Reads are immediate. Writes wait for approval.
Ask questions and read authorised Xero data straight away. When an assistant proposes a change, Invio places it in a queue for a person to review before it is executed.
Why approvals matter for AI write access
An assistant that can only read your books is one kind of risk. An assistant that can write to them is another. Invio keeps the two apart: reads run straight through, and anything that would change Xero is saved as a proposal first. The assistant cannot approve its own work on a hunch; a person has to say yes, and the proposal shows exactly what would be written and to which organisation.
Reads do not enter the queue
Report, invoice, receivables and payroll read tools fetch information when the assistant calls them. You do not approve each question. The organisations and permission groups available to a connector depend on what was authorised.
What an approval looks like
Every change follows the same four steps, whichever assistant proposed it.
1. Proposed
A write tool saves the proposed change in Invio's pending-change store. Nothing is sent to Xero.
2. Reviewed
A person with approval rights sees what the assistant wants to write, and in which organisation.
3. Approved or rejected
They approve or reject it in Invio, or clearly tell the assistant to approve it in the chat. Chat approval needs an explicit instruction and a confirmation value; the assistant must not infer consent.
4. Executed
Only after approval does Invio write the change to Xero. An unapproved proposal is never sent.
Who can approve
Owners and Approvers can act on changes. Viewers have read-only access and do not receive write or approval tools. Organisation restrictions can limit a team member to assigned organisations, so someone can approve changes only for the organisations they look after.
| Role | Reads | Approves or rejects changes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| RoleOwner | ReadsYes | Approves or rejects changesYes | NotesThe account holder, who also manages team roles in Settings |
| RoleApprover | ReadsYes | Approves or rejects changesYes | NotesInvited by the owner; can be limited to assigned organisations |
| RoleViewer | ReadsYes | Approves or rejects changesNo | NotesRead-only; receives no write or approval tools |
Limits
The queue is deliberately small and short-lived, so old or runaway proposals cannot pile up.
24 hours
A pending change expires after 24 hours if nobody has approved or rejected it.
100 open changes
An account can hold up to 100 open pending changes at once.
No self-approval
An assistant must not approve on its own initiative; approval needs an explicit human instruction.
Payroll
Payroll writes follow the same queue, subject to region limits. A pay run can be created in Australia and New Zealand, while posting is available only in Australia. See the payroll details.
Check what you approve
Approve only after reviewing the proposal, especially for anything you cannot easily undo. For more examples of what an assistant can propose, see what you can do across organisations.
Questions we get asked
Do I approve every read?
No. Reads run when requested. Approval applies to proposed writes.
How long does a proposal stay open?
A pending change expires after 24 hours if it has not been resolved.
How many changes can be waiting at once?
An account can hold up to 100 open pending changes.
Who can approve a change in the Xero MCP connector?
The account Owner and any team member with the Approver role. Each can approve or reject changes, within any organisation restriction set on them.
Can a Viewer create or approve changes?
No. Viewer tokens are read-only and do not receive write or approval tools.
Can an assistant approve its own proposal?
Approval requires an explicit human instruction. The approval tool requires confirmation and the assistant is instructed not to infer consent.
Is the Xero MCP connector read-only?
No, but nothing is written without approval. Reads run when you ask; any change an assistant proposes waits in Invio until an Owner or Approver approves it.
What happens if nobody approves a change?
It expires after 24 hours and is never sent to Xero.
Connector pages
Invio works with Xero; it does not replace it. To compare how it sits next to the options Xero offers itself, read Xero's own options next to Invio.
Xero MCP connector
The overview: what it does, how it is priced and how to start.
What you can do
Questions and draft actions across several Xero organisations.
Payroll
What it reads and drafts in Australian, New Zealand and UK Xero Payroll.
Setup guide
Connecting your first organisation, screen by screen.
Security
What the connector can see, and what it can never touch.
Use it with Claude
Adding the connector to Claude.
Use it with ChatGPT
Adding the connector to ChatGPT.
Xero's own options
Xero's own ways to connect an assistant, set out next to Invio.