with the supplier, the expected amount, the service start and end dates, the expense account and the accruals account.
• Each month-end journal debits the expense and credits the accruals account for that month’s share (daily, equal monthly or monthly by days).
• When the supplier bill arrives, code it to the accruals account in Xero and enter the ClearedDate on the line. The working paper then shows the accrual cleared by the bill.
• A cancelled accrual just stops at the cancel date.
• The posting record stops a month being posted twice; the working paper rolls the accruals account forward and compares it with the balance you type in from Xero.

In Xero, go to Reporting › All reports › Journal Report › Go to manual journals › Import, and choose the file. The journals arrive as drafts for you to check and post.

What it doesn’t do

• It doesn’t make reversing journals. If you code the supplier bill to the expense account instead of the accruals account, reverse the accrual yourself.
• Amortline doesn’t journal the clearing itself: the bill you post in Xero does that.
• It doesn’t read bills from Xero or post anything.

More guides

• Prepayment schedules for Xero, without the spreadsheet
• Deferred revenue and income in advance in Xero
• Xero manual journal import CSV format, explained

Amortline is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Xero. Xero is a trademark of Xero Limited. This guide was checked against the linked sources on 27 October 2026; Xero changes its product, so check the current Xero Central article if a menu looks different.