Automate construction remittance matching inside Xero
Head contractors send complex remittances covering progress claims, retentions, and variations across dozens of invoices. RemitClear reads every line, matches it against your open Xero invoices, and posts the payment automatically.
Trusted by finance teams around the world
The Problem
Construction remittances are not simple payment notifications
If you run a construction subcontractor, engineering consultancy, or trade services business, your remittance advices are nothing like a standard one-page payment confirmation. A single remittance from a head contractor can cover 20-50 invoices across multiple projects, mixing progress claims, retention releases, variation payments, and back-charges in one document.
Matching those lines against open invoices in Xero is slow and manual. You open the remittance PDF, cross-reference each line against your Xero invoices, verify amounts, handle any retentions or variations that do not match cleanly, and allocate the payment. For firms working across multiple head contractors and project sites, this process repeats weekly or fortnightly.
The challenge gets worse at scale. A busy subcontractor might receive remittances from 5-10 head contractors, each with their own format, their own reference conventions, and their own approach to retentions and deductions. Your finance team spends hours reconciling payments instead of managing cash flow, chasing overdue claims, or closing out completed projects.
Xero has no built-in way to take a remittance PDF and allocate a lump-sum payment across the correct invoices. That gap between payment received and invoices allocated is where construction finance teams lose time every week.
The Solution
RemitClear matches construction remittances against Xero invoices automatically
Upload your remittance PDF (or forward it by email) and RemitClear extracts every line item using OCR, matches each one against your open Xero invoices, and posts the payment directly into Xero with the original remittance document attached for audit.
How it works for construction firms:
1. Upload or email the remittance
PDF remittances from head contractors, project managers, or principal contractors. Drop it into RemitClear or forward the email.
2. Every line item extracted
RemitClear reads the full remittance and extracts invoice numbers, claim references, amounts, and any deduction lines. Progress claims, retention releases, and variation payments are all extracted as individual line items, regardless of how the head contractor formats the document.
3. Automatic matching against Xero
Each extracted line is matched against your open Xero invoices. The matching algorithm handles exact matches first, then falls back to partial and prefix-based matching for invoice numbers that differ slightly between the remittance and your Xero records. Already-paid invoices are detected automatically.
4. Review and post to Xero
Approve the matches, adjust any allocation amounts where retentions or deductions apply, and RemitClear posts the batch payment into Xero. The original remittance PDF is attached to the invoices for a complete audit trail.
Proof
Used by construction and engineering firms in Australia and the UK
RemitClear is used by construction and engineering businesses processing remittances from head contractors across multiple project sites and Xero organisations. The same workflow applies to US and Canadian contractors and subcontractors on Xero or QuickBooks Online, where progress claims and retainage draws arrive as multi-invoice ACH or cheque remittances.
What it handles:
Progress claim remittances
Covering 20-50+ invoices per payment from a single head contractor, across multiple project sites and reference conventions.
Retentions and variations
Retention releases and variation payments mixed into the same remittance as standard claim payments. Each line is extracted individually and allocations can be adjusted before posting.
Multi-page remittances
Large contractors send documents with 500+ line items. RemitClear processes the full document in under 60 seconds and splits into sequential Xero batches where needed.
Multiple invoice prefixes
Configurable prefix recognition across different project entities or divisions (e.g. PCI, PSI) so head contractors referencing non-standard invoice numbers still match cleanly.
Part payments and deductions
Where the head contractor has withheld retentions, applied back-charges, or adjusted claim amounts, RemitClear flags the variance for review rather than silently misposting.
Multi-entity workspaces
Firms running separate Xero organisations per state, division, or project type can connect each organisation and process remittances per entity from one place.
"RemitClear has bridged what was previously a manually processed gap in our AR workflow. The OCR is quick and accurate (more so than you could expect from any person), and having source documents pushed through to Xero creates a verifiable audit trail for all receipts."
Jon Shepherd
Peritas Consulting
Who It Is For
Built for construction businesses on Xero
RemitClear is built for:
Subcontractors and trade services firms receiving complex remittances from head contractors covering multiple progress claims, retentions, and variations
Engineering and construction consultancies invoicing across multiple projects and entities, receiving consolidated remittance payments
Construction bookkeeping practices managing remittance matching for multiple construction clients on Xero
Any construction business spending hours per week manually reconciling remittance advices against open Xero invoices
If your head contractors send multi-page remittances covering dozens of invoices, and your finance team is matching them line by line in Xero, RemitClear eliminates that workflow.
From remittance to posted
See RemitClear in Action
Remittance document
Remittance_Advice.pdf
142 KB
Xero invoice matching
Waiting for extraction...
Posted to Xero
Payments recorded successfully
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Does RemitClear handle progress claim remittances with retentions and variations?
Yes. Construction remittances typically mix progress claims, retention releases, and variation payments in a single document. RemitClear extracts each line item individually and matches it against your open Xero invoices. Where the remittance amount differs from the invoice amount (due to retentions or deductions), you can adjust the allocation during the review step before posting.
Can RemitClear process remittances with 500+ line items?
Yes. RemitClear has processed remittances with 500+ invoice lines in under 60 seconds. Where the remittance exceeds Xero's 200-invoice batch payment limit, RemitClear splits into sequential batches automatically (batch 1 of 3, batch 2 of 3, and so on) and posts them in sequence with the full remittance PDF attached to each.
What if our invoice numbers on the remittance do not exactly match Xero?
This is common in construction, where head contractors often use their own reference numbers or truncate yours. RemitClear's matching algorithm handles exact matches first, then falls back to partial and prefix-based matching. You can also configure invoice prefixes (e.g. PCI, PSI for different divisions) so the system knows which patterns to look for.
We work across multiple Xero organisations for different project entities. Does RemitClear support that?
Yes. RemitClear supports multiple Xero organisations from a single workspace. Construction firms that run separate entities per state, division, or project type can connect each Xero organisation and process remittances per entity from one place.
Does RemitClear attach the remittance PDF to invoices in Xero?
Yes. When payments are posted, the original remittance document is attached to each matched invoice in Xero. This creates a complete audit trail showing exactly which remittance advice was used to allocate each payment, which is important for project audits and contractor disputes.
How long does it take to set up RemitClear for a construction business?
Most firms are set up and processing live remittances within 30 minutes. You connect your Xero account, configure your invoice prefixes for each entity, and upload your first remittance. We walk you through it on the onboarding call.
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Send us your most complex head contractor remittance
Book a 30-minute demo. Bring a multi-project remittance with retentions and variations, and we will process it live on the call.
Or email jacob@remitclear.com with 2-3 sample remittances and we will test them before we talk.
Get Started
Book a Demo
See how RemitClear can save your team hours every week. We'll walk you through the platform and get you set up.