As more countries around the world embrace open banking models, banks and online suppliers are realising the benefits of establishing APIs with technology providers like Hubdoc. These connections allow us to work directly with your supplier (direct fetch connections), rather than rely on technology that logs into supplier portals and imports documents on your behalf (standard fetch connections).

Moving towards direct connections

Using standard fetch connections to automatically import bills, invoices and bank statements into Xero (or other accounting software) has traditionally been a popular feature in Hubdoc. However, as technology and industry standards evolve, these connections have become outdated and are often blocked by banks and online suppliers.

As a result, the performance has declined to a point where it no longer meets the needs of Xero or our customers. That’s why we’ve made the difficult decision to retire standard fetch connections on 27 April 2022 (28 April 2022 in Australia and New Zealand). We’ll be switching off the ability to set up new standard fetch connections on 31 January 2022 (1 February 2022 in Australia and New Zealand).

We know that removing this functionality from your workflow will be an inconvenience. But our growing Hubdoc team is working hard to establish more direct fetch connections with banks and online suppliers around the world. Currently, we have APIs with Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Stripe, and these will continue to operate.

How to import documents into Hubdoc

There are a number of ways you can import invoices, bills and bank statements into Hubdoc. One way is to set up an auto-forward email rule on statements, so they are sent to Hubdoc without any manual data entry. You can also choose to download, scan or take a photo of the document and then upload it into Hubdoc.

Another way to receive invoices into Xero without manual data entry is via e-invoicing. This is currently available for Xero customers in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore and allows you to electronically exchange invoices between accounting software systems. The network is still growing, but you can register to receive e-invoices in Xero, so when your suppliers start using them you’ll be ready.

Our continued investment in Hubdoc

Growing our direct fetch connections to banks and online suppliers is just one way we’re committed to providing you with greater value in the long term. Our Hubdoc team has grown 40% over the past 12 months, and they’ve worked hard to support critical work like improving stability and infrastructure, upgrading security, and increasing data automation.

We’ve also released a number of features during this time that you’ve requested, including duplicate document detection, default due dates, increased document intake, and link to Xero. This work is going to ramp up in 2022, as we hire new teams to focus on upgrading our technology, improving your workflows and making the mobile experience better than ever.

At Xero, we’ll always advocate for small businesses to have ownership of their data, so it can be used to create efficiencies in their business. And while we don’t know what the future may bring, we’ll continue to work closely with the banking industry to develop solutions that automate data entry and make life easier for you.