Import Bills into QuickBooks Online and Xero from Vendor Invoice Emails
Stop retyping emailed vendor invoices into QuickBooks
Parse a month of vendor invoice emails and download one bills import CSV laid out the way QuickBooks Online or Xero expects: bill number, supplier, bill date, due date, expense account and amount, one row per bill. Upload your .eml or .msg files, a .zip, or connect the AP mailbox over IMAP.
Connect a Gmail or IMAP mailbox to parse new mail automatically, or paste an email below to test the converter now.
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To import bills into QuickBooks Online from email, turn each vendor invoice email into one row with bill number, supplier, bill date, due date, account and amount, then upload that CSV under Settings, Import data, Bills. MailParse reads the invoice emails (body, HTML tables, and digital PDF or CSV attachments on Plus and higher) and gives you that file ready to upload, in the QuickBooks Online or Xero bills layout.
- 2 layouts
- QuickBooks Online bills and Xero bills
- 5,000
- Bills per downloaded file
- 3 periods
- This month, last month, last 90 days
- 3 date formats
- MM/DD/YYYY, DD/MM/YYYY or ISO
Most small and mid-size US companies still receive vendor bills the same way: an email from the supplier with the amount in the body, a table of charges, or a PDF attached. Somebody on the AP side opens each one, reads the invoice number, the dates and the total, and types them into Enter Bill in QuickBooks Online. At 20 bills a month that is a chore. At 300 it is a part-time job, and the typos show up at reconciliation.
QuickBooks Online already has the fix half built: a bills import that takes a CSV and creates every bill in one pass. What it does not do is read your inbox. That gap is what MailParse fills. It parses the invoice emails into fields, then writes the import file for you, with the columns QuickBooks Online or Xero asks for. You review the rows, set the expense account once, and upload. If you also want the raw data in a spreadsheet, the invoice data extraction from email page covers the Excel and CSV export of the same fields.
What the converter does
Everything you need to turn the email your team receives into a spreadsheet it can actually use.
The bills layout, not a generic CSV
For QuickBooks Online the file carries Bill No, Supplier, Bill Date, Due Date, Terms, Location, Memo, Account, Line Description and Line Amount. For Xero it uses the bill template columns, ContactName through Currency, so the import screen maps without renaming headers.
Reads the body, tables and attachments
Values come from the fields you saved first, then from labels such as Invoice No, Due Date and Amount Due in the subject, the body and its HTML tables. On Plus and higher it also reads the text of digital PDF and CSV attachments.
Expense account filled for you
QuickBooks Online refuses a bill line without an account. Type the account once (for example 6000 or Office Supplies) before you download and every row carries it. Change it per row in the sheet when a vendor belongs elsewhere.
Dates in your company format
Pick MM/DD/YYYY for a US company file, DD/MM/YYYY for a day-first region, or ISO dates. A wrong date order is the most common reason a bills import fails or lands bills in the wrong month.
No bill silently dropped
An email where no amount could be found still gets a row, with the amount left empty, so you see it before upload instead of discovering a missing bill at month end. A missing due date falls back to the bill date.
Built for month-end batches
Choose this month, last month or the last 90 days and get up to 5,000 bills in one file. Upload the whole AP folder as a .zip of up to 10,000 messages, or let a connected mailbox parse new invoices as they arrive.
How to import bills into QuickBooks Online from email
Four steps from an inbox of vendor invoices to bills waiting for payment in QuickBooks Online.
Get the invoice emails in
Upload saved .eml or .msg files, a whole folder, or a .zip. Or connect the AP mailbox over IMAP, or forward invoices to your MailParse forwarding address so each one is parsed within minutes.
Name the fields once
Save fields such as vendor, invoice_number, due_date and amount_due. Labels written the usual way are picked up without setup, and your saved fields win when a vendor words things differently.
Download the bills import file
In Parse History choose QuickBooks Online bills or Xero bills, the period, the date format and the expense account, then download the CSV. Review the rows in Excel if you want a second pair of eyes.
Upload in QuickBooks Online
Go to Settings, Import data, Bills, browse to the file, check the field mapping and import. Intuit recommends batches of about 100 bills, so split a large month into a few files. In Xero, import under Bills to pay and the bills arrive as drafts for approval.
Who imports bills from email this way
Teams that pay a steady stream of emailed vendor invoices and keep the books in QuickBooks Online or Xero.
Bookkeepers with several client files
Each client forwards supplier bills to a shared mailbox. Parse a client folder, download its import file with that client account code, and post a month of bills in minutes instead of an afternoon of Enter Bill screens.
In-house AP at a growing company
Utilities, SaaS subscriptions, freight and contractors all email their invoices. One import a week keeps the AP aging report current without a dedicated data-entry hire.
Controllers closing the month
Pull last month in one file, compare the row count against the AP inbox, and catch the bill that never got entered before the close rather than when the vendor calls.
Firms moving off manual Hubdoc-style capture
When most bills arrive as emails with a digital PDF rather than paper, parsing the mail is faster than photographing or fetching documents, and the output is already a bills import.
Why import instead of keying bills one by one
One upload instead of hundreds of screens
Enter Bill is fine for five invoices. The bills import posts a whole batch, and the CSV doubles as an audit list of what went in.
Fewer transposed numbers
Invoice numbers and amounts are copied from the email text, not retyped, so the classic 1,245 versus 1,425 slip goes away.
Nothing to install in QuickBooks
The import file uses the import screen QuickBooks Online Essentials, Plus and Advanced already have. No app connection to approve and nothing that touches your payments.
The data stays reusable
The same parsed emails export to Excel, CSV or JSON for spend analysis, vendor lists or a second system, so the work is done once.
Ways to get emailed vendor bills into QuickBooks Online compared
There are four realistic routes, and the right one depends on how many bills you get and whether they arrive as email text, digital PDFs or paper. Each one leads somewhere.
| Decision point | MailParse plus bills import | Typing into Enter Bill | Receipt and bill capture apps | Full AP automation suites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How bills get in | Parses invoice emails, then you upload one CSV per batch | A person reads each email and types the bill | Forward or photograph each document, the app reads it | Vendors email a dedicated AP address, the suite handles intake |
| Reads scanned or photographed paper | No, digital text only. No OCR of scans | Yes, a human reads anything | Yes, OCR is their core job | Yes, usually with OCR |
| Bills from email body and HTML tables | Yes, plus digital PDF and CSV attachment text on Plus and higher | Yes, by hand | Varies, most expect an attached document | Varies by product |
| Approvals and vendor payments | No, it prepares the bills and QuickBooks takes it from there | Whatever QuickBooks offers | Usually no | Yes, that is what you pay for |
| Effort per 100 bills | One parse, one review, one upload | 100 manual entries | 100 documents to forward or snap, then review | Low once set up, after an onboarding project |
| Best for | Teams whose bills already arrive as email with text or digital PDFs | Very low volume | Paper receipts and scanned invoices | Larger AP teams that need approvals and payment runs |
Categories differ by vendor, so check a specific product before you choose. MailParse does not post bills straight into your company file from this page: it gives you the import file, and QuickBooks Online or Xero creates the bills when you upload it.
Frequently asked questions
Can you import bills into QuickBooks Online?
Yes. QuickBooks Online Essentials, Plus and Advanced can import bills from a CSV under Settings, Import data, Bills. Each row needs a bill number, supplier, bill date, due date, account and line amount. Simple Start has no bills feature, so the import is not offered there.
How do I import vendor invoices into QuickBooks Online from email?
Parse the invoice emails into fields, then upload the result as a bills import. In MailParse you upload or connect the mailbox, download the QuickBooks Online bills file from Parse History, and import it under Settings, Import data, Bills. Check the mapping screen once and the bills appear as open bills.
How many bills can I import into QuickBooks Online at once?
Intuit recommends importing no more than about 100 bills at a time. MailParse can put up to 5,000 bills in one file, so for a large month split the CSV into batches of around 100 rows and upload them one after another.
Can I import PDF invoices into QuickBooks Online?
Not as PDFs directly through the bills import, which takes a CSV. On Plus and higher, MailParse reads the text of digital PDF invoices attached to emails and puts their values into the import file. Scanned or photographed PDFs have no text layer and need an OCR tool first.
Does MailParse pay the bills or connect to my bank?
No. MailParse only prepares the bill data and the import file. It never touches your bank account, vendor payments or approvals. The bills appear in QuickBooks Online as open bills, or in Xero as drafts, and you pay them exactly the way you do today.
Does it work for Xero bills too?
Yes. Choose Xero bills before you download and the file uses the Xero bill template columns: ContactName, EmailAddress, InvoiceNumber, InvoiceDate, DueDate, Description, Quantity, UnitAmount, AccountCode, TaxType and Currency. Imported bills land in Xero as drafts for approval.
What happens if an invoice email has no amount?
It still gets a row, with the amount left empty, so you can fill it or delete the row before you upload. Missing a bill quietly is worse than an obvious gap. A missing due date falls back to the bill date.
Which plan includes the bills import file?
Every paid plan includes the QuickBooks Online and Xero import file. Reading digital PDF and CSV attachment text starts on Plus. You can parse 3 of your own emails before signing up to see the fields it finds.
Turn this month of vendor invoices into one import file
Upload the invoice emails or connect the AP mailbox, name the fields once, and download a QuickBooks Online or Xero bills CSV ready to upload.