Once your staff are on award pay grades, a few steps get Xero Payroll paying them correctly.
How It Works
When you approve timesheets in Droppah, we send the hours straight to Xero so your staff get paid.
For that to work, two things need to be set up first:
Pay items - a spot in Xero for each type of pay in your award, like weekend rates or late night pay.
Ordinary rates - each person’s normal hourly rate, set the same in both Droppah and Xero.
The next two steps show you how to set both of these up.
Step 1: Set Up Your Pay Items
A pay item tells Xero what a line on someone’s payslip is for, like Saturday hours or late night pay. Your award needs its own pay item for each type of pay.
Go to Manage, then Pay Grades.
Click the ... menu top right and choose Xero Pay Items.
You’ll see a list of every rate from your award.
Tick the box at the top to select them all, then click Add to Xero.
Confirm when asked. Droppah creates them in Xero for you in a few seconds.
Already have pay items set up the way you want? Click Not Mapped next to a rate and choose the one you’d like to use instead.
Any rate left as Not Mapped won’t be able to send. If someone works hours under that rate, their time won’t go through until it’s set up.
Step 2: Check Each Person’s Rate in Xero
Go to People. If someone’s rate in Xero doesn’t match Droppah, you’ll see a note under their name saying so. Open them up and fix it so both match.
When you assign someone a pay grade, their rate fills in automatically on Droppah’s side. It’s then up to you to make sure the Xero Pay Rate box on their profile matches.
This box sits on their profile, and Droppah writes it into Xero for you as soon as you hit Save.
Open the person from People.
Scroll to Employment Details.
Check Xero Pay Rate against what Droppah pays, update it if it doesn’t match.
Click Save.
If you have casual staff, read this bit carefully. For casuals, the rate in Xero needs to be their base rate, with no loading added. Droppah adds the extra 25% itself when it sends their hours. If their rate in Xero already includes that loading, they’ll be paid it twice. Check every casual before you send your first week.
If someone’s on a salary in Xero, you don’t need to do anything, Droppah leaves their rate alone.
Step 3: Approve and Send
Go to Calendar, then Timesheets, and pick the week.
Click Approve.
Check the team and dates, then click Approve again.
You’ll see a message saying the timesheets are sending. This can take a few minutes for a busy week. When it’s done, you’ll either see everyone sent, or a list of anyone who didn’t go through and why.
What Lands in Xero
In Xero, go to Payroll, then Timesheets. Each person has a draft timesheet waiting. Check it over, then approve it like you normally would.
Always add and send hours through Droppah rather than adding them directly in Xero. This keeps the casual loading, award rates and pay items applying correctly.
Pay Periods
Droppah follows each person’s pay cycle in Xero automatically. You can approve one week at a time, even for staff paid fortnightly, their hours land in the right spot either way.
FAQ
How exactly does Droppah send pay to Xero?
How exactly does Droppah send pay to Xero?
Each hour worked is sent to the pay item that matches it. For example, a casual’s ordinary hours go to a pay item called something like Casual ordinary 125%, which already has their loading built in on the Xero side. You don’t need to remember these names, Droppah handles the matching for you once your pay items are set up.
Why can’t I use my old weekend pay items?
Why can’t I use my old weekend pay items?
If they’re a fixed dollar amount, Xero can’t build leave on them. You’ll see a message explaining it’s not a multiple of the ordinary rate. Use Add to Xero to create the right one instead.
Why do some rates show twice?
Why do some rates show twice?
Rates ending in “on overtime” are for overtime worked on a weekend or public holiday. Xero treats overtime differently for super and leave, so it needs its own pay item.
What does the casual loading mistake actually look like?
What does the casual loading mistake actually look like?
If a casual’s rate in Xero already has the loading built in, they get paid it twice:
| Rate in Xero | Xero pays per hour |
Correct: base rate | $26.44 | $33.05 |
Wrong: rate already includes loading | $33.05 | $41.31 |
Fix it by setting their Xero Pay Rate to the base rate, with no loading.
Why don’t I see wages split by work group in Xero anymore?
Why don’t I see wages split by work group in Xero anymore?
Once someone’s on an award pay grade, their hours go to Xero on their ordinary earnings rate instead. Keep your work group pay items set up anyway, they’re still used for anyone not on an award grade.
Why was my send rejected for a pay period?
Why was my send rejected for a pay period?
Xero only accepts a timesheet for the period right after a person’s last one, it won’t skip ahead. Make sure the first week you approve matches their current pay period in Xero (check Payroll, then Employees, then Next payment date).
A casual hasn’t worked in a while and their send is rejected
A casual hasn’t worked in a while and their send is rejected
If they skipped a full pay period, Xero has no timesheet for it. Add one in Xero for the missing period, then send again from Droppah.
Xero Payroll only accepts a new timesheet for the pay period straight after [name]’s last one
Xero Payroll only accepts a new timesheet for the pay period straight after [name]’s last one
Send their earlier pay period first, or add the missing timesheet in Xero. Then send again.
Not sent: one of [name]’s entries can’t be sent ([rate] isn’t linked to a Xero pay item)
Not sent: one of [name]’s entries can’t be sent ([rate] isn’t linked to a Xero pay item)
Go to Xero Pay Items and set up that rate. Then send again.
Still stuck? Message us through Support in Droppah.