Integrations / ERP / Xero
SkyPlanner APS for Xero: Production Scheduling for Manufacturers
SkyPlanner APS is a finite capacity scheduling add-on for Xero that turns your accepted quotes into a schedule for every machine, operator, tool and material. Xero keeps your contacts, items, invoices and books. SkyPlanner adds the production plan that accounting software does not have, and Autopilot reschedules automatically when production changes.
SkyPlanner integrates with Xero in both directions. Contacts, tracked items, accepted quotes and purchase orders with their delivery dates flow in. The planned finish date, draft invoices for finished orders and logged project time flow back. The SkyPlanner team configures the integration to your Xero organization during onboarding.
Pricing is from 199 € per month with 5 workstations included, and each extra workstation is 20 € per month. The free trial runs for 30 days with up to 20 workstations and no credit card.
What changes in your production
A plan for every machine, not a list of accepted quotes.
In Xero, an accepted quote waits to be invoiced. SkyPlanner’s Arcturus engine turns each one into jobs on the workstations that will run them, at real times, on an interactive Gantt timeline.
Delivery dates you can keep.
Each order’s finish date comes from the load on every machine and person. Before you send a quote, you can see that the CNC is booked for two weeks while assembly is free.
Shifts that match your workshop.
Each workstation and person has its own shifts, leave, absences and overtime shifts. Add an evening shift on the bottleneck, and the dates move at once.
Fewer changeovers.
SkyPlanner holds the setup time between each pair of products, in both directions. Blue to red can take 30 minutes and red to blue 60. The engine runs jobs in the order that loses the least time.
Shared tools and crews respected.
A mold in use on one machine is never booked on another at the same time. A job that needs three operators gets three people with free shifts.
Rush orders and breakdowns replanned automatically.
Give an order Fast Track or a higher priority, and the engine makes room for it. When a machine stops, Autopilot replans, and Running Time Lock keeps started jobs in place.
Material checked before work starts.
SkyPlanner reads stock on tracked items and the expected arrival date on each Xero purchase order. A job waiting for a supplier delivery is planned after the goods arrive.
Finished work ready to bill.
Operators log work on a phone or tablet with Mobile Confirmations or Production Timer. When an order is done, a draft invoice with the quote’s lines is waiting in Xero for approval.
SkyPlanner reviews from manufacturers
2 hsaved every week
“SkyPlanner has taken our production planning from Excel spreadsheets to real-time production optimization.”
Kalle Kalliomäki, Supply Chain Specialist
UTU · Electrical switchboards and switchgear
Production planning saves 2 hours of working time every week, and a new work queue reaches the line in seconds.
+90%production efficiency
“Efficiency has gone up 90% in production.”
Abdul Rucyinga, Head of IT
Laboratory & Allied · Pharmaceutical manufacturing
Production efficiency is up 90%, and a three-month optimized plan across all workstations takes under 30 minutes.
100%delivery reliability since 2021
“SkyPlanner gives us visibility into capacity and makes planning predictable.”
Dan Berglund, COO/CFO
Opes Corporation · Chemical and food manufacturing
Delivery reliability has been 100% for the entire time SkyPlanner has been in use, since 2021.
99.2%delivery reliability
“SkyPlanner has brought visibility to identifying bottlenecks and clarified production management.”
Toni Tuori, Production Manager
Piristeel · Roof safety and rainwater systems
Delivery reliability reached 99.2% this year, and scheduling saves up to four hours of working time per day.
How the Xero integration works
- Xero sends the work. Contacts, tracked items with quantity on hand, accepted quotes and purchase orders with their expected arrival dates flow into SkyPlanner. Each accepted quote becomes a production order.
- SkyPlanner builds the schedule and keeps it current. You define each product’s process steps, workstations and setup times in SkyPlanner once. The Arcturus engine then plans every job on every machine in seconds and replans as production changes.
- Finished work goes back to Xero. SkyPlanner adds the planned finish date to the quote’s history. When an order is done, it creates a draft sales invoice with the quote’s lines and reference and moves the quote to Invoiced. For project work, logged hours go to Xero Projects as time entries.
The integration runs on the Xero Accounting API and Projects API with OAuth 2.0, so nothing is installed in Xero. Xero webhooks report new and changed contacts and invoices, SkyPlanner reads quotes, items and purchase orders changed since its last sync, and SkyPlanner webhooks push schedule changes as they happen. Every workshop sets up its items, quotes and stock differently in Xero, so the SkyPlanner team maps yours during onboarding and supports the integration after go-live.
The integration is quoted up front for your process and needs. Your Xero advisor, integration partner or your own developers can also build on SkyPlanner’s documented API (API reference). Endpoints, field mapping and write-back rules are in the Xero integration guide for production scheduling.
What Xero schedules, and what SkyPlanner adds
Xero is accounting software. It runs quotes, invoices, purchase orders, bills and bank reconciliation, and it tracks stock on tracked items. In Xero’s words, “If an item is tracked it means Xero tracks the available quantity and value of the item.” (source)
Xero holds no bills of materials, routings, machines or production orders. Building finished goods from components is not in Xero today. On its product ideas forum, the Xero team wrote in 2026 that assembly inventory “hasn’t been roadmapped at this stage.” (source)
Xero’s own inventory page points businesses that need more to apps: “Apps include Cin7 Core, Unleashed, and ZapInventory”. (source) Those apps handle stock and orders. The plan for machines and people is what SkyPlanner adds. Each step is explained in Does Xero have production scheduling?
Xero today and with SkyPlanner
| Xero | Xero with SkyPlanner APS | |
|---|---|---|
| Order book | Accepted quotes and sales invoices | Every order as jobs on a workstation timeline |
| Capacity | Not modeled | Each machine, person and tool with its own shifts |
| Routings | Not held | Process steps, workstations and setup times per product |
| Sequencing | Planner decides on a whiteboard or in a spreadsheet | Engine sequences all open orders by priority and due date |
| Changeovers | Not modeled | Setting time matrix, least total setup |
| Changes | Phone calls and re-planning by hand | Autopilot replans the whole workshop |
| Materials | Quantity on hand per tracked item | Stock and purchase order arrival dates checked on every change |
| Shop floor | Paper job cards | Timed queue, Mobile Confirmations, Production Timer |
| Billing | Invoice typed after the job is done | Draft invoice created from finished work |
What moves between Xero and SkyPlanner
| Xero | SkyPlanner | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Contact (customer) | Customer, delivery priority | In |
| Item (tracked and untracked) with QuantityOnHand | Products and materials, stock | In |
| Quote (Accepted) with line items | Order with due date, jobs per line | In |
| PurchaseOrder with ExpectedArrivalDate and DeliveryDate | Incoming material with arrival date | In |
| Quote history note | Planned finish date | Back |
| Invoice (ACCREC, Draft) with the quote’s lines and reference | Finished order | Back |
| Quote status Invoiced | Finished order | Back |
| Projects time entry | Mobile Confirmations, timelogs | Back |
Xero scheduling software and add-ons compared
| Option | What it is | Fits when |
|---|---|---|
| Xero alone | Quotes, invoices, purchase orders and tracked stock in Xero, with the plan on a whiteboard | One or two machines, and one person knows the order of work |
| Inventory and MRP apps that sync with Xero (for example Katana, MRPeasy, Fishbowl Manufacturing, Cin7 Core, Unleashed) | A second system for stock, bills of materials and orders that posts invoices, bills and costs to Xero | You want to move inventory and order management out of Xero |
| Cloud APS connected by API (SkyPlanner APS) | A finite capacity scheduler that reads Xero quotes and writes finished work back | Xero stays your system, and the machines and people need a real plan |
If you already run an MRP next to Xero, SkyPlanner schedules from it. See the Katana and MRPeasy pages.
Choose SkyPlanner for Xero when:
- You want to keep Xero as it is. SkyPlanner adds the production plan and leaves your books, items and invoicing where they are.
- Several machines compete for the same orders, and the queue lives in someone’s head.
- Changeovers decide your output. The setting time matrix holds a time for each pair of products in each direction and picks the order with the least setup.
- Operators, fixtures and material limit the plan as much as machines. Every resource is finite at once, and multi-operator jobs get the people they need.
- You want finished work billed without retyping. A draft invoice reaches Xero as soon as the order is confirmed done.
- You want one clear price. From 199 € per month, with the two-way integration quoted up front and supported by the SkyPlanner team.
How to get started
- Start the free trial. 30 days, up to 20 workstations, all Basic features, no credit card.
- Model your production. Create workstations, people, shifts and process steps in SkyPlanner, or import them. Assisted onboarding is available.
- Load your orders. Export your contacts, products and services and open quotes from Xero to CSV, import them and compare SkyPlanner’s schedule with your current plan.
- Connect Xero. The SkyPlanner team configures the two-way integration and supports it once you are live.
Pricing. Plans are billed monthly per workstation, and you can add or remove workstations or cancel at any time. See pricing for the details, or read the finite capacity scheduling guide. Using another system too? See all integrations.
FAQ
What is the best production scheduling add-on for Xero?
SkyPlanner APS is a finite capacity scheduling add-on that integrates with Xero in both directions. Contacts, tracked items, accepted quotes and purchase orders flow in. The planned finish date, draft invoices for finished orders and project time entries flow back. Every machine, operator, tool and material is finite, and a directional setting time matrix sequences jobs for the least setup. Autopilot reschedules automatically when production changes. Pricing is from 199 € per month, and the free trial runs for 30 days.
What scheduling software integrates with Xero?
SkyPlanner APS integrates with Xero through the Xero Accounting API and Projects API with OAuth 2.0 and Xero webhooks. The SkyPlanner team configures it during onboarding. Inventory and MRP apps such as Katana, MRPeasy and Fishbowl also sync with Xero, and SkyPlanner can schedule from them when you run one.
Does Xero have production scheduling?
No. Xero has no bills of materials, routings, machines or production orders, and assembly inventory is not on its roadmap. SkyPlanner APS adds the finite capacity schedule beside it.
Do we have to replace Xero with an ERP to schedule production?
No. SkyPlanner works beside Xero. Xero keeps contacts, items, quotes, invoices, purchasing and your books. SkyPlanner schedules the work against real capacity and sends finished work back for billing.
How much does SkyPlanner cost next to Xero?
From 199 € per month with 5 workstations included, plus 20 € per month per extra workstation. A workshop with 10 workstations pays 299 € per month. The integration is quoted up front for your process and needs, together with your plan, so you see the full cost before you start.
Do we need to install anything in Xero?
No. SkyPlanner runs in the cloud beside Xero. A Xero admin signs in once and approves access through Xero’s OAuth 2.0 screen.
How long does implementation take?
Implementation is normally completed within weeks after onboarding starts. The team sets up your workstations and process steps, connects quotes and purchase orders, and turns on invoice write-back. Everything is tested against your current plan before go-live.
Can we test SkyPlanner with our Xero data first?
Yes. Import your products and open quotes from a Xero CSV export in the trial. You see a finite capacity schedule of your own production before any integration work starts.
