Connect FreshBooks to EDI instantly
Join thousands of businesses moving EDI orders, invoices and fulfilment updates between FreshBooks and their trading partners on XEDI, no manual re-keying.
No credit card needed ✦ Free EDI mailbox included
Getting started with FreshBooks EDI
XEDI runs the trading relationship and delivers invoices into FreshBooks, which is the useful arrangement for businesses whose accounting was chosen for services and who are now shipping product to a buyer.
One managed platform, no custom code
XEDI maps FreshBooks to your trading partners and validates every document, so data flows straight into the systems your teams already use.
Accounting set up for services meets a buyer who orders goods
FreshBooks is frequently chosen by businesses billing time: projects, retainers, hours. It handles that well. When the same business starts shipping product to a buyer, the shape of the paperwork changes entirely, and the accounting setup was not built with that in mind.
The trading side does not need to live in FreshBooks for this to work. Orders, delivery documents and the buyer's formats are handled here, and the invoice arrives in FreshBooks alongside everything else you bill.
Goods bring obligations that services never had
Billing for time rarely involves anybody inspecting what arrives. Shipping goods to a trade buyer does: quantities are counted, labels are scanned, delivery notes are compared against orders, and discrepancies become deductions rather than conversations.
That is a different discipline, and it is the part we take on. The buyer's requirements are already held by us, the despatch documentation is produced from what actually shipped, and the invoice references what they expect to match against.
What your team sees day to day
You get an EDI mailbox and a portal that behaves like an inbox. Product orders arrive there separately from the rest of your work, and you are notified when they do.
The order becomes the despatch advice, adjusted where the delivery differs from what was ordered, carrying pallet labels where the buyer needs them, and then the invoice once delivered, with its delivery confirmed in the dashboard.
FreshBooks receives the invoice so it sits with your other billing. For most businesses in this position, no further integration is worth having.
Documents you can exchange
- Customer orders received and worked in the portal
- Order acknowledgements returned to the customer
- Despatch advice and ASN messages from what you ship
- Sales invoices delivered into FreshBooks
- Credit notes where a delivery falls short
Built for FreshBooks teams
Whoever owns FreshBooks in your business, XEDI keeps EDI accurate and hands-off.
- Businesses selling services and products together
- Consultancies with a product line
- Small manufacturers and studios
- Founders handling their own admin
- Businesses whose first product buyer trades formally
FreshBooks EDI document types
The EDI documents belong to your buyer. FreshBooks' part is the invoice.
| Document | What it carries | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase orders | The buyer's demand for goods, with terms, delivery window and identifiers, received in the portal. | Buyer to you |
| Order acknowledgements | What you commit to supplying, in the form the buyer requires. | You to buyer |
| Advanced shipping notices | What is actually being delivered, described and labelled to the buyer's specification. | You to buyer |
| Invoices | Raised against the delivery with the buyer's references, and delivered into FreshBooks. | You to buyer and FreshBooks |
| Credit notes | Issued where a delivery was short or rejected, against the invoice concerned. | You to buyer |
| Remittance detail | What has been paid against which invoices, so reconciliation does not need reconstructing. | Buyer to you |
How to connect FreshBooks with EDI using XEDI
This is about handling goods properly without rebuilding how the business bills. The sequence below is what onboarding looks like from your side.
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01
We look at how FreshBooks is used today, since it is often set up around services rather than goods.
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02
We set the portal up as the place product orders are confirmed, despatched and invoiced.
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03
We map your FreshBooks clients and items so invoices arrive ready to reconcile.
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04
We prove the flows against the buyer's requirements rather than against FreshBooks' capabilities.
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05
You get product trading working alongside whatever else the business does.
Ready to connect FreshBooks?
Talk through documents, mapping, testing and go-live with XEDI.
Everything about FreshBooks EDI
Common requirements
- FreshBooks account and API access
- Client records and item setup
- Tax treatment for goods
- How invoices are raised today
- Which buyers are ordering product
What we need from you to build it
Only what we cannot hold for you. The buyer's specification is ours to satisfy in full.
- FreshBooks access
- Account and API access so product invoices arrive alongside the rest of your billing.
- Clients and items
- Which client each buyer maps to, and how goods should be represented given a services-oriented setup.
- Tax treatment for goods
- How product sales are treated, which often differs from how services were configured.
- How you invoice today
- Who raises invoices and when, since product billing follows delivery rather than a project stage.
- Which buyers are ordering product
- The trade customers involved, now and next. Their requirements are already held by us.
Why suppliers choose XEDI for FreshBooks
- Your buyer is almost certainly connected already, so product trading can begin without a lead time.
- Selling goods to a trade buyer does not mean replacing accounting that works for the rest of the business.
- The buyer's document formats and labelling are produced by us rather than learned by you.
- Product invoices arrive in FreshBooks alongside your other billing.
- Delivery obligations, which services never carried, are handled properly from the start.
- If a buyer disputes a delivery, it comes to us instead of to whoever raised the invoice.
Does FreshBooks do EDI?
No. FreshBooks bills clients; it holds nothing about purchase orders, delivery terms or the document formats a trade buyer requires. Those are handled here and the invoice arrives in FreshBooks.
We mostly bill for services. Does that matter?
It affects how your account is set up rather than whether this works. Goods carry delivery obligations services never had, and tax treatment frequently differs, both of which are established at the start.
Do we need stock control first?
Not necessarily. Many businesses in this position supply from the portal alone. It becomes worth revisiting when the volume of product orders makes tracking by hand a risk.
Plan your FreshBooks EDI setup
Everything you need to scope, map and go live with FreshBooks, in one place.