Automate Email Purchase Orders with Make.com

Using make.com, you can automatically extract purchase order details from incoming emails, send the data to Google Sheets, and create invoices in Xero without writing any code. This guide walks you through each step so you can build a reliable, scalable automation for your finance and operations teams.

The workflow is based on the process described in the official how-to from Make, adapted into a clear, SEO-friendly tutorial you can follow today.

Why Automate Purchase Orders with Make.com

Handling purchase orders manually through email is slow, error-prone, and difficult to track. By automating this flow with make.com, you gain several advantages:

• Centralized purchase order data in Google Sheets
• Faster and more accurate invoice creation in Xero
• Consistent processing rules for every supplier
• Less manual copy-paste work for your team

This approach is ideal for small and medium businesses that receive structured order confirmations or purchase orders by email and want a lightweight automation layer.

What You Need Before Building in Make.com

Before creating the scenario in make.com, prepare these accounts and resources:

• An active make.com account
• Access to the email inbox where purchase orders arrive
• A Google account and a Google Sheet to store order data
• A Xero account with permission to create invoices
• Sample purchase order emails for testing

Set up a dedicated Google Sheet with clear column headers, for example: Date, Supplier, PO Number, Item, Quantity, Unit Price, Total, and any other fields you need for reporting.

Overview of the Make.com Automation Workflow

The automated workflow in make.com follows this simplified structure:

1. Watch for new purchase order emails.
2. Parse the purchase order content.
3. Send the extracted data to Google Sheets.
4. Create a corresponding invoice in Xero.
5. Optionally, send a confirmation email or notification.

Each of these steps is handled by modules inside a single make.com scenario, which you can schedule or trigger in real time depending on your needs.

Create a New Scenario in Make.com

Start by building the core scenario in make.com:

1. Create a scenario: Log in to make.com and click on Create a new scenario.
2. Add the first module: Choose your email app (e.g., Gmail, IMAP, or another supported email service).
3. Authorize connections: Connect your email account, Google account, and Xero account when prompted.
4. Save the scenario: Give it a clear name such as “Email Purchase Orders to Sheets and Xero”.

With the initial setup complete, you can define how make.com will monitor incoming purchase orders.

Configure Email Watch in Make.com

The first active module in your make.com scenario should watch emails that contain purchase orders:

1. Select trigger module: Use a Watch emails or similar trigger from your chosen email app.
2. Filter by folder or label: Point the module to a specific folder (for example, “Purchase Orders”) or a label applied by rules in your email client.
3. Set search criteria: Narrow the trigger to emails with phrases like “Purchase Order”, “Order Confirmation”, or a specific supplier address.
4. Limit frequency: Configure how often make.com checks for new messages to balance performance and responsiveness.

Run the scenario once in manual mode to capture sample data that you will use when mapping fields later.

Parse Purchase Order Data with Make.com Tools

Next, add modules that extract structured data from the email body and subject:

1. Inspect sample email: Look at how your supplier formats purchase orders, including line items, totals, and purchase order numbers.
2. Add parsing modules: Use tools like Text parser, Iterator, or other transformation modules inside make.com to split the email content into usable pieces.
3. Identify key fields: Extract values such as supplier name, PO number, date, item description, quantity, price, and tax.
4. Normalize data: Convert dates and numbers into consistent formats that match your Google Sheet and Xero settings.

Investing time in robust parsing ensures your automation remains stable even as order volumes increase.

Send Parsed Data to Google Sheets via Make.com

With purchase order data parsed, configure make.com to save each order into Google Sheets:

1. Add Google Sheets module: Insert an Add a row or Update a row module after your parsing steps.
2. Select spreadsheet: Choose the correct spreadsheet and worksheet where you want to store the data.
3. Map fields: Map each Google Sheets column to outputs from your parsing modules (for example, map PO Number to the extracted PO number).
4. Handle multiple line items: If a purchase order contains several items, use an Iterator in make.com so each line becomes its own row in the sheet.

After mapping, run the scenario once in manual mode and confirm that the sheet is filled correctly with the parsed purchase order data.

Create Xero Invoices Automatically with Make.com

The next part of the automation uses make.com to convert order data into a draft or approved invoice in Xero:

1. Add Xero module: Insert a Create an invoice module after the Google Sheets step.
2. Select organization: Choose the Xero organization where invoices should be created.
3. Map contact and reference fields: Map supplier or customer name, PO number, and dates to the corresponding Xero invoice fields.
4. Map line items: Use parsed data for item descriptions, quantities, unit amounts, and tax rates, ensuring they match Xero’s chart of accounts and item codes.
5. Set invoice status: Decide if invoices should be created as Draft, Submitted, or Authorized depending on your approval process.

Once configured, each qualifying email will cause make.com to generate a corresponding invoice automatically in Xero.

Test and Refine Your Make.com Scenario

Before activating the workflow for day-to-day use, thoroughly test your scenario:

• Send multiple test purchase order emails, including edge cases.
• Confirm that all fields appear correctly in Google Sheets.
• Verify invoice details in Xero for amounts, tax, and references.
• Adjust parsing rules if supplier templates vary.

Use scenario logs and execution history in make.com to diagnose mapping or parsing errors. Incrementally refine the scenario until it handles all typical patterns reliably.

Optional Enhancements in Make.com

After the core automation is stable, make.com allows you to extend your workflow with additional steps:

• Notifications: Send a Slack message or email when a new invoice is created.
• Approvals: Route draft invoices for internal review before authorization.
• Supplier-specific rules: Create filters and branches to handle different email formats per supplier.
• Error handling: Log malformed orders to a separate sheet or notify a team member.

These enhancements help keep your purchasing and billing processes transparent and auditable.

Where to Learn More About Make.com Workflows

You can review the original tutorial that inspired this guide directly on the Make website: Automatic purchase orders to Google Sheets and Xero. It provides screenshots and additional context for individual modules.

For broader automation strategy, optimization, and consulting beyond make.com itself, you can explore expert resources at Consultevo, which covers integration planning, documentation, and process design.

Conclusion: Streamline Invoicing with Make.com

By combining email parsing, Google Sheets, and Xero inside a single scenario, make.com gives you a flexible, no-code way to automate purchase order handling from end to end. Once this workflow is in place, your team spends less time copying data and more time analyzing costs, managing suppliers, and improving cash flow.

Start with a simple version of the scenario, validate each step, and then gradually expand the automation to cover more suppliers and document formats as your use of make.com matures.

Need Help With Make.com?

If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your Make scenarios, work with ConsultEvo — certified workflow and automation specialists.

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