WagelochUser Guides

Xero setup

5 min read

Xero setup

This guide helps you configure Xero for reliable Wageloch payroll exports.

  1. In Wageloch, open Settings > Payroll > Payroll Connection.
  2. In Stores, open the relevant site.
  3. Select Link to Xero.
  4. In the Xero pop-up, sign in and choose the correct organisation.
  5. Select Allow Access.
  6. Return to Wageloch and confirm the connection.

Export trigger

Wageloch and Xero do not sync automatically in the background. Exports send when you run the relevant action in Wageloch.

Disconnect and reconnect (if needed)

Use this when reauthorising access, changing organisations, or recovering from connection errors.

Disconnect in Wageloch

  1. Open Settings > Payroll > Payroll Connection.
  2. Open the store record.
  3. Select Unlink from Xero.
  4. Select Done.

Disconnect in Xero

  1. Sign in to Xero.
  2. Open the organisation menu and select Settings.
  3. Open Connected Apps.
  4. Find Wageloch and select Disconnect.
  5. Sign out and reconnect from Wageloch.

Tracking categories

Tracking categories are required for timesheet exports. Misconfigured or missing categories commonly cause mapping or export errors.

INFO

Leave types and superannuation cannot be allocated to a cost journal when using detailed tracking categories.

Basic category setup

Use this minimum setup if you only need standard timesheet export totals.

  1. Open Xero and sign in.
  2. Select the organisation menu and open Settings.
  3. Select Advanced Settings from the bottom of the screen.
  4. Select Tracking Categories.
  5. If no categories are present, select Add Tracking Category.
  6. Name this category Timesheets and add an option called All Hours.
  7. Select Save to finish.
  8. In Payroll Settings, set the Timesheets category to Timesheets.
  9. Save the change.

Detailed category setup

Use this when you need cost journalling by departments, roles, projects, or similar breakdowns.

For role and department alignment, see Departments and Roles.

  1. Open Settings > Advanced Settings > Tracking Categories.
  2. Add a category such as Departments, Job Codes, or Projects.
  3. Add options under that category for each value you need.
  4. Save the category.
  5. In Payroll Settings, set Timesheets to the category you created.
  6. Save the change.

Pay items

Wageloch maps timesheet columns to Xero pay items. For export compatibility, configure pay items with units set to hours.

Supported pay item styles commonly used with Wageloch:

  • Multiplier of Base Rate
  • Rate Per Unit

Xero limitation

Wageloch cannot write timesheet hours to fixed amount pay items. Use hour-based configurations.

Multiplier of Base Rate

Use this for penalty rates and similar variations of ordinary hours.

  1. In Xero, open Payroll Settings > Pay Items.
  2. Select Add > Ordinary Hours.
  3. Name the pay item (for example, Saturday 1.25x).
  4. Set type to Multiplier of Base Rate.
  5. Set units to Hours.
  6. Save the pay item.

Rate Per Unit

Use this for specific rates that should apply as per-unit values.

  1. In Payroll Settings > Pay Items, add an Ordinary Hours item.
  2. Name the pay item (for example, Supervisor).
  3. Set type to Rate Per Unit.
  4. Enter a rate, or leave blank if assigned in the employee template.
  5. Confirm units are Hours.
  6. Save the pay item.

Leave accrual consideration

Leave may not accrue correctly on some Rate Per Unit configurations. Validate your leave outcomes during testing.

Pay templates

In most setups, staff templates should include the expected ordinary-hours baseline and rely on mappings for additional hours types.

If your Award Setup and mappings are configured correctly, Wageloch will write hours to the mapped Xero items without manual adjustments every pay cycle.

Leave loading entitlement

Leave loading can be managed either in Xero or in Wageloch.

Managed in Xero

  1. In Xero, open Payroll > Employees.
  2. Open the relevant employee.
  3. Open the Taxes tab.
  4. Enable Eligible for leave loading.
  5. Save.

Managed in Wageloch

  1. Create a leave loading pay item in Xero (for example 0.175x as required).
  2. In Wageloch payroll mappings, map the leave loading column to that Xero pay item.
  3. Repeat for each relevant pay group.

Add leave accrual types for employees

To avoid payroll-day errors, add required default leave types when creating employee profiles.

  1. In Xero, open Payroll > Employees.
  2. Open the employee.
  3. Open the Leave tab.
  4. Select Add Default Leave Types.
  5. Review each leave type and save.

Use Assign Leave Type to add any additional leave categories needed for your business.

Validate the setup

  • Confirm the store is linked to the correct Xero organisation.
  • Confirm tracking categories are assigned in Payroll Settings.
  • Confirm required pay items are hour-based and mapped in Wageloch.
  • Run a small export test before your first live payroll.
  • If issues remain, continue to Xero troubleshooting.

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