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
- How the reconciliation flow works
- What appears in your Xero bank feed
- Method 1 — Automatic forwarding (recommended)
- Method 2 — Manual forwarding
- Method 3 — Download and upload
- Reconciling in Xero
- Frequently asked questions
How the reconciliation flow works
Each time a payment is settled to your bank account, pay.com.au:
- 1Settles the net amount (gross payment minus the package fee) to your nominated bank account at approximately 2pm Melbourne time
- 2Sends 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.
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:
Example — Plus Package
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross received | $10,000.00 |
| Package fee (1.8%) | $180.00 |
| GST on fee | $18.00 |
Example — Core Package
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross received | $10,000.00 |
| Package fee (1%) | $100.00 |
| GST on fee | $10.00 |
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
- 1Log in to Xero and go to Accounts > Purchase Overview
- 2Select Email bills to Xero (or navigate to Settings > Email to Xero)
-
3Copy 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
- 1Log in to pay.com.au and navigate to Get Paid
- 2Select Edit next to Settlement report recipients
- 3Add your Xero bills email address as a recipient
- 4Save
From this point, your daily settlement summary email — including all PDF tax receipts — will be forwarded to Xero automatically each evening.
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.
- 1Receive your daily settlement summary email at approximately 6pm Melbourne time
-
2Forward the email to your Xero bills email address (
yourbusiness@in.xero.com) - 3Xero 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.
- 1Open your daily settlement summary email
- 2Download the attached PDF tax receipts
- 3In Xero, go to Accounts > Purchase Overview > New Bill
- 4Upload the PDF and review the pre-filled details
- 5Approve 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
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.