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Shift Pay Rates

Learn how Admins and payroll users can map shift pay rates to Xero earnings pay items before syncing timesheets.

Written by Catalino Jr Basaka

For Admins, Managers, and payroll users: Use this article to map shift pay rates to Xero earnings pay items and resolve payroll sync issues.

Staff members should contact their manager or payroll administrator if they believe their pay rate or hours are incorrect.

Open Shift Pay Rates

Go to Finance > Shift Pay Rates.

This page is used to map Diversity Sync’d shift pay rates to matching Xero earnings pay items.

The page is grouped by employment or shift category, such as:

  • Training

  • Casual

  • Part Time

  • Full Time

Search for a pay rate

Use the Search pay rates field to quickly find a specific pay rate.

You can search by words such as:

  • Casual

  • Part Time

  • Full Time

  • Saturday

  • Overtime

  • Night

  • Public Holiday

This is helpful when the list is long.

Review the pay rate categories

Each section contains pay rates used for different shift types and employment types.

Examples include:

  • Casual - Loading

  • Casual - Overtime

  • Part Time - Saturday

  • Full Time - Night

  • Full Time - Overtime

Each row has a dropdown on the right where you select the matching Xero earnings pay item.

Select the matching Xero pay item

Open the dropdown beside the pay rate you want to map.

Select the correct Xero pay item from the list.

Example mappings:

Diversity Sync’d pay rate

Xero pay item

Casual - Loading

Ordinary Hours

Part Time - Saturday

Part Time Saturday Hours

Full Time - Night

Full Time Night Hours

Full Time - Saturday

Full Time Saturday Hours

Full Time - Overtime

Full Time Overtime Hours

If a pay rate is not used in your roster, it can remain as None.

Map only the pay rates you use

You do not need to map every row.

Only map the pay rates that are used by actual rostered shifts.

For example:

If a Part Time staff member works a Saturday shift, map Part Time - Saturday to a valid Xero pay item.

If a Full Time staff member works Night shifts, map Full Time - Night to a valid Xero pay item.

If a pay rate is left as None and the roster uses that pay rate, the timesheet sync may fail.

Check Xero pay items if a pay item is missing

Only create or change Xero pay items if you are authorised to manage payroll settings.

The dropdown only shows pay items available from the connected Xero organisation.

If the pay item you need is missing, create it in Xero before returning to Diversity Sync’d.

In Xero, go to:

Payroll > Payroll settings > Pay Items > Earnings

Create the required earning item, then return to Diversity Sync’d and refresh the Xero connection.

Common examples:

Pay item needed

Xero earning type

Part Time Saturday Hours

Ordinary Time Earnings

Full Time Night Hours

Ordinary Time Earnings

Full Time Overtime Hours

Overtime Earnings

Casual Overtime Hours

Overtime Earnings

Confirm the mapping before syncing timesheets

Before syncing timesheets, check that all used pay rates have a matching Xero pay item.

Before syncing timesheets, confirm:

  • The staff member has the correct employment type

  • The rostered shift type matches the mapped pay rate

  • The required pay rate is not set to None

  • The selected Xero pay item is active and valid for payroll

Once the mappings are correct, go to Finance > Timesheets and sync the timesheet.

Important Notes

  • Shift Pay Rates control how rostered hours are sent to Xero.

  • The dropdown values come from Xero Pay Items > Earnings.

  • Leave unused pay rates as None.

  • Map each used shift pay rate to a valid Xero earnings pay item.

  • Some pay items cannot be reused if the system shows Pay rate already assigned.

  • If a pay item is missing from the dropdown, create it in Xero first, then refresh the Xero connection in Diversity Sync’d.

  • Overtime may appear automatically based on the staff member’s employment setup and weekly ordinary hours threshold.

  • Shift pay rate mapping is separate from Allowance mapping.

Troubleshooting

Error: Missing Xero shift pay rate mapping

This means a rostered shift is using a pay rate that is not mapped to Xero.

Fix:

  1. Go to Finance > Shift Pay Rates.

  2. Find the matching employment type, such as Casual, Part Time, or Full Time.

  3. Find the shift type, such as Saturday, Night, or Overtime.

  4. Select the matching Xero pay item.

  5. Retry the timesheet sync.

Error: Pay rate already assigned

This means the selected Xero pay item is already being used by another pay rate row.

Fix:

  • Select a different Xero pay item, or

  • Create a new Xero pay item for that specific pay rate.

Example:

Use Part Time Saturday Hours for Part Time - Saturday instead of reusing Ordinary Hours.

The pay item does not appear in the dropdown

The pay item may not exist in Xero, or Diversity Sync’d has not refreshed the Xero data yet.

Fix:

  1. Create the pay item in Xero > Payroll settings > Pay Items > Earnings.

  2. Go to Finance > Xero in Diversity Sync’d.

  3. Refresh or reload the Xero connection.

  4. Return to Shift Pay Rates and check the dropdown again.

Timesheet sync still fails after mapping

Check the following:

  • The staff member is linked in Staff Mapping

  • The roster shift is inside the selected pay period

  • The staff member’s employment type matches the mapped section

  • Check whether any allowances used by the shift are correctly configured under Finance > Allowances.

  • The Xero employee has an Ordinary earnings rate assigned

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