QuickBooks vs Xero is usually a features contest. A trade project office has a narrower question: when one estimate is billed in stages, can you still see what was quoted, invoiced, paid and not yet billed?
The short answer: follow one accepted estimate through a first and a second stage invoice in each product. Keep four amounts apart on one sheet. Both vendors document staged billing: QuickBooks in its help,1 Xero on its Projects page.5 So you are testing your office’s handover, not looking for a missing feature.
- 01 · EstimateAccepted first
Quote EST-6101 Accepted
- Job 6101$10,000.00
- 02 · Stage 1The first invoice
Invoice INV-6101 Stage 1
- Installation$4,000.00
- 03 · ReceiptMoney in, once
Receipt RCPT-6101 Applied
$3,000.00
$1,000.00 owing on stage 1.
- 04 · Stage 2A person releases it
Send INV-6102 for $6,000.00?Total billed would be $10,000.00
At the end of the day Step 4 is a decision: it releases the rest of the estimate.
Start with the same accepted estimate
| Sample input | Value in both runs |
|---|---|
| Job | Job 6101, equipment installation |
| Estimate | EST-6101 |
| Accepted total | $10,000.00 |
| First stage | $4,000.00 |
| Remaining stage | $6,000.00 |
Sample data, not a client’s. The amounts are document totals with no tax calculation, so ask your accountant about live tax settings. QuickBooks’ Australian help calls the document a quote,1 and its marketing page calls it an estimate.3 Use EST-6101 as your reference whatever the screen says.
Check each product’s billing route
QuickBooks Online
Turn on progress invoicing, then convert an accepted quote in stages. Its help links the invoices to the quote.
Xero
Convert an accepted quote to an invoice. Its Projects page lists progress payments.
Record which route your office uses, and save the screens. Your subscription and settings decide what you see.
What the QuickBooks and Xero pages say
QuickBooks. Its help says “Progress invoicing lets you split a quote into as many invoices as you need.” To turn it on, go to Settings, Account and settings, then Sales. Turn on “Create multiple partial invoices from a single quote”. “You can use a quote to create a progress invoice that has been marked Accepted.” Choose Convert to invoice, then an option from “How much do you want to invoice?”.1 Conversion has a gate: “the quote status must be Accepted”.2
Xero. Its quotes page says to find the accepted quote and click “Create Invoice”.4 Its Projects page says you can “Send invoices for deposits, lump sums, and progress payments as the job unfolds”.5 Which route fits your subscription is for your office to show.
Keep four amounts separate
| Checkpoint | Estimated | Invoiced | Paid | Outstanding | Unbilled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accepted estimate | $10,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $10,000 |
| Stage 1 issued | $10,000 | $4,000 | $0 | $4,000 | $6,000 |
| First receipt applied | $10,000 | $4,000 | $3,000 | $1,000 | $6,000 |
| Stage 2 issued | $10,000 | $10,000 | $3,000 | $7,000 | $0 |
Outstanding is invoiced less paid. Unbilled is estimated less invoiced. The $3,000 receipt changes outstanding and leaves unbilled alone. QuickBooks’ marketing page says it can track “the total amount on an estimate, how much has been paid, and how much is still owed”.3 Check that against your own sheet. Before calling stage 1 paid, check the payment is not already linked: QuickBooks’ help says to make sure you “haven’t entered and linked the payment to the invoice”.6
Hold the second stage for review
A$ · orange: would over-bill
$4,000.00 plus $10,000.00 is $14,000.00 against a $10,000.00 estimate.
Illustrative figures, not client data.
Prepare INV-6102 at $6,000.00, then repeat with $10,000.00 keyed by mistake. QuickBooks’ help says that if you invoice for more than 100% of the quote, “you’ll only be able to add what’s left of the remaining balance”.1 Test whether your route does the same, and whether a hand-keyed invoice avoids it. The Invoice Check acceptance cases have sample holds to adapt.
The handover checklist
- Scope and stage. The project lead confirms the milestone against EST-6101.
- Totals. $10,000 invoiced, $3,000 paid and $7,000 outstanding after stage 2.
- Unbilled. Zero once both stages are issued, and not before.
- Duplicate stage. A second $10,000.00 draft is held, not sent.
- Owner. Each manual fix has a named person.
Hours saved: not measured. Dollars saved: not measured. Running costs: your current subscription and support quotes. No saving is claimed.
Where a person stays in charge
Rules check
Estimated, invoiced, paid and unbilled, from the same sheet every time.
Claude drafts
A one-line note when the totals disagree. It never sends a stage invoice.
You decide
Your project lead confirms the milestone. An authorised person sends the invoice.
I build workflows around the accounting software a business already runs. Rules compare the sheet’s totals. A person confirms the milestone and sends the invoice. The nearest fixed-price build is Invoice Check, at A$3,900 (AUD, no GST charged).7
If you are not sure which handover to fix first, start with a Workflow Audit for A$990 (AUD, no GST charged). It is a 60-minute call, a read-only review of your systems and a written report, with a fixed quote for each of the top 3 things worth automating.7 Start with a free fit check by email at the foot of this page.
Questions
Can QuickBooks split one estimate across several invoices?
Yes. Its Australian help documents progress invoicing, and the quote must be marked Accepted first.1
Does Xero support progress payments?
Xero’s Projects page lists progress payments.5 Test the route your subscription offers rather than guessing from quote conversion.
Is unbilled the same as owing?
No. Unbilled is the estimate not yet invoiced. Outstanding is invoiced less paid. Keep both on your sheet.
Sources
- 1. Intuit QuickBooks Australia help, “Set up and send progress invoices in QuickBooks Online” (page metadata dated 31 October 2026), read 3 November 2026: quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-au/…/set-send-progress-invoices-quickbooks-online
- 2. Intuit QuickBooks Australia help, “Convert an estimate into an invoice in QuickBooks”, read 3 November 2026: quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-au/…/convert-quote-invoice-quickbooks-online
- 3. Intuit QuickBooks Australia, “Invoicing software for small businesses”, read 3 November 2026: quickbooks.intuit.com/au/invoicing
- 4. Xero, “Quotation software and online quotes” (Australia), read 3 November 2026: xero.com/au/accounting-software/send-quotes
- 5. Xero, “Project tracking software for small business” (Australia), read 3 November 2026: xero.com/au/accounting-software/track-projects
- 6. Intuit QuickBooks Australia help, “Link a bank deposit to an invoice”, read 3 November 2026: quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-au/…/link-bank-deposit-invoice
- 7. Works Better, “Pricing”, “Invoice Check” and “Workflow Audit”: worksbetter.ai/pricing (Invoice Check A$3,900; Workflow Audit A$990; AUD, no GST charged), worksbetter.ai/simpro-xero-invoice-automation and worksbetter.ai/workflow-audit
Not sure which to fix first?
Get a free fit check by email and I will say whether it is worth automating. No call needed. The next step is a A$990 workflow audit: the top 3 things worth automating, with a fixed quote for each.
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