Use Datamolino with ApprovalMax and Xero

Datamolino handles capture and coding. Xero holds the submitted bill, which ApprovalMax pulls into its configured approval workflow. The approval result then returns to Xero.

How the three products work together

1. Capture and review in Datamolino. Upload or email the invoice, check the supplier, amounts and line items, and apply the accounting treatment your team needs.
2. Send the bill to Xero. Export it in the status used by your ApprovalMax setup, so it can enter the approval process.
3. Route the approval in ApprovalMax. The approval matrix determines which people review the bill. Approvers can receive notifications and act through the supported ApprovalMax interfaces.
4. Return the approval result to Xero. When the workflow finishes, the approved bill is reflected in Xero. An approval decision and a payment remain separate steps.

Set the Xero bill status to Awaiting Approval.

Connect Datamolino and ApprovalMax to the same Xero organisation. Activate the ApprovalMax bill workflow and choose Awaiting Approval as the Datamolino export status.

Set the same status as the folder default so every new bill uses it. The Xero export statuses guide explains Draft, Awaiting Approval and Awaiting Payment, and where to set the default.

Test one invoice through approval and another through rejection before enabling batch or automatic exports.

Prepare useful detail for the approver

On a plan with line-item capture, prepare descriptions, amounts and accounting codes before export. This gives the approver the purchase detail they need.

Reuse saved supplier coding, exact-description matches and keyword rules. Your team can inspect and change those rules when the accounting treatment changes.

Folders help separate the work for clients, branches, teams or types of expense. They can connect to the same Xero organisation or to different organisations, depending on your setup.

Suppliers can email bills directly to a Datamolino folder. Team members can also upload documents or scan receipts with the mobile app. The original document stays available for checking the captured data.

Keep approval responsibilities clear

ApprovalMax routes the bill to its assigned approvers and records the decision. Check that the resulting approval record contains the information your team needs.

For an accounting practice, this keeps the client's budget holders involved in the decision while the accounting team prepares the bill. The approval record gives the team a way to see which bills have completed the agreed review.

Approval completes the purchase decision. Payment remains a separate step in your accounting and banking process.

Does this workflow require Xero?

Yes. This workflow uses Xero between Datamolino and ApprovalMax. Their other accounting connections do not create the same three-product handoff.

See the Datamolino connection to Xero for the capture and accounting side of the process.

Do I need a separate approval product?

Datamolino also includes its own invoice approvals. With Keep documents editable enabled and automatic export after approval off, your team can complete the accounting detail after client approval and before export.

Datamolino supports approval stages, reminders and a record of decisions. If that covers your invoice process, you can keep preparation and approval together. Explore the included invoice approval workflow, or use the three-product guide above for your existing ApprovalMax setup.

This page explains how to use ApprovalMax with Datamolino. If you are deciding whether to replace an existing approval workflow, use the separate ApprovalMax comparison.

Get help with your setup

Contact Datamolino with your accounting system and approval requirements. For ApprovalMax's Xero connection, see ApprovalMax's Xero integration page. The Datamolino Help Centre has guidance for the capture and export steps.

Plan a switch to Datamolino’s included invoice approvals if purchase sign-off covers your needs. Compare the wider controls and actual costs, then pilot one folder before changing the live route.