This article explains how to set up pay rates in Deputy for timesheet exports to Xero.

Before you read

• Target audience: This article is for users with  Location Manager or System Administrator access.
• Plan restrictions: This article is only for customers who purchased the "Rostering by Deputy with Xero" through their Xero subscription.

Note: Team members and Supervisors can't view or edit pay rates. Location Managers can view and edit pay rates for people they manage at their location. System Administrators can view and edit all pay rate information.

This article covers:

• How do I configure pay rates?
  • The add pay rates workflow
  • Team member profile
  • Alternative setup methods
• How do pay rates flow to Xero?

How do I configure pay rates?

You can set up pay rates for your team in several ways. Below, we cover the steps for both salaried and non-salaried team members, along with some alternate setup options.

The add pay  rates workflow

The Add pay rules workflow is the standard way to configure pay for non-salaried team members (full-time, part-time & casual). It shows your team member's current Xero pay template as a reference so you can match Deputy's settings to Xero without switching between tabs. To access this workflow:

1. Open the People tab.
2. Find the Pay Rates column on the right side of the team member list.
   • If you don't see the Pay Rates, click Display > Pay Rates.

3. Click Add pay rates next to the team member.

4. You can now configure your Deputy pay rate on the left to match the information in Xero on the right. Start by selecting the employment type from: 

   • Full-time,

   • Part-time,

   • Casual

     • If you choose Casual, remember to factor casual loading into the base rate you enter. This makes sure overtime and penalty rates are calculated correctly.

5. Select one of the following from the Pay rates dropdown:

   • Pay Rate Library awards: Deputy's pre-populated library of Australian Fair Work Awards. Select the relevant award (identified by award code in the dropdown—e.g., MA000004 for GRIA, the General Retail Industry Award), and Deputy handles pay calculations automatically based on the award's rules.

     • If you select this, you must also choose a Classification (level). Deputy then auto-populates the base rate.

   • Hourly rates:  standard hourly pay structures built using Pay Rate Builder, with configurable multipliers for overtime, weekends, and public holidays. These are designed to work correctly with Xero's leave accrual calculations.

   • Custom rates: any pay rates you've built yourself in Pay Rate Builder. These appear at the top of the dropdown. See [Pay Rate Builder] for how to create your own.

6. Click View all rates and allowances to see every calculated rate for the selection.

   • For awards, this shows the full breakdown across all pay conditions, such as weekday, Saturday, Sunday, public holidays, overtime tiers, allowances, and any other components defined by the award. There can be many lines depending on the award's complexity.

   • For hourly rates, this shows the weekday, Saturday, Sunday, and public holiday rates.

7. Compare what you've configured on the left panel with the Xero pay template on the right. The reference panel shows the team member's current earnings rates in Xero, so you can verify that the rates align. The panel is read-only, and you can't edit Xero data from here.

8. Click Save. The pay rate is now stored in Deputy to calculate scheduling and timesheet costs.

Note: If these standard options don't fit your needs, click Customise this rate below the dropdown to open the Pay Rate Builder. Here you can adjust multipliers or build a rate structure from scratch.

Team member profile

The Team member profile method is another way to access and edit a team member's pay details. It's important to know that this is the only way to set an employee's salary.

To set up a salaried team member:

1. Go to the People tab and click the team member's name.
2. Select Employment from the left-hand menu and click Edit.
3. Select Salary from the Pay rate drop-down menu in the Pay Details section.
4. Enter the annual or weekly salary amount. There's also an option to allocate the salary cost across the team members' scheduled hours and areas, or to fixed areas for specific days of the week. This affects how salary costs appear in scheduling budgets and not how the team member is paid.
5. Click Save.

See [Edit team member employment details] for more information, including how to set up non-salaried team members via this method

Alternative setup methods

The above methods are encouraged for ease of use and clarity. However, you can also use these options to change pay rates:

• Bulk action: Select multiple team members on the People page, click the Bulk actions dropdown, then Set rates. This is useful when you want to put multiple team members on the same pay rate and classification. Do not use this if you use Pay by Area, because it'll overwrite that configuration.

• Bulk file import: Import pay rate data for multiple team members at once through a file upload. See import pay rates via flatfile.

How do pay rates flow to Xero?

Pay rates configured in Deputy are used to create or match earnings rates in Xero when timesheets are exported. The rates saved in Deputy do not appear in Xero immediately. Instead, when you export a timesheet for a team member for the first time, Deputy checks Xero for a matching earnings rate. If a matching rate does not exist, Deputy automatically creates a new earnings rate in Xero that matches the pay rate configured in Deputy.

After that first export, the earnings rates exist in both systems. Subsequent exports match to the existing earnings rates in Xero.

Important rules for Xero syncing:

• Do not rename earnings rates in Xero: If you change the name of an earnings rate in Xero that Deputy created, the system will not recognise it. This causes Deputy to create duplicate earnings rates during the next export.
  • If you need to change an earnings rate name in Xero, you can update the export code in Deputy to match, but that adds complexity you're better off avoiding.
• Updates: If you need to change a rate, edit it in Deputy. The updated data will flow to Xero during your next timesheet export.

Related articles

• Import your team members to Deputy from Xero (for "Rostering by Deputy with Xero")
• Timesheet export guide (for "Rostering by Deputy with Xero")
• Introduction to Pay Rate Builder