When you receive payments through Get Paid, pay.com.au automatically generates a tax receipt (PDF) for each settled transaction. This article explains how to use those receipts to reconcile your incoming payments in Xero.

Contents

1. How the reconciliation flow works

2. What appears in your Xero bank feed

3. Method 1 - Automatic forwarding (recommended)

4. Method 2 - Manual forwarding

5. Method 3 - Download and upload

6. Reconciling in Xero

7. Frequently asked questions

How the reconciliation flow works

Each time a payment is settled to your bank account, pay.com.au:

1. Settles the net amount (gross payment minus the package fee) to your nominated bank account at approximately 2pm Melbourne time

2. Sends your daily settlement summary email at approximately 6pm Melbourne time - with an individual PDF tax receipt attached for each settled transaction.

The tax receipt records the gross amount received, the package fee charged, the GST on the fee, and the net amount settled. This gives Xero everything it needs to account for the fee correctly.

Important: Your bank feed in Xero will show the net amount for each transaction - not the gross amount your customer paid. The tax receipt is what allows you to reconcile the difference and account for the fee.

What appears in your Xero bank feed

Here is an example of what you will see for a single payment:

Your Xero bank feed will show $9,802.00 (or $9,890.00 for Core). The tax receipt allows you to record the $180.00 fee (plus $18.00 GST) as a separate bill in Xero, so your accounts reflect the full transaction correctly.

Method 1 - Automatic forwarding (recommended)

The easiest way to reconcile is to set up automatic forwarding of your settlement summary emails directly to Xero. Once configured, tax receipts will be sent to Xero automatically every day - no manual action required.

Step 1 - Find your Xero bills email address

1. Log in to Xero and go to Accounts > Purchase Overview

2. Select Email bills to Xero (or navigate to Settings > Email to Xero)

3. Copy your unique Xero bills email address (it will look something like yourbusiness@in.xero.com)

For detailed guidance, refer to Xero Central — Email bills to Xero.

Step 2 - Add your Xero address to Get Paid

1. Log in to pay.com.au and navigate to Get Paid

2. Select Edit next to Settlement report recipients

3. Add your Xero bills email address as a recipient

4. Save

From this point, your daily settlement summary email - including all PDF tax receipts - will be forwarded to Xero automatically each evening.

Tip: You can add multiple email addresses to your settlement report recipients. Your own email address and your Xero forwarding address can both be included.

Method 2 - Manual forwarding

If you prefer to forward receipts selectively, you can forward individual settlement summary emails to your Xero bills address manually.

1. Receive your daily settlement summary email at approximately 6pm Melbourne time

2. Forward the email to your Xero bills email address (yourbusiness@in.xero.com)

3. Xero will import the attached PDF tax receipts as draft bills

This method gives you more control but requires a manual action each day that you receive payments.

Method 3 - Download and upload

If you prefer not to use email forwarding, you can download individual tax receipts from your settlement summary email and upload them to Xero manually.

1. Open your daily settlement summary email

2. Download the attached PDF tax receipts

3. In Xero, go to Accounts > Purchase Overview > New Bill

4. Upload the PDF and review the pre-filled details

5. Approve and save the bill

This method is suitable if you receive payments infrequently, or if you want to review each receipt before it enters Xero.

Reconciling in Xero

Once your tax receipts are in Xero (via any of the three methods above), follow these steps to reconcile each payment:

Step 1 - Review the draft bill in Xero

Navigate to Accounts > Purchase Overview > Drafts. You should see a draft bill for each tax receipt imported. Review and confirm:

• Supplier: pay.com.au

• Amount: the package fee amount (e.g. $180.00)

• GST: the GST on the fee (e.g. $18.00)

• Reference: the transaction reference from the receipt

Approve the bill when confirmed.

Step 2 - Reconcile the bank feed entry

Navigate to Accounts > Bank Accounts and select the account you use as your settlement account. Find the incoming transaction for the net amount settled (e.g. $9,802.00).

Reconcile this bank feed entry by splitting it into two parts:

• Revenue line: the gross amount your customer paid (e.g. $10,000.00) — coded to your relevant income account

• Expense line: the package fee plus GST as a negative (e.g. -$198.00) — coded to your bank charges or payment processing expense account

Note: The exact account codes to use will depend on your chart of accounts. If you are unsure how to code the fee, consult your accountant.

Step 3 - Match to the approved bill

Match the expense line to the approved pay.com.au bill you created in Step 1. This ensures the fee is recorded as a payable and your accounts balance correctly.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my bank feed show a different amount to what my customer paid?

Your bank feed shows the net amount — the gross payment minus the package fee. For example, if your customer paid $10,000 and you are on the Plus package (1.8% fee + GST), your bank feed will show $9,802.00. The tax receipt accounts for the $198.00 difference.

What if I miss a day's settlement summary email?

You can view and download all incoming transactions and their details directly in pay.com.au under Payments > Incoming transactions. Contact support if you need a receipt reissued.

Can I set up automatic reconciliation between pay.com.au and Xero?

Automatic reconciliation (direct Xero sync) is not available in the current version of Get Paid. Automatic email forwarding (Method 1 above) is the closest equivalent and eliminates most of the manual effort. Direct Xero integration is on our product roadmap.

What if a payment bounces after it has been settled?

If a settlement bounces, you will receive a bounced settlement email. Contact support — the team will work with you to reattempt settlement. If you have already reconciled the transaction in Xero, you may need to reverse the entries. Speak to your accountant if you are unsure how to handle this.

Do I receive one tax receipt per payment or one per day?

You receive one individual PDF tax receipt per settled payment, all attached to the one daily settlement summary email. If you received three payments in a day, you will have three PDF attachments in that evening's email.

What GST rate is applied to the package fee?

GST of 10% applies to the package fee. This is itemised on each tax receipt.

Who is the supplier on the tax receipt?

The supplier is pay.com.au. Code all pay.com.au tax receipts to a bank charges or payment processing expense account in Xero.