Conducting payroll can be one of the most tedious and time-consuming processes for organizations. At Connecteam, we have made it our mission to simplify that process and make it as quick and easy as possible so that you can focus your efforts on what matters the most. This article will walk you through the key steps to streamline your payroll via Xero. Please note, that this integration is for active organization within Xero UK.

If you are looking for Xero (AU) please click here.

Before we get started, here is a quick summary of what can be transferred:

This article is broken down into the following sections:

Before we begin setting up it's important to understand the data flow between Connecteam and Xero. The image below illustrates this data flow.

💡Tip: We highly recommend following Xero's guide on employee and payroll setup before exporting from Connecteam to ensure that you have a Payroll calendar set up in Xero.

Once you have done these steps we can begin with the steps to connect the integration.

The steps are the following:

Before beginning the set up please make sure that your employees' names are identical between Connecteam and Xero as that will speed up the matching process. If they are not the same you will get the option to manually match the employees in Connecteam.

Now, let's set up the integration!

In Connecteam: Go to your Time Clock settings and enter the payroll tab.

In Xero: Go to Payroll, payroll settings, to Calendars click on the 3 dots, click on edit, and verify that the payroll settings match.

To begin, click on the settings tab on the time clock, scroll down, and click on integrations on the sidebar. From here you can navigate to Xero (UK) and click on Connect and Connect to Xero.

A new page will appear asking you to agree to connect the two applications and the data sharing between them. Click Connect and it will automatically close and take you back to Connecteam if the connection was successful.

Then you can press continue to set up to begin setting up the integration.

From here you will begin matching any employees that were not automatically matched by name. If all employees are matched, you can press continue to move forward. If for whatever reason an employee was auto-matched incorrectly, this can be changed manually. If you don't want a user to be included in the integration you can mark don't include user in integration.

💡Tip: If you choose to move forward without matching all your users, they will be marked as “don’t include user in integration."

Here you decide how you would like to export hourly pay rules from Connecteam to Xero. There are 2 options: show pay rules only and show pay rules by job. Let’s go over the differences.

Show pay rules only: this option exports only the hourly pay rules (regular, overtime - multiplier 1.5x, and double overtime - multiplier 2.0x) and disregards any information related to jobs.

Show pay rules by job: this option exports a breakdown of the job your employee clocked into and shows hourly pay rules for each job. When choosing this option the earning rate in Xero is usually a combination of a "job" and a pay rule (regular, overtime, etc.)

For example, if you have two jobs cleaning and office, you will see 6 rules:

Here you can also choose whether or not to include the sub job depending on your needs. If you choose to include sub jobs each sub-job will be matched with an earning rate.

For example, if I have the job cleaning with the sub jobs window and floors I will see the rules:

Now you need to match the created pay rules with the rates you have in Xero. There is also the option not to include a rate. When finished click on continue.

How matching pay rules by jobs look:

The next step is to match your PTO policies with the policies you have in Xero. If there is a policy you do not want to include you can select the option do not include time off. When you are finished click on complete setup!

Now it's time for the final step, which is actually exporting your payroll to Xero.

Head to your time clock, to the timesheets tab, click on export, then click on export to Xero (UK). The export is based on the selected date range and selected employees in the timesheet. Employees can be filtered out if needed.

⚠️ If your export contains extensive data, it may take a few minutes.
You will see the exporting loading modal during this time. Please do not interact with the system until you see the successful export confirmation.

Great, now that you have successfully exported to Xero you will need to check that the hour units for each earnings rate line have synced to your employees in Xero.

To do Click on Payroll > Timesheets then select each employee to review the hours exported and add any manual allowances or other adjustments you may need to make and click approve.

Once you approve the timesheet in Xero it will transfer the hours to the draft Pay Run you created and apply the matching earnings rate for each relevant earnings line. Once you are satisfied that the timesheet data has been exported correctly you can process your pay run as usual. It’s important to note that leave is never entered into the timesheet and therefore approved leave should be popping up automatically into the pay run.

As your company grows and changes you will likely add new items, these could be new employees, jobs / sub-jobs, or time off policies. Before these items can be exported to Xero they need to be matched. To do this enter the time clock click on exports find the export to Xero option and click on the settings icon. Match the new items and press complete set up.

If for whatever reason you need to disconnect the integration you can do so by heading to the Time Clock clicking on settings, entering the integrations tab, and clicking on disconnect. Note that we save the last updated setup configuration, so when you reconnect it will automatically be there.

To Connecteam Xero (UK) integration, only UK Xero organizations can be connected. We also have a Xero (AU) integration for AU Xero organizations.

Yes, every time clock in Connecteam can be connected to the same organization in Xero. Just so you know, you will need to set up the integration in the settings of each time clock.

No, a time clock can only be connected to one Xero organization, this prevents you from accidentally running the same payroll in two places and potentially overpaying your employees.

The hours you export from Connecteam will always overwrite your hours in Xero.

Yes, you can, but keep in mind that if you do it will reset your existing rules matching and you will need to set them again.

This likely means that you have made changes to your Connecteam account since setting up the integration with Xero. You may have added new employees, jobs / sub-jobs, or PTO policies. You will need to match these items before exporting the data to Xero. To do this simply click on the resolve now button, match the items, and click, complete & export.

Take a look at how to solve these kinds of errors below:

No problem, accidents happen and luckily this can be easily fixed. You can initiate the matching process again by going to the time clock clicking on exports finding the export to Xero option and clicking on the settings icon. Match the new items and press complete set up.

Thats ok! When matching your employees you have the option not to include the user in the integration.

A "timesheet error" means that the timesheet data failed to export successfully.

If you see the "Leave exported successfully" indicator, this implies that only the timesheet data encountered an issue while exporting.

A "Leave error" means that the leave data failed to export successfully.

If you see the "Timesheet exported successfully" indicator, this implies that only the leave data encountered an issue while exporting.

Ensure that the users mentioned in the error message have their pay calendar in Xero correctly matched to the payroll period set in Connecteam.

Make sure that all the earning rates in Xero are correctly configured for all users. These configurations should align with the integration setup in Connecteam.

Remove the existing timesheet of the users mentioned in the error from Xero.

Ensure that the users mentioned in the error message have been correctly assigned to leaves in Xero and that these settings match the integration setup in Connecteam.

Ensure that the users mentioned in the error message have their pay calendar in Xero correctly matched to the payroll period set in Connecteam.

This error can occur when tracking codes are enabled in your Xero Settings. In order for our system to integrate with Xero, you will need to disable these tracking codes.

Let's explore how straightforward this process is.

If you have issues with connecting your Xero integration, you can always reach out to us on our Live Chat, or email us at [email protected] and we will be happy to assist! You can also request a phone call through both channels, and our team will help you further.

Need more guidance? 🙋 Our LIVE support team (at the bottom right corner of your screen) replies to ANY question.