Edition: All
User-Level: Assistant Administrator, System Administrator
Permissions in Xero: Standard or Advisor
Xero Payroll will be enabled for all Australian Organisations that use Xero Users as of Tuesday 7th April, 2026.
Xero Payroll for other regions is coming soon!
This release enables Synergy to send approved staff timesheets and leave entries to Xero Payroll, reducing data entry, ensuring payroll accuracy, and simplifying pay-run preparation.
It provides a structured setup process so that Synergy categories are correctly mapped to Xero Payroll categories before running any sync.
Demonstration: How to Connect Xero Payroll
Accessing the Xero Payroll Integration
Access the Xero Integrations page from:
Organisation Settings → Other Connections → Xero Payroll
Connection Status:
If your Organisation has not yet connected, or has logged out of Xero, you will see a 'Not Connected' tag, along with a "Connect to Xero button".
If your Organisation has connected, and has remained logged in, you will see "Connected", along with the Company File you are connected to.
Connecting to Xero
Click the Connect to Xero button (top right).
This initiates Xero’s authentication process, allowing you to select the Xero Organisation for access.
After authentication, you’ll return to the Xero Integrations page.
Notes:
If a user connects to Xero and sets up an active connection, other users with access to the Xero Payroll page can also use this connection (Assistant and System Admins).
This is true even if they do not have an account in Xero.
Xero's Payroll history will show the name of the user who created the connection that's being used to Sync.
Example:
Jane creates the connection to Xero Payroll.
Sam does a Sync using this connection
Xero's Payroll History will show Jane's name under 'User'.
See logging out if you want control syncs done via your Xero login.
Payroll Card & Setup
Once connected, you’ll see a Payroll card.
If you haven’t configured mappings yet, you’ll see a Setup button.
Selecting it opens the Payroll Setup sheet.
Payroll Setup includes two configuration sections:
1. Timesheet Mapping
Use this to map Synergy’s timesheet categories (e.g., Overtime Rate) to Xero Earnings Rates.
You can add as many mappings as you need.
If a Synergy category is not mapped, time that uses it will not sync.
Only hours from timesheet entries that use that category will be included.
Hours are sent to Xero as the total per day.
Timesheets are synced to Xero based on your timesheet approval settings in Total Synergy.
If timesheet approvals are enabled, only timesheets with an Approved status will be included in the sync.
If timesheet approvals are turned off, all submitted timesheets will be synced automatically as they are treated as approved by default.
You do not need to enable timesheet approvals in Total Synergy to use the Xero Payroll integration.
Example
A staff member records:
40 hours in the “Standard” category
5 hours in an “Overtime” category
If those categories are mapped to Xero’s Earnings Rates, Synergy will send 40 hours to the standard rate and 5 hours to the overtime rate.
2. Leave Mapping
Use this section to map Leave Types in Total Synergy to the corresponding Payroll Leave Categories in Xero.
Only leave recorded within timesheets will sync to Xero.
In Total Synergy, leave is recognised in a timesheet entry when:
Project = Internal
Stage = Leave
Task = Leave Type
These values identify the entry as leave and allow it to sync to the mapped leave category in Xero.
If you are using SynergyHR, leave entered through My Availability or Staff Availability will only sync once:
The leave request has been approved, and
the creation of the timesheet entry has occurred.
Once this occurs, the leave entry will follow the normal timesheet syncing process.
If Timesheet Approvals are ON
Leave will only sync once the timesheet status is Approved in Total Synergy.
If Timesheet Approvals are OFF
Leave will sync once the timesheet is included in a sync run.
Timesheet Syncing, Editing & Resyncing
Running a Timesheet Sync
To sync timesheets and leave from Total Synergy to Xero, select Preview and Run Sync.
When running a sync, you will be prompted to review the following:
Date Range
A date range will be selected a From and To date. This date range determines which timesheet hours and leave entries will be included in the sync. The date range will be updated based on the last date range you included in your sync.
The selected range would align with all of the timsheets you are expecting to process payroll for. For example:
Employees may submit weekly timesheets, but
Payroll may be processed monthly
In this case, you would select a monthly date range to capture all hours and leave entries within that payroll period.
Employee Filter (Pay Frequency)
You can also filter which employees are included in the sync using Pay Frequency.
Pay frequency values are pulled directly from Xero.
Each employee has a pay frequency assigned in their employee record in Xero.
Selecting a pay frequency will sync only the timesheets for employees assigned to that frequency.
For example:
Selecting 'Weekly' will sync timesheets only for employees linked to the weekly pay frequency.
Selecting 'Fortnightly' will sync timesheets only for employees linked to the fortnightly pay frequency.
If None is selected, no filter will be applied and timesheets for all employees within the selected date range will be synced.
When syncing timesheets from Total Synergy to Xero, employees are matched between the two systems using their email address.
A match will occur when either of the following email fields in Total Synergy matches the employee email recorded in Xero:
Primary Email in Total Synergy
Email 2 in Total Synergy
Only one of these email addresses needs to match the email address on the employee record in Xero for the employee’s timesheets to sync successfully.
Example
An employee may:
Use their work email to log in to Total Synergy, and
Receive their payslips to a personal email address stored in Xero.
In this case, the personal email address can be added to the Email 2 field in Total Synergy. When the system performs the sync, it will match the employee as long as either the Primary Email or Email 2 matches the email in Xero.
This flexibility allows employees to use one email for logging into Total Synergy while maintaining a different email address for payroll communications in Xero.
After a Sync
Once a sync is completed, timesheets from Total Synergy will be created in Xero as draft timesheets.
You can find these in Payroll → Timesheets in Xero.
Timesheets are not automatically included in a pay run.
Approving a timesheet in Total Synergy does not carry over to Xero. Approval must be completed separately in Xero by your payroll administrator.
Editing Entries & Resyncing
If you make changes to timesheets or leave after a sync, you can rerun a sync over the same date range.
Entries already processed in Xero cannot be updated.
Only updated or new entries will be synced.
Incorrect or missing mappings must be corrected before rerunning.
Editing Timesheets After Sync
If you need to make changes after a sync has occurred:
Edit the timesheet in Total Synergy.
Run the sync again for the same date range.
When you resync:
Any new or updated entries will be synced.
Existing draft timesheets in Xero will be overwritten with the updated information from Total Synergy.
After a Timesheet Is Approved in Xero
Once a timesheet has been approved in Xero:
It can no longer be updated via sync from Total Synergy.
Any further edits will not sync across, even if you run the sync again.
To avoid discrepancies, ensure all required edits are completed in Total Synergy before approving the timesheet in Xero.
Logging Out
Click the ellipsis ( ... ) menu at top right.
Click Logout.
Your connection status will now show "Not Connected".
No one else will be able to Sync.
Sync Options: Setup & Logs
From the … menu on the Payroll card, you can access:
Sync Setup – edit your mapping at any time
View Logs – see your full Sync History
Viewing Sync History
The Sync History provides a record of previous sync attempts between Total Synergy and Xero, allowing you to review the outcome of each sync.
The following information is displayed:
Type: The result of the sync (Error, Success, or Info).
Details: A brief summary of the sync result.
Updated By: The user who last ran the sync.
Timestamp: The date and time the sync was executed.
Sync Result Types
Error
No timesheets were successfully synced to Xero. The sync failed and errors must be reviewed and resolved before attempting the sync again. Download the log report to review the reasons why.
Success
All timesheets within the selected sync have successfully synced to Xero.
Info
A partial sync occurred. Some timesheets were successfully synced to Xero, while at least one timesheet failed to sync. You should review the sync details to identify and resolve any issues.
Reasons Entries May Not Sync (Most Common Issues)
Staff email mismatch (most common)
Synergy staff email must match exactly with the staff record in Xero Payroll.
We are looking to match the primary Synergy email as well as the Secondary Synergy email that are linked to staff members.
If not matched - all time/leave for that staff member is skipped.
Xero record already processed.
If a day (or leave entry) is already processed in Xero Payroll.
Synergy will not send updates to that day.
Customer must reverse the processed day in Xero to retry.
Mapping issues
Missing mapping.
Mapping made inactive in Synergy.
Mapping renamed or removed in Xero.
Xero category no longer valid.
In these cases, the affected time or leave entries are skipped until the mapping is fixed.
Unapproved entries (when approvals are on)
If approvals are enabled and an entry is not approved, it will be skipped.
Employees must have a calendar assigned to their profile in Xero. If no calendar is configured, their timesheets will not sync and an error will be returned in the sync log.