A fully automated pipeline where documents uploaded to Wondershare Cloud/Google Drive are processed by PDFelement, extracted via n8n's expression engine, and converted into draft Bills or Contacts in Xero with the original file attached for compliance.
The Problem
Manual entry of supplier invoices and receipts into Xero is time-consuming and prone to human error. PDF invoices often require manual extraction of dates, totals, and line items before they can be recorded in accounting software.
The Outcome
A fully automated pipeline where documents uploaded to Wondershare Cloud/Google Drive are processed by PDFelement, extracted via n8n's expression engine, and converted into draft Bills or Contacts in Xero with the original file attached for compliance.
Step-by-Step Guide
1. **Establish the Trigger**: Add a 'Google Drive' or 'Dropbox' node (configured to watch the folder where PDFelement saves its cloud/OCR outputs). Set 'Watch for' to 'File Created'.
2. **Configure Credentials**: In n8n, click 'Credentials' > 'Add Credential' to set up OAuth2 for both your Cloud Storage and Xero. Ensure 'Business.Transactions' and 'Files' scopes are selected for Xero.
3. **Extraction Logic**: Use a 'Code' node or 'AI Agent' node to receive the OCR text. If using PDFelement's AI Summary, pass the summary text into an n8n 'Set' node to define variables: `invoice_total`, `vendor_name`, and `due_date`.
4. **Format Dates**: Use the expression `{{ DateTime.fromFormat($json.extracted_date, 'dd/MM/yyyy').toISODate() }}` in a 'Set' node to ensure Xero accepts the date format (YYYY-MM-DD).
5. **Check for Contact**: Add a 'Xero' node, select the resource 'Contact' and operation 'Get All'. Use a filter expression: `{{ $json.name == $node["Set"].json.vendor_name }}`.
6. **Conditional Routing**: Add an 'If' node. If the Contact exists, proceed to Step 8. If not, proceed to Step 7.
7. **Create Contact**: Add a 'Xero' node, resource 'Contact', operation 'Create'. Map the `vendor_name` from your extraction node.
8. **Create Draft Bill**: Add a 'Xero' node, resource 'Bill', operation 'Create'. Map the `Total`, `Date`, and `ContactID`. Set 'Status' to 'DRAFT' for manual review.
9. **Upload PDF Attachment**: Add another 'Xero' node with the operation 'Upload File'. Use the binary data from the initial trigger node and link it to the `PurchaseOrderID` created in the previous step.
10. **Error Handling**: Create an 'Error Trigger' node connected to a 'Slack' or 'Email' node to alert you if a PDF fails to parse or a Xero API limit is hit.