For most NDIS and aged care organisations, payroll processing involves at least two separate systems: the rostering and timesheet system where hours are calculated, and the accounting or payroll platform where those hours are processed for payment. Re-entering data between systems is time-consuming, error-prone, and unnecessary. CareIQ's native Xero integration eliminates that duplication.
CareIQ connects to Xero via OAuth2, the same industry-standard authorisation protocol used by major financial applications. Setup requires an administrator with access to both CareIQ and the organisation's Xero account. From CareIQ's payroll settings, the administrator initiates the connection, is redirected to Xero to grant authorisation, and returns to CareIQ with the connection established. No API keys need to be manually copied, no developer configuration is required.
The configuration step that makes the integration operationally useful is earnings rate mapping. Xero uses "Earnings Rates" to categorise pay. CareIQ generates timesheet lines with SCHADS rate types: ordinary, afternoon penalty, night penalty, Saturday, Sunday, public holiday, and casual variations of each. For the export to work correctly, each CareIQ rate type must be mapped to the corresponding Xero Earnings Rate ID. Once the mapping is established, it persists for all future exports — you configure it once and it works for every subsequent payroll run.
The export workflow follows CareIQ's timesheet approval process. Only approved timesheets can be exported — draft timesheets cannot be pushed to Xero, preventing in-progress calculations from creating premature payroll entries. When an approved timesheet is exported, CareIQ sends the timesheet data to Xero using the Xero Payroll API. Each timesheet line — with its earnings rate, hours, and cost — is created as a Xero timesheet entry for the relevant employee. The export timestamp is recorded against each timesheet in CareIQ, providing a clear audit trail.
Beyond payroll, CareIQ's Xero integration also supports NDIS invoice export. Approved NDIS invoices generated in CareIQ can be pushed to Xero accounts receivable, creating invoice records against the relevant participant or plan manager as a Xero contact. For organisations that use Xero for both payroll and accounts receivable, the combination of CareIQ's SCHADS calculation engine and Xero export capability significantly reduces the accounting overhead of running a care business.
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