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Troubleshooting common Xero export errors

Lisa Kirby
  • Updated
This guide will list some of the common errors you may get when exporting to Xero, the possible causes and how to fix them.
 

Validation Exception Error

Possible Reasons

  • Leave names do not match between Deputy and Xero
  • Hire date is after the start of the pay period

Possible Solutions

  • Check leave items in the timesheets, and use this to match the leave name in Xero - they must match
  • If pay rates have been changed recently, re-sync the employee, or re-approve the timesheet
  • Check leave names in Deputy and edit them to match in Xero

 

Employees Not Found

Possible Reasons

  • Xero connection drop-out
  • Name/email of employee doesn't match between Xero and Deputy

Possible Solutions

  • Disconnect Xero and reconnect
  • check names and emails match exactly in Xero and Deputy.

 

Invalid Leave Period

Possible Reason

  • Xero pay calendar does not match the date range set in Deputy

Possible Solutions

  • Match the exported pay period between Deputy and Xero

 

Timesheet is not a Draft Timesheet

Possible Reasons

  • The timesheets have already been approved in Xero

Possible Solutions

  • In Xero, revert timesheets to "Draft" status

 

 

Timesheet already exists/Timesheet cannot be overwritten

Possible Reasons

  • Employee has submitted a timesheet in Xero

Possible Solutions

  • Decline the timesheet and revert it to 'Draft' status. Attempt to export the timesheet again

 

Pay Element not found

Possible reasons

  • The earnings rate configured in Xero is not correct.

Possible Solutions

  • In Xero, you will need to make sure that each employee has an Ordinary Earnings Rate (set on each employee's Employment tab). This earnings rate must be a pay rate with the Type "Ordinary Time Earnings" and the Rate Type "Rate per Unit". The Unit Type must be "Hours". If it is not, you will receive a "Pay Element Not Found" error when exporting.
 

Rates exported to Xero (from Deputy) are wrong, even AFTER re-syncing the employee and re-approving the timesheet

Possible Reasons

  • Employee is syncing to previous (discarded) employee profile in Xero

Possible Solutions

  • Turn off Auto-Sync
  • Check if there's a duplicate employee in Xero (check under history)
  • Check if employee shares an email in Xero with another employee
  • Contact Deputy Support, as we may need to edit settings in the backend

 

Superannuation Error

Possible Reasons

  • No superannuation in employee's template in Xero

Possible Solutions

  • Add superannuation in employee's pay template in Xero

 

Scope Not Recognised

Possible Reasons

  • Xero account is from a country we do not integrate with/support

Possible Solutions

  • We can only export to Xero instances from Australia, New Zealand, United States and United Kingdom

 

Export Failed - Xero Validation Exception Earnings Rate Does not Exist

Possible Solutions

  1. Check which team member(s) are causing the problem by exporting in small batches to isolate the problem

  2. Check pay template (check if Allowances items are set up as hourly)

  3. Check if the latest pay rates have been synced

  4. Sync team members, unapprove then reapprove.

 

Export Failed - Employee - happens when retrieving data of this Employee from Xero

Possible Solutions

  • Check base rate is assigned in the Employment and Pay Template tab and then export again.
  • Contact Support

 

Export Failed: Add Pay Items Failed

Possible Reasons

  • A Pay Item in Xero has not been allocated to an expense account. Read - Creating the Pay Items Earnings Rate in Xero for more information on setting up Pay Items in Xero.
  • This error will still occur even if the Pay Item is inactive so please check active and inactive Pay Items.

Possible Solutions

  • Ensure all Earnings Lines within Pay Items are allocated to the correct expense account. If this is a pay rate, it will usually be the main expense account used to pay employees.
  • For any Earnings Lines that are inactive and not allocated to an expense account, you will need to mark them as active, allocate an expense account and then mark them as inactive again before you try to export again.

 

No Payroll Calendar found

Possible Reasons

  • A valid Payroll calendar does not exist in Xero. 

  • The Payroll calendar is not assigned to the profiles of the staff in Xero. 

  • There are active Xero pay runs.

Possible Solutions

  • Check Payroll Calendar exists. This can be seen within settings > payroll settings > calendars.
  • The Payroll calendar that you're exporting for should have dates that match with the pay period (dates) that you're exporting Timesheets for in deputy.
  • Check that the Payroll calendar is assigned to the profiles of the staff in Xero. This can be seen by going to payroll > employees > select employee > employment > pay calendar. 
  • If there is an active pay run, please delete the pay run.

 

Employee Pay Template Error (US accounts only)

Currently, Deputy pulls ordinary rates from Xero. However, in the case of our award library, you can override Xero's pay rates in favour of Deputy's. There is a known issue where exporting Deputy's rates over Xero's will cause duplicate pay items, and thus, creates errors within Xero. Such errors include incorrect overtime rates and employees all being paid the same amount when different rates are to occur.

To fix this, log into Xero and edit the employee's pay template. Ensure that they are assigned the correct pay rules in the employee payment tab. In addition, if the user uses shift loading or period loading with a fixed hourly rate, these pay rules should be assigned to the employee's template (see image below).

fixed_employee_template.png

You will also need to modify and correct the employee ordinary rate within the employee's profile in Xero.

fixed_employee_template.png

Please note that if the employee template is not fixed, the hourly rate from that pay rule will inherit the existing pay item, causing every employee to have the same hourly rate.

This error exists only for our customers in the US. This will not affect Xero users in AU.

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