Overview

This article explains how RemotePass automatically syncs payroll data into Xero, grouped by operation type and worker classification.

How RemotePass Syncs Payroll to Xero

RemotePass automates the flow of payroll data to your accounting tool through three primary channels:

1. Worker Sync (Vendor Creation)

When a new worker is added on RemotePass, a corresponding vendor is created in Xero. If a matching vendor exists, you may map it instead.
Auto-sync option: If enabled, vendor creation/mapping occurs automatically upon worker creation.

2. Invoice Sync (Bills)

Applicable for all contractor payments and EOR payroll.
Each payment generates invoices, and a matching bills are posted in Xero under each vendor, line-by-line mapped to your selected GL accounts.

3. Payroll Journal Entries (DE only)

No invoice is created for Direct Employees. Instead, RemotePass automatically posts transactional data for DE as payroll journal entries in Xero.
Category & GL account mapping rules apply to journal entry line items.

Sync Type	Applies To (Worker Type)	Accounting Output
Vendor Sync	Contractors, EOR, DE	New or mapped vendor created in Xero
Invoice Sync	Contractors, EOR	Payroll invoices inserted as bills
Journal Entry Sync	Direct Employees (DE)	Journal entries posted automatically

RemotePass supports granular auto-sync options. You may enable or disable each sync type individually, any time.

Summary: Worker Types & Their Accounting Representation

Worker Type	Vendor	Invoices (under Bills)	Journal Entries
Contractors (Fixed, Milestone, PAYG)	Per Worker	✅	❌
Direct Employees (DE)	Per Worker	❌	✅
Employer of Record (EOR)	RemotePassEOR*	✅	❌
RemotePass Platform and Transaction Fees	RemotePass	✅	❌

* All EOR workers are mapped to RemotePassEOR vendor and per completed payment a single invoice is generated including all EOR worker line items.

How GL Account Mapping works?

Each line item in an invoice or a journal entry is tagged with a category, and each category must be mapped to a GL account in your accounting system. RemotePass payment categories are as follows:

Salary Payments
Adjustments (Bonus, Commission, VAT, Other)
Expenses (Airfare, Car rental, Event, Entertainment, Fuel, Transport, Internet, Lodging, Meals, Parking, Phone, Services, Supplies, Taxi, Other)
Other Fees (Transaction Fee, Service Fee, Withdrawal Fee)

1. Global GL Mapping

During setup, you must complete the global category-to-GL account mapping. This global configuration is:

Mandatory to enable invoice sync
Applied by default to all workers by default
Editable at any time (affects only future invoices)

2. Per-Worker Custom Mapping

Optionally, RemotePass allows you to override global mappings for specific workers to customize the mapping in a granular way.

Navigate to the worker mapping screen and click Customize
Assign unique GL accounts of your choice to any or all of the expense categories for that worker and save.
If custom mapping is enabled for a worker, global mappings will not apply to that worker’s invoices.
As all EOR workers are grouped under a single vendor (RemotePassEOR), GL account customization will be applied uniformly to all of them.

How RemotePass syncs invoices?

RemotePass generates invoices for Contractors (Fixed, Milestone, PAYG) and EOR workers after each payroll event.

Once the payment status transforms to PAID
These invoices are automatically inserted into your Xero account as bills,
Under Awaiting Payment status,
With each line item mapped to a specific GL account based on you configuration.

Example: Synced Invoices

For the transaction statement shared below, following invoices are created.
(Click to expand)

BT123456 - Sample Transaction Statement

Line Item Description	Amount
Contractor A - Salary June	€5,000
Contractor A - Salary July	€5,000
Contractor A - Withdrawal Fee	€18
Contractor A - Expense	€43
Contractor A - Addition	€250
Contractor B Salary	$12,000
Contractor B Expense	$123.00
EOR Employee X Salary	£15,000
EOR Employee X Bonus	£1,000
EOR Employee Y Salary	£16,000
EOR Employee Z Salary	£14,000
EOR Employee Z Expense	£118
Direct Employee K - Salary June	€6,500
Direct Employee K - Salary July	€6,500
Direct Employee K - Expense	€74
Direct Employee L - Salary	$5,200
Contractor A Subscription Fee	$100
Contractor B Subscription Fee	$50
EOR Employee X Subscription Fee	$200
EOR Employee Y Subscription Fee	$200
EOR Employee Z Subscription Fee	$200
Direct Employee K - Subscription Fee	$200
Direct Employee L - Subscription Fee	$100
Transaction Fee	$5

Invoice 1

Billed to Contractor A Vendor

Contractor A - Salary June	€5,000
Contractor A - Salary July	€5,000
Contractor A - Withdrawal Fee	€18.00
Contractor A - Expense	€43.00
Contractor A - Addition	€250.00
Total	€10,311

Invoice 2

Billed to Contractor B Vendor

Contractor B Salary	$12,000
Contractor B Expense	$123
Total	$12,123

Invoice 3

Billed to RemotePassEOR Vendor

EOR Employee X Salary	£15,000
EOR Employee X Bonus	£1,000
EOR Employee Y Salary	£16,000
EOR Employee Z Salary	£14,000
EOR Employee Z Expense	£118
Total	£46,118

Invoice 4

Billed to RemotePass Vendor

Contractor A Subscription Fee	$100
Contractor B Subscription Fee	$50
EOR Employee X Subscription Fee	$200
EOR Employee Y Subscription Fee	$200
EOR Employee Z Subscription Fee	$200
Direct Employee K - Subscription Fee	$200
Direct Employee L - Subscription Fee	$100
Total	$1,050

Invoice 5

Billed to RemotePass Vendor

Transaction Fee	$5
Total	$5

Changes to Mapping

Updating GL mappings (global or per worker) only affects future invoices
Past invoices are not retroactively updated
If a required GL account is missing during sync, the invoice will fail with an error

Common Errors

Invoice sync errors are displayed at the invoice level as "Failed" status with a description. Most common reasons and explanations are listed below:

Cause	Message Behavior
Missing GL account	GL account is not set for one of the line item categories inside the invoice
Vendor not found	Vendor mapping must be fixed to proceed
Currency error	When there is a bill different than a currency exists in Xero account or multi-currency is not enabled
Xero specific errors	Shown as received from Xero directly

How Payroll Journal Entries are Synced?

For Direct Employees (DE), RemotePass does not generate invoices. Instead, it automatically creates payroll journal entries in your Xero account.

Only DE workers has a contract with same currency with your Xero base currency can be synced. Xero doesn't support multi-currency or currency conversion for journal entries.
Only payments processed by RemotePass can be recorded as JE. External payments currently are not supported.
Each DE journal entry includes a detailed breakdown of the worker’s payroll items such as salary payments, expenses, additions based on GL account mapping.
Service and transaction fees regarding DE employees are reflected as separate bills via the RemotePass vendor.

Example: Synced Journal Entries

Let's assume your Xero Account base currency is Euro - €

For the transaction statement shared below, following invoices are created.
(Click to expand)

BT123456 - Sample Transaction Statement

Line Item Description	Amount
Contractor A - Salary June	€5,000
Contractor A - Salary July	€5,000
Contractor A - Withdrawal Fee	€18
Contractor A - Expense	€43
Contractor A - Addition	€250
Contractor B Salary	$12,000
Contractor B Expense	$123
EOR Employee X Salary	£15,000
EOR Employee X Bonus	£1,000
EOR Employee Y Salary	£16,000
EOR Employee Z Salary	£14,000
EOR Employee Z Expense	£118
Direct Employee K - Salary June	€6,500
Direct Employee K - Salary July	€6,500
Direct Employee K - Expense	€74
Direct Employee L - Salary	$5,200
Contractor A Subscription Fee	€100
Contractor B Subscription Fee	€50
EOR Employee X Subscription Fee	€200
EOR Employee Y Subscription Fee	€200
EOR Employee Z Subscription Fee	€200
Direct Employee K - Subscription Fee	€200
Direct Employee L - Subscription Fee	€100
Transaction Fee	€5

Journal Entry 1

For the Direct Employee K

Line Item	GL Account	Debit	Credit
Direct Employee K - Salary June	401 - Salary And Wages	€6,500
Direct Employee K - Salary July	401 - Salary And Wages	€6,500
Direct Employee K - Expense	405 - Other Expenses	€74
Amount Payable	777 - My Wages Payable		€18,274

Journal Entry 2*

Because the contract currency is USD, no journal entries would be created for the Direct Employee L.

Invoice Billed to RemotePass Vendor

Contractor A Subscription Fee	$100
Contractor B Subscription Fee	$50
EOR Employee X Subscription Fee	$200
EOR Employee Y Subscription Fee	$200
EOR Employee Z Subscription Fee	$200
Direct Employee K - Subscription Fee	$200
Direct Employee L - Subscription Fee	$100
Total	$1,050