Running a pay run with Xero

End-to-end walkthrough — from period selection through to Xero pay-run reconciliation.

Written By Chris Germon

Last updated About 1 month ago

Before you start

  • Your Xero organisation is connected (Payroll → Payroll settings → Xero) and the connection status reads Connected.
  • Timesheets for the period are submitted and approved — outstanding timesheets surface a warning at preview.
  • Every staff in the pay run has a Xero employee mapping (Optiq syncs this automatically when staff are created with bank/super details).

Steps

  1. Go to Payroll → Pay runs.
  2. Click New pay run. Select the pay cycle and confirm the period.
  3. Review the staff list. If anyone is missing, check they're assigned to the pay cycle in their staff profile.
  4. Open the Preview tab. Read the warnings carefully — common ones include missing super fund, missing bank details, and rates outside the award range.
  5. If everything is clean, click Process. Optiq pushes timesheets + leave to Xero, then triggers Xero's pay run.
  6. Once Xero finalises, statuses update back to Optiq automatically.

Common issues

If a staff member fails to sync, open them from the pay run preview and you'll see the specific Xero error inline.