The Xero Payroll UK integration lets you sync employee master data from Leapsome directly to your Xero Payroll organization. Leapsome acts as the source of truth: when employee details change in Leapsome, you can push those changes to Xero Payroll UK without re-entering data manually.
The integration is one-way — data flows from Leapsome to Xero. It covers personal information, home address, and employment details.
When to use the feature
Use this integration if your organization:
- Runs UK payroll in Xero and manages employees in Leapsome
- Wants to eliminate duplicate data entry when onboarding new hires, processing role changes, or updating employee details
- Needs to keep Xero Payroll up to date without leaving Leapsome
How to use the feature
Prerequisites
Before setting up the integration, make sure:
- You have the Manage integrations permission in Leapsome
- Your Xero organization has a UK Payroll license active (not just accounting)
- You have admin access to the relevant Xero organization
Setting up the integration
- Navigate to 'Settings' > 'Integrations and imports' > 'HRIS Integrations' > 'Outbound Provisioning'
- Select 'Xero' from the list of available integrations.
- Click 'Connect Xero account'.
- You will be redirected to Xero's authorization page. Select your Xero organization and approve the connection. If your account has multiple Xero organizations, you will be prompted to select one before completing the authorization.
- Once redirected back to Leapsome, the page shows 'Connected to [org name]' confirming the connection is active.
Configuring attribute mapping
After connecting, you can select which employee attributes sync to Xero. These are displayed in a single mapping table, with each Leapsome attribute shown alongside its corresponding target field in Xero Payroll UK.
Attributes include personal information such as name, date of birth, gender, home address, work email, phone number, and employment details. Some mappings are locked (indicated by the padlock icon) and cannot be changed; they are required by Xero. You can select or deselect the remaining individual attributes depending on what you want to keep in sync.
Syncing employee data
Once the integration is configured, use the 'Sync now' option to push the latest employee data from Leapsome to Xero. There is no automatic scheduled sync, each sync is triggered manually.
Disconnecting the integration
- Navigate to 'Settings' > 'Integrations and imports' > 'HRIS Integrations' > 'Outbound Provisioning'
- Open the Xero integration and click 'Revoke authorization'.
- In the confirmation modal, click 'Revoke authorization' to confirm.
Revoking authorization immediately stops all data sync to Xero Payroll. Leapsome removes all stored credentials. You can reconnect at any time by repeating the setup steps.
FAQs
1. Can I connect more than one Xero organization?
No. Each Leapsome account connects to one Xero organization at a time. If you have multiple organizations in Xero, you select which one to connect during setup.
2. Do I need to re-authenticate regularly?
Leapsome refreshes the connection automatically in the background. However, the connection can lapse after approximately 60 days of inactivity; the clock resets each time the integration is used. If the connection lapses, reconnect by going to 'Settings' > 'Integrations and imports' > 'HRIS Integrations' > 'Outbound Provisioning' > Xero and clicking 'Connect Xero account' again.
3. What happens if an employee exists in Leapsome but not in Xero?
This depends on your integration settings. If the 'Automatically create employees in Xero' option is enabled, Leapsome will create the employee record in Xero during the next sync, provided all required fields (such as first name, last name, date of birth, gender, and home address) are populated in Leapsome. If the option is disabled, only employees who are already matched in Xero will be updated.
4. Is the integration available for Xero regions outside the UK?
No. The integration is currently only available for Xero Payroll UK. Xero payroll APIs are region-specific, and the UK is the supported region at this time.
5. What if I disconnect and reconnect?
Reconnecting re-runs the authorization flow. Review your attribute mapping table after reconnecting to confirm your settings are still correct.