My custom Xero report broke after an update — why?

Xero retired its older report formats and moved everyone to the newer report engine. Legacy custom reports built in the old layout often break or look wrong after the migration. The fix is usually to rebuild the report in the new report layout rather than trying to patch the old one.

Why can't I see a report another user can see?

It is almost always a user-role permission. Roles like Read Only, Invoice Only, or a limited Standard role cannot see every report. Ask the organisation's admin or advisor to check your user permissions in the Xero org settings.

What is a backup layer for my accounting data and do I actually need one?

A backup layer is a parallel pipeline that pulls your Xero data on a schedule through the Xero API, stores it somewhere you own, and can regenerate the reports you depend on independently of Xero's interface. You need one if a broken or unavailable report could stall your invoicing, a board update, or a tax filing — that is a single point of failure. SideGuy builds these per business; text PJ to scope it.

⚙️ TECH-HELP · XERO TROUBLESHOOTING

Xero reports not working? Triage it fast.

Q: Why are my Xero reports blank or showing the wrong numbers?

The most common cause is the date range or the accounting basis at the top of the report. Check whether the report is set to Cash or Accrual — switching it changes every total. Also remember Xero reports only show approved, posted transactions: draft invoices, draft bills, and unreconciled items will not appear, so a missing total is often a pile of drafts.

Q: Is Xero down right now?

Check status.xero.com. Xero has occasional outages and slowdowns. If the status page shows an incident, the problem is on Xero's side and there is nothing to fix in your account — you wait it out. If status is green, the issue is in your report settings, browser, or permissions.

Blank totals, wrong numbers, a report that won't load or won't export. Most of it is one of seven things — work the triage below. Then the deeper fix, so a broken report never stops your business again.

↓ Start the 60-second triage Text PJ instead

Operator-honest tech-help · no jargon · no upsell to something you don't need.

The 60-second triage

Work these in order · most reports come back on step 1–4

Check the date range AND the accounting basis. At the top of the report — is it set to Cash or Accrual? Flipping it changes every total. A wrong comparison period does the same. This is the #1 cause of "the numbers look wrong."
Check status.xero.com. Xero has occasional outages and slowdowns. If the status page shows an incident, the problem is on Xero's side — nothing to fix, you wait it out. Green status = the issue is yours to find.
Hard refresh, then try an incognito window. A stale cache or a misbehaving browser extension breaks reports more often than people expect. Incognito (or a second browser) rules it out in 10 seconds.
Remember reports only show posted transactions. Draft invoices, draft bills, and unreconciled items do not appear. A "missing" total is very often a pile of drafts waiting to be approved.
Check your user role. Read Only, Invoice Only, and limited Standard roles can't see every report. If a colleague sees it and you don't — it's permissions. Ask the org admin.
Narrow the date range before exporting. If a PDF or Excel export fails or spins, it's usually a pop-up blocker or a report that's simply too large. Shorten the range and re-run.
Custom report broken after an update? Xero retired its older report formats. Legacy custom reports often break in the migration — rebuild the report in the new layout rather than patching the old one.

⚙️ The deeper fix · SideGuy builds it

A backup layer for your accounting data

SideGuy builds you a parallel pipeline — it pulls your Xero data on a schedule through the Xero API, stores it somewhere you own, and can regenerate the reports you actually depend on, independent of Xero's interface. Xero glitches, you're not stuck. It's the parallel layer — the training wheels you keep wanting even when things are fine.

It's a per-business build (it needs your Xero connection and a look at the reports you live on). The first hour is free — text PJ and we'll scope whether it's worth it for your setup. Operator-honest: if you don't need it, we'll say so.

📲 Text PJ — scope a backup layer

Common questions (answered honestly)

Why are my Xero reports blank or showing the wrong numbers?

Almost always the date range or the accounting basis at the top of the report — check whether it's set to Cash or Accrual, since that changes every total. And reports only show approved, posted transactions: draft invoices and bills won't appear, so a missing total is often a pile of drafts.

Is Xero down right now?

Check status.xero.com. If it shows an incident, the problem is on Xero's side — there's nothing to fix in your account. If status is green, the issue is in your report settings, browser, or permissions.

My custom report broke after an update — why?

Xero retired its older report formats and moved everyone to a newer report engine. Legacy custom reports built in the old layout often break in that migration. The fix is usually to rebuild the report in the new layout rather than patch the old one.

Why can't I see a report another user can?

It's a user-role permission. Read Only, Invoice Only, and limited Standard roles can't see every report — ask your organisation's admin or advisor to check your access in the Xero org settings.

What's a "backup layer" and do I actually need one?

A parallel pipeline that copies your Xero data somewhere you own and can regenerate your key reports independent of Xero's interface. You need one if a broken or unavailable report could stall real business — invoicing, a board update, a tax deadline. Text PJ and we'll give you a straight yes or no for your setup.