Who this is for
This guide is written for Owner, Admin and Finance.
Before you begin
- You have chosen Preflight in the Send to Xero window on the Timesheets screen. See Send approved timesheets to Xero.
- Xero Payroll is connected. If it is not, the window only says Connect Xero in Configuration to send timesheets. See Set up Xero Payroll.
Good practice
- Run Preflight a few days before the pay run, so held people can be fixed without time pressure.
- Fix a cause once and run Preflight again. One missing earnings rate can hold several people at the same time.
- Match new starters and map new pay items as soon as they are added, so they are never held.
- Check Period start and Period end before you decide something is wrong. A wrong period causes the Not aligned and No approved timesheets results.
Problems and fixes
A person shows Needs mapping and the reason is This staff member has no mapped Xero employee.
Why it happens: The person has not been matched to a Xero employee.
What to do: Choose Review Xero Payroll settings, match the person in the Mappings section and choose Save mappings. See Map staff to Xero employees. Then run Preflight again.
A person shows Needs mapping and the reason is The mapped Xero employee is not active, or is missing a payroll calendar. or The mapped Xero employee's payroll calendar could not be found.
Why it happens: The Xero employee matched to the person is no longer active in Xero, or has no payroll calendar there.
What to do: Check the person's employee record in Xero. Make sure it is active and has a payroll calendar. If they now have a different Xero employee, choose it under Review Xero Payroll settings and save. Then run Preflight again.
A person shows Needs mapping and the reason is No approved hours were found for this employee in the period.
Why it happens: BondiByte found no approved hours for the person in the dates you chose.
What to do: Check the person's approved timesheets for those dates and the dates in Period start and Period end. Then run Preflight again.
A person shows Needs mapping and the reason is One or more approved pay items have no mapped Xero earnings rate. A list under the table adds Item code followed by the item and has no mapped Xero earnings rate.
Why it happens: The person's hours include a pay item that has no Xero earnings rate.
What to do: Choose Review Xero Payroll settings or Review mappings, then map the named pay item. See Map earnings rates in Xero. Then run Preflight again.
A person shows Needs mapping and the reason says No default Xero earnings rate is configured.
Why it happens: No default earnings rate has been saved. The default rate is used for hours when Pay Levels is off.
What to do: Choose Review Xero Payroll settings, choose the Default earnings rate and choose Save. If the Mappings section says Pay Level setup is in progress. instead, finish the Pay Levels setup first. See Map earnings rates in Xero and Use the starter setup.
A person shows Needs mapping and the reason is Earnings rate followed by a name and cannot be used on Xero timesheets. Map this pay item to an ordinary or overtime earnings rate.
Why it happens: The Xero earnings rate chosen for the pay item, or the default rate, is a type Xero does not accept on timesheets, such as an allowance.
What to do: Choose an ordinary or overtime earnings rate instead, as the message says. See Map earnings rates in Xero.
A person shows Needs mapping and the reason is This timesheet's pay interpretation is unresolved. Review it before sending to Xero. The link says Review Pay Levels.
Why it happens: Pay Levels is on and the hours of the timesheet have no resolved pay. BondiByte cannot say which earnings rate they belong to.
What to do: Resolve the pay interpretation of the timesheet, or switch Pay Levels off to send hours to the default earnings rate. See Troubleshoot an unresolved interpretation.
A person shows Unresolved and the reason is Public holiday reference data does not cover part of this period. Review before sending to Xero.
Why it happens: BondiByte does not hold public holiday information for part of the period.
What to do: Contact BondiByte support and say which state or territory and which dates are affected. The person stays held until the information is in place.
A person shows Unresolved and the reason is A regional public holiday could not be confirmed for this period. Review before sending to Xero.
Why it happens: A day may be a public holiday in only part of the state, and BondiByte cannot confirm the person's region.
What to do: Contact BondiByte support and say which person and dates are affected.
A person shows Unresolved and the reason is A part-day public holiday could not be classified automatically for this period. Review before sending to Xero.
Why it happens: A shift crosses the start or end of a public holiday that applies to part of the day.
What to do: Contact BondiByte support and say which person and dates are affected.
A person shows Needs attention and the reason starts The selected period does not match one payroll calendar period for this employee.
Why it happens: The dates you chose do not match one pay period of the person's payroll calendar in Xero. The reason may add Nearest Xero period with two dates.
What to do: Use the dates it names in Period start and Period end, or choose Review payroll calendars in Configuration and follow the note there. See Map staff to Xero employees.
A person shows Needs attention and the reason is This period has only unit-based pay items, which Xero timesheets cannot carry. Add them in the Xero pay run.
Why it happens: Their approved time in the period is only pay items counted by the unit, such as sleepovers, and Xero timesheets carry hours only.
What to do: Add those items in the Xero pay run. There is nothing to fix in BondiByte.
A person shows Needs attention and the reason starts This staff member has no payroll jurisdiction on their effective contract for this period.
Why it happens: The person's contract for the period does not say which payroll jurisdiction applies.
What to do: Set the payroll jurisdiction on the staff contract, as the reason says. See Payroll jurisdiction. Then run Preflight again.
A person in Transfers for this period shows Needs attention and the message The Xero connection needs to be reconnected.
Why it happens: Xero no longer accepts the connection.
What to do: Choose Reconnect Xero under Configuration > Xero Payroll. See Set up Xero Payroll.
A note under the table says that one or more employees are on a payroll calendar in Xero that does not match this period.
Why it happens: The period you chose does not match one pay period of those employees' calendars in Xero.
What to do: Choose Review payroll calendars in Configuration. Each calendar shows Aligned or Not aligned, and a note says how to fix it.
A message above the results says The Xero connection needs to be reconnected. or This organisation is not connected to Xero.
Why it happens: The Xero connection has ended or Xero no longer accepts it.
What to do: Go to Configuration > Xero Payroll and choose Reconnect Xero or Connect Xero. See Set up Xero Payroll.
A message above the results says Xero is temporarily rate-limiting requests. Try again shortly. or Xero is temporarily unavailable.
Why it happens: Xero is busy or cannot be reached for a short while.
What to do: Wait a few minutes and choose Preflight again.
The results say No approved timesheets and No approved timesheets were found for this period.
Why it happens: No timesheet is approved in the dates you chose, or the dates are not the period you meant.
What to do: Check Period start and Period end, and approve any waiting timesheets. See Approve timesheets.
Everyone is held and the window says Nothing is ready to send. Fix the holds above and run Preflight again.
Why it happens: Every person in the period has a reason to fix.
What to do: Work through the reasons from the top. Often one fix clears several people, such as one earnings rate or one calendar. Then choose Preflight again.
A person I sent shows Failed in Transfers for this period.
Why it happens: Xero did not take their timesheet. Message says why.
What to do: Read Message and fix the cause where it says. If you cannot tell the cause, contact BondiByte support.
The link under a reason opens a page I cannot change.
Why it happens: Your role does not include the permission for that page, such as Can manage integrations for Xero Payroll.
What to do: Ask an Owner or Admin to make the change, or to add the permission to your role.