How to send Xero reports to clients: five methods for bookkeepers and practices

Short answer: Most bookkeepers export the report or report pack from Xero as a PDF and email it with a few lines of commentary. If the client logs in to Xero, publishing the report is enough. Partner Hub document packs suit annual accounts and anything that needs signing. A shared folder works as an archive. At the time of writing Xero does not email reports on a schedule, so recurring monthly or weekly sending to many clients needs another app. Whichever method you choose, agree a date, keep the pack the same each month and review it before it goes.

Producing a Profit and Loss in Xero takes seconds. Getting it to a client in a form they will open, on time, every month, across every client you look after, is the part that takes the time.

This guide sets out the methods bookkeepers and practices use, what each is good for, and a few habits that make client reporting easier whichever you choose. Xero changes its features regularly, especially its practice tools, so confirm the current details on Xero Central. If you are still choosing the rest of your practice’s tools, see software for bookkeepers.

Before choosing a method: three questions

1. Does the client log in to Xero? If they do, you may not need to send anything. If they do not, you need delivery.
2. How often? A quarterly board pack and a weekly debtors list need different processes.
3. How many clients? A method that works for three clients can collapse at thirty.

Method 1: export and email

Run the report or report pack, export it, and attach it to an email. Xero exports reports as PDF, Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. Xero Central describes choosing a report style, file name and watermark before exporting to PDF, and report styles can carry your logo.

Tips:

• Save a custom report pack per client (or a standard one you reuse) so you are not rebuilding the layout every month. The monthly management pack guide covers which reports to put in it.
• Name files consistently, for example Client name - Management report - 2026-09.pdf. Clients search their inbox by name and month.
• Send the email from your practice address with a short note on what changed. Three lines of commentary get more replies than a bare attachment. Our commentary generator can draft them.
• Note that Excel and Sheets exports contain figures, not Xero’s formulas.

Best for: small numbers of clients, or one-off requests.

Method 2: published reports in Xero

Publishing a report creates a locked, read-only version, kept in the organisation’s published reports. If the client has a Xero login with access to reports, they can open it there.

Tips:

• Publish the final version even when you also email it. It gives you a permanent record of exactly what was reported for each month if a figure is questioned later.
• Be careful with user roles. Give the client a role that matches what they should see and do.

Best for: clients who already log in to Xero.

Method 3: Partner Hub document packs

Xero Partner Hub brings Xero HQ, Xero Practice Manager and Xero Tax together. Its document packs bundle published reports, tax returns and uploaded files, can request e-signatures, and are delivered through Xero’s secure client portal.

Best for: annual accounts, tax returns and anything that needs to be signed or kept on a formal record. It is a manual send each time, so it is less suited to recurring monthly or weekly reporting.

Method 4: a shared folder

Some practices save each month’s PDF into a shared Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox folder per client.

Tips: keep one folder per client and one file naming pattern, and tell the client when something new is there. Without a notification, a shared folder is a place reports go to be ignored.

Best for: clients who want an archive, or as a backup alongside email.

Method 5: scheduled sending

At the time of writing Xero does not email reports on a schedule. It is a long-standing request on Xero’s product ideas forum, and in May 2026 Xero said it was exploring scheduling. For now, scheduled sending means another app. See automating Xero report emails: the options compared for the different kinds, and Xero reporting tools compared if you are weighing up Fathom, Syft, Spotlight Reporting or Joiin.

Best for: recurring reports to many clients, where the effort of exporting and emailing adds up and the risk of a missed month is real.

Habits that make client reporting work

Agree the timetable in writing. “Your management report will arrive by the 10th working day of each month” sets an expectation you can meet. Pick a day after your normal close.

Keep the pack the same each month. Same reports, same order, same layout. Clients learn where to look.

Review before sending. A month where a bank feed broke or a large bill is missing should not reach the client unexplained. Build a check into the process, however you send.

Keep recipients deliberate. Reports show margins, wages and who owes what. Confirm who should receive them, and review the list when a client’s team changes.

Reply-to should reach you. When a client replies to a report with a question, the reply should land with the person who can answer it.

Where ReportPilot fits

ReportPilot is a scheduled-sending app built around these habits. You build a pack per client (reports, period, schedule, recipients and a cover note), and on the day it pulls fresh figures from Xero, renders a combined PDF, Excel workbook or CSV files, and emails them with Reply-To set to you. Approval mode sends each pack to you first with an “Approve & send” link, every send is logged, and you are told straight away if a Xero connection needs reconnecting. You can try the demo without connecting Xero. ReportPilot asks Xero for read-only access, and there is a 14-day free trial with no card.

Common questions

Can Xero email reports to clients automatically? Not at the time of writing. Xero lets you export a report and email it yourself, publish it for clients who log in, or send a Partner Hub document pack by hand. Scheduled sending is a long-standing request that Xero said in May 2026 it was exploring. Until then it takes another app; see automating Xero report emails: the options compared.

What is the quickest way to send one client a report? Run the report or a saved report pack, export it as a PDF and attach it to an email from your practice address with three lines on what changed. For a single monthly Profit and Loss that is a few minutes.

How long does manual sending take across many clients? It adds up fast. At 10 minutes per client (open the organisation, run the pack, check it, export, write the email), 15 clients is 150 minutes, two and a half hours every month, and 40 clients is more than six and a half hours. That is the point where a scheduling tool usually pays for itself.

Should I publish reports in Xero as well as emailing them? Yes, for the final monthly version. A published report is locked and kept in the organisation, so if a client questions a figure later you can show exactly what was reported for that month.

Which reports should a monthly client pack include? Usually a Profit and Loss against last month or budget, a Balance Sheet, the aged receivables and payables summaries and a short commentary. The monthly management pack guide covers the order, and variance commentary examples shows how to write the notes.

How do I stop a wrong report reaching a client? Review every pack before it goes, especially in a month where a bank feed broke or a large bill is missing. If you automate the sending, choose a tool that lets you approve each pack first; ReportPilot’s approval mode sends it to you with an “Approve & send” link.