Xero Practice Manager: automate intake, keep approval

Xero Practice Manager is now part of Xero Partner Hub,¹ but a new client still needs a job, an owner and a checked scope before work starts. This post maps it for the practice owner.

The short answer: automate the setup after the partner accepts the client, never the acceptance. In this design FYI creates the job once and the partner keeps the decision. Check your Xero access before you commission anything custom.

AI workflow · accepted intake → jobDemonstration

The partner has accepted client C-101. A sample approval is on record: annual accounts, year ended 30 June 2026. Acceptance and scope stay with the partner.

Then the intake note arrives. The client’s request is in an email. It is long, and the scope is not written in one place.

Approval register · C-101Accepted

Annual accounts (sample)

Approved by the partner

ClientC-101
Work periodYear ended 30 June 2026
ScopePartner approved

Acceptance is recorded before any job.

Intake note · C-101Received

Client request (sample)

Email from the client

RequestAnnual accounts
PeriodYear to June 2026
FeeNot stated

Missing facts stay blank.

The AI drafts a scope summary. It shortens the note into fields and leaves missing facts blank. The original stays beside it for the partner.

Rules check the summary. The same checks for every intake: is the approval recorded, and is there already a job for this client and period?

Drafted by the AI Intake note

Drafted by the AI Draft summary

Client

Intake note: C-101

Draft summary: C-101

Service

Intake note: Annual accounts

Draft summary: Annual accounts

Period

Intake note: Year to June 2026

Draft summary: Year ended 30 June 2026

Fee

Intake note: Not stated

Draft summary: Left blank

Partner approval is recorded
No job for C-101 this period
One client match

The administrator confirms the job. You choose: create the job from your template, or hold it. The partner’s acceptance is already on record.

Messages · Client C-101

Ready for a job Job 2101 createdHeld, with a reason

Create the job for C-101 now?

Approval is recorded and no job exists.

Job 2101 is created once.Held for the administrator. FYI creates the job from your existing template. It is synced to Practice Manager, which applies the job number.No job is created. A person settles the open question, then starts the process again.

Practice Manager · Job 2101Planned

Annual accounts (sample)

ClientC-101
TemplateAnnual accounts
ManagerPractice manager

Confirmed in Practice Manager before staff are told.

Exception list · C-101Held

Client C-101 (sample)

ReasonQuestion open
OwnerAdministrator

No job until a person decides.

End of the day After the partner accepts a client, the intake note is summarised, checked against the approval and existing jobs, and one job is created. The AI never accepts a client, sets a fee or decides a deadline.

These are demonstrations. They use sample data and simulated Claude steps. Nothing connects to your accounts, sends a message or changes a record.

Start with accepted work

Twelve sample intakes with the partner’s decision and the jobs created
Sample intake	Partner decision	Job outcome
10 complete records	Accepted	10 jobs prepared
2 unclear scopes	Held	No jobs created
Total: 12	10 accepted, 2 held	10 jobs

Sample data, not a client’s. For a practice owner, accepted intake to job is a sound first workflow. Keep acceptance and scope with the partner, and automate the repeated preparation after that. The design assumes you already use FYI and Microsoft 365. FYI says it needs a Microsoft 365 account with Exchange Online email, and that its integration syncs your “clients, client groups, team, jobs and time”.²

Separate drafting from decisions

Four intake steps, what rules or AI do at each and who is responsible
Step	Rules or AI	Person responsible
Read the intake note	AI drafts a summary	Administrator checks it
Accept the client and fee	No automatic decision	Partner approves
Match client and period	Rules check identifiers	Administrator settles doubt
Prepare the job	FYI process, as configured	Practice manager owns exceptions

I would let AI shorten a messy intake note. I would not let it accept a client, set a fee or decide a deadline. Keep the original request beside the summary so the partner can check it. The summary is not tax advice.

Create the job once

Sample job 2101 with the field values to check before it is created
Field	Sample value
Client	C-101
Template	Annual accounts
Work period	Year ended 30 June 2026
State	Planned
Manager	Practice manager
Scope decision	Partner approved

FYI documents a Create Job step on its Pro or Elite plan. For practices on Xero Practice Manager, the job “is synced to Xero Practice Manager where the job number will be applied”.³ Use your existing template and check each mapped field. FYI notes that a template’s category is not added to the job, so map it yourself.³

Search first. FYI’s Look Up Job step can find a job by client, name and custom fields, and can be set to create the job if none exists.⁴ If several jobs match, a person picks the right one. Do not add an unconditional Create Job after a match. Confirm the job in Practice Manager before you tell staff it is ready.

Check access and running costs

Silver, Gold, Platinum

Xero says Partner Hub with Practice Management is “included free” at these practice levels.

New or Bronze practice

$163.90 a month for up to 10 users, including GST, on Xero’s Australian page.

The FYI route

Needs your FYI plan, its permissions and the Practice Manager connection.

A custom API route

Xero’s Practice Manager API needs a security assessment and use case approval.

Xero prices and eligibility were read on 31 October 2026.¹ Its developer FAQ says the Xero Practice Manager API requires “a security assessment (initial and annual) and use case approval”, and is “only available starting at the Advanced tier”.⁵

The same page excludes bespoke integrations “built for your own practice or a single client” from its new pricing model. That is about pricing, and the page does not say it waives the assessment. Confirm with Xero before you commission a connector.⁵

Running costs: your Xero tier, FYI, Microsoft 365, any AI licence and the upkeep. Hours saved: not measured. Dollars saved: not measured.

Test what should stop

Approval missing. The process stops before any job is created.
Job already exists. C-101 already has this period’s job, so the existing job opens.
Two possible matches. The record is held for the administrator.
Connection fails. The record is held and the practice manager is alerted.

FYI’s Stop step needs all its conditions matched, so use separate Stop steps for either-or rules.⁶ If you later start a process from an event, test the changed value yourself, because the trigger “does not check what the field was changed to”.⁷

Where a person stays in charge

Rules check

Approval on record, an existing job and the client match, the same way for every intake.

AI drafts

Shortens a messy intake note into a summary. It never accepts a client or sets a fee.

You decide

The partner accepts the client and the scope. The administrator confirms the job.

I build workflows around the systems a practice already runs, with rules doing the checks and a person approving. A connector to Practice Manager would be a Custom build, from A$9,500 (AUD, no GST charged), listed on the pricing page. It never accepts a client, sets a fee or creates a job.

If you are not sure which workflow 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.⁸ Start with a free fit check by email at the foot of this page.

Questions

Where do I log in to Practice Manager?

Use the login link on Xero’s own practice management page. This post is about the owner’s workflow, not login help.¹

Can AI create and approve the client’s job?

No. In this design the AI drafts a summary, the partner approves the scope and FYI creates the job after that decision.³

Do I need FYI for this workflow?

The design is for practices that already use it. FYI documents its Create Job step on the Pro or Elite plan, so check your plan first.³

Sources

1. Xero, “Practice Management” (Xero Partner Hub, Australia), read 31 October 2026: xero.com/au/accountants-bookkeepers/partner-hub/practice-management
2. FYI Help Centre, “Prerequisites for using FYI in your practice” (updated 25 September 2026), read 31 October 2026: support.fyi.app/hc/en-us/articles/360028674171
3. FYI Help Centre, “Process step details: Create and Update Jobs” (updated 22 October 2026), read 31 October 2026: support.fyi.app/hc/en-us/articles/8454267343129
4. FYI Help Centre, “Process step details: Look Up Job” (updated 22 October 2026), read 31 October 2026: support.fyi.app/hc/en-us/articles/34148261972633
5. Xero Developer, “Pricing and Policy Updates FAQs”, read 31 October 2026: developer.xero.com/faq/pricing-and-policy-updates
6. FYI Help Centre, “Process step details: Stop” (updated 22 October 2026), read 31 October 2026: support.fyi.app/hc/en-us/articles/53279006995609
7. FYI Help Centre, “Process trigger details: Event” (updated 12 October 2026), read 31 October 2026: support.fyi.app/hc/en-us/articles/57057830004633
8. Works Better, “Workflow Audit” and “Pricing”: worksbetter.ai/workflow-audit (Workflow Audit A$990; AUD, no GST charged) and worksbetter.ai/pricing

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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