Xero Error Messages Explained

Sometimes you may get an error message returned from Xero when creating or updating a Customer or Invoice within OutOnSite. 

These errors can be caused by a variety of reasons, therefore, we have put the following list together to explain what some of them mean.

If you are getting an error that is not listed below then please get in touch via the webchat so we can assist you.

Invoice not of valid status for modification

This usually means there is an invoice already in Xero with the same invoice number that cannot be modified for whatever reason. Please check in Xero to see if there is an existing invoice with the same invoice number.

The contact with the specified contact details has been archived. The contact must be un-archived before creating new invoices or credit notes.

The contact you are trying to update has been archived in Xero, you can try the following to resolve the issue.

1. Open Xero and on the Contacts menu, select All contacts.
2. Select the Archived tab.
3. Select the contact record to open up the contact details.
4. Press the Restore button.
5. Press Restore again to confirm.

To update fields on a paid invoice line item, you must supply a LineItemID

The invoice you are trying to export already exists in Xero and is marked as paid. You cannot update an invoice in Xero which is marked as paid. If you remove the payment on the invoice in Xero you should be able to export it from OutOnSite.

The status AUTHORISED cannot be applied to the invoice because it has payments or credit notes allocated to it

This usually means there is an invoice already in Xero with the same invoice number and the invoice has payments or credit notes linked to it. If you remove the payments and/or credit notes on the invoice in Xero you should be able to export it from OutOnSite.

The contact name xxxxxxx is already assigned to another contact. The contact name must be unique across all active contacts.

This error can occur if you are trying to rename a Customer in OutOnSite to the same name as a Contact that already exists in Xero. This could potentially happen if you created a Customer in OutOnSite with the wrong name or with a name that didn't exactly match an existing Contact in Xero, this would have automatically created a new Contact record in Xero, you are then trying to rename the Customer in OutOnSite to the correct name (for the existing Contact you had in Xero) but what this will try and do is rename the new Contact record that was created in Xero to the same name as an existing Contact record that is already in Xero (which Xero will not allow to happen). Please get in touch with us and we can remove the current link between the Customer record in OutOnSite and Xero so that it can be re-exported (i.e. linked) to the correct Contact in Xero.