For Admins, Managers, and payroll users: Use this article to map Diversity Sync’d staff members to the correct Xero employees before syncing timesheets.
Staff members should contact their manager or payroll administrator if they have questions about their pay, timesheet, or Xero employee record.
Important: Only create, change, disconnect, or sync staff mappings if you are authorised to manage payroll integrations.
Check your Xero organisation
Go to Finance > Xero.
Use the Organisation dropdown to select the Xero organisation you want to use for payroll syncing and pay rate assignment.
Available options may include:
None
One or more connected Xero organisations
Choose the correct organisation before mapping staff.
Open Staff Mapping
Go to Finance > Staff Mapping.
This page is used to link Diversity Sync staff to their matching Xero Australian Payroll employee.
The Staff Mapping page can:
Load payroll employees from connected Xero accounts
Match existing Diversity Sync staff to Xero employees
Create new Xero payroll employees when needed
Disconnect incorrect staff mappings
Sync mapping changes after review
Select the finance provider
In Step 1: Provider, choose Xero.
Xero is currently available for:
Australian Payroll employees
Timesheets
Leave
Pay calendars
MYOB and QuickBooks may appear as future options, but they are marked as Coming Soon.
After selecting Xero, the system will load the provider summary.
Review the Xero provider summary
After Xero loads, you will see a summary card showing:
Active staff in Diversity Sync
Xero employees from connected Xero accounts
Already linked staff
Staff to review
Use this summary to confirm the system is ready to map staff.
You can also use:
Change to select a different finance provider
Reload to refresh Xero employee data
Important: Check that the employee does not already exist in Xero before creating a new payroll employee. Duplicate employee records may affect payroll, leave, timesheets, and Xero syncs.
Review and match staff
Go to Step 2: Review & Match.
The table shows each staff member and their current Xero mapping.
Main columns include:
Staff
Xero employee
Status
Row actions
Common statuses include:
Linked: The staff member is already linked to a Xero employee
Review: The staff member needs checking
No match: No Xero employee has been selected yet
Disconnect: The existing mapping is marked for removal
Use the Filter staff search field to quickly find a staff member.
Important: Confirm the staff member’s name, email address, employment details, and Xero Payroll employee before saving. Do not map a staff member to another person’s Xero employee record.
Change or select a Xero employee
Click Change or Select beside a staff member.
A Select finance employee window will open.
Use the search field to find a Xero employee by name or email.
When selecting a Xero employee, check:
The employee name
Email address
Xero account
Match score, if shown
Whether the employee is marked as Already connected
Choose the correct Xero employee to link them with the Diversity Sync staff member.
Important: Check that the employee does not already exist in Xero before creating a new payroll employee. Duplicate employee records may affect payroll, leave, timesheets, and Xero syncs.
Disconnect an incorrect mapping
If a staff member is linked to the wrong Xero employee, open the row action menu and click Disconnect.
The row will update to show that the staff member is being disconnected.
Important: This change is not applied immediately.
The system will show an Unsaved changes message until you complete the final Sync step.
Only create a new Xero payroll employee when you have confirmed that the staff member does not already exist in the connected Xero organisation.
Create a new Xero payroll employee
Only create a new Xero payroll employee after confirming the staff member does not already exist in the connected Xero organisation.
Use Create in Xero when the staff member does not already exist in the Xero employee list.
In the Select finance employee window, choose the Xero account where the new employee should be created.
Before creating the employee, Diversity Sync must have the required staff details.
Required details may include:
First name
Last name
Email
Date of birth
Address line 1
City / suburb
State
Postcode
If required details are missing, click Save staff details and complete the missing fields.
Once the required details are saved, the Create in Xero button becomes available.
Review pending changes
Go to Step 3: Sync.
The system will show a summary of pending changes before they are applied.
The review summary may include:
Link
Disconnect
Create in Xero
Skipped
Review the Staff to sync list carefully.
Each row shows:
The Diversity Sync staff member
The Xero employee or action
Whether the staff member will be linked, disconnected, or created in Xero
Sync the changes
After reviewing the pending changes, click Sync to apply them.
This commits the staff mapping updates to your team.
Existing timesheets are not affected by staff mapping changes.
Before syncing, confirm the staff member is linked to the correct Xero employee, employment details are correct, and the selected pay calendar matches the payroll setup.
Important Notes
Staff mapping changes are not saved until you complete the Sync step.
Creating a new Xero employee only sends the staff details required to create the payroll person.
Pay calendar and earnings are completed in Xero.
If Create in Xero is unavailable, the staff member may already have a saved Xero payroll link.
To create a new Xero employee for someone who is already linked, first Disconnect the current mapping, then complete Sync.
If a staff member is missing required details, update and save their staff profile before creating them in Xero.
Multiple connected Xero accounts may appear. Always choose the correct Xero account before creating or linking employees.
Important: Do not change or disconnect a staff mapping if payroll has already been processed or finalised for the affected period. Follow your organisation’s payroll correction process instead.
Troubleshooting
If Xero employees are not loading:
Check that the correct Xero organisation is selected under Finance > Xero
Click Reload on the Staff Mapping provider summary
Confirm the Xero account is connected
Try searching by both name and email
If Create in Xero is disabled:
Check the warning message for missing required details
Add the missing staff details
Click Save staff details
Confirm a Xero account is selected
Check whether the staff member already has an existing Xero mapping
If the wrong employee is linked:
Open the row action menu
Click Disconnect
Go to Sync
Apply the disconnect
Return to Review & Match and select the correct employee
If changes are not appearing in Xero:
Confirm you completed the final Sync step
Reload the Xero employee list
Check the selected Xero organisation
Confirm the employee was created in the correct Xero account