Xero Payroll + MyHR integration (AUS)
How the Xero AU Payroll integration with MyHR works
Leave balances and leave requests
What the integration does
The integration between MyHR and Xero AU Payroll has been designed with 2 goals in mind:
- To cut down on duplicate data entry when new employees join your business and when employees apply for leave in MyHR.
- To provide employees and managers with the information and tools they need to request and approve leave without needing to log in to your payroll system.
For new employees
New employee records are automatically created in Xero AU Payroll when:
- A new employee e-signs their first employment contract in MyHR, or;
- A signed copy of their employment contract is manually uploaded to MyHR.
The employee information entered when the person was added MyHR, along with any relevant personal details the employee entered before signing, such as bank account and TFN, will be used to populate as many details as possible in Xero AU Payroll.
This establishes the link between MyHR and Xero AU Payroll for the employee that allows accurate and up-to-date leave balances from Xero to show in MyHR.
If you are not comfortable with an automatic link being established, the integration also allows you to choose to manually link new employee details from MyHR to Xero AU Payroll at any time.
For existing employees
For existing employees, the integration process will require the link between both MyHR and Xero AU Payroll to be established manually.
What data syncs
When a new employee is created, MyHR sends the following to Xero AU:
- Name, email, phone
- Date of birth, gender
- Address
- Job title
- Start date
- Employment type (full-time, part-time, casual)
- Hours of work
- Pay rate and pay type (salary or hourly)
- Tax file number
- Tax-free threshold claimed
- Bank account
Ongoing, MyHR sends approved leave requests to Xero and pulls leave balances back for employees to see in MyHR.
For ongoing employee detail updates, see Automatic data updates between MyHR and payrolls.
Connecting the integration
You'll need:
- In MyHR: Owner access, or Manager access with the Manage integrations permission
- In Xero: Admin access to the Xero AU organisation you want to connect
Make sure you're logged in to the correct Xero organisation before authorising — connecting to the wrong one requires a full disconnect and reconnect.
Step 1 — Open integrations
- Select the Settings cog (top-right corner)
- Select Settings, then click the Integrations tab
- Find Xero Payroll AU and select Get started
Step 2 — Authorise the connection
- Select Authorise MyHR to access Xero
- You'll be redirected to Xero — log in if prompted
- Select the correct Xero organisation and choose Allow access
- You'll be returned to MyHR
Step 3 — Configure your settings
Once connected, configure your integration settings:
- Payroll administrator — who receives integration notifications and error emails
- Automatic employee creation — whether new employees are pushed to Xero when they sign their agreement
- Automatic data updates (Push Updates) — see Automatic data updates between MyHR and payrolls
- Leave balance visibility — management only or self-service
Linking your people
After connecting, you'll need to link existing employee records between MyHR and Xero. For a full guide see Navigating integrations in MyHR.
- Select the Settings cog > Settings > Integrations > Xero AU > Manage
- In the Manage tab, profiles show with one of these statuses:
- Not linked — exists in one system but not connected to the other
- Connected — successfully linked
- Action required — data issue or sync error needs attention
- Excluded — manually excluded from the integration
- Select the ellipsis menu (..) next to a profile and choose 'Link to an existing payroll profile' or 'Link to an existing MyHR person'
- Select 'View details' to review a side-by-side comparison before confirming
Once a link is established, MyHR checks for any pending or future approved leave. If found, those leave entries need to be mapped to a payroll leave type before the leave sync activates.
Automatic data updates
MyHR can automatically push employee detail changes to Xero AU. Turn on Push Updates in your integration settings.
Fixed-term employment type: Changes to fixed-term won't update automatically — update directly in Xero.
Hours of work: Standalone changes to hours of work may not push reliably — check and update in Xero if needed.
See Automatic data updates between MyHR and payrolls for the full list of what gets sent.
Leave balances and leave requests
Once employees are linked, leave approved in MyHR is sent to Xero automatically and employees can see their balances in MyHR.
Always approve leave in MyHR, not directly in Xero. Leave created directly in Xero won't appear in MyHR.
To force a balance refresh, go to the person's Leave tab in their MyHR profile.
Known limitations
| Limitation | Detail |
|---|---|
| Fixed-term employment type | Won't update automatically via data push — update directly in Xero |
| Leave comment character limit | Truncated to 50 characters in Xero; full comment visible in MyHR |
| Multiple pay rates | Only the first/main rate updates via automatic push |
Support Options
If you need more help, our HR teams are always here for you! See Payroll integrations — FAQs and Troubleshooting for common issues.
AU - 02 7908 2240