Troubleshooting Common Xero Errors

Below are common errors that you might encounter when attempting to post a pay run or an ETI Utilised journal to Xero, as well as how to troubleshoot and resolve them:

“The LineAmount cannot be zero or empty”¶

This error occurs when there is a line item or account that has a 0 (or blank) value, which Xero does not allow. Note that the most common cause of this error is duplicate account mappings. Follow the steps below to find out which items have been duplicated:

View the Journal Summary (via the Send to Xero link) and confirm which line item/account has the R0 value.
Alternatively, go to Settings > Accounting > Accounting Integration and view the Pay Run Mapping page for the relevant integration. Check for any duplicate mappings, specifically between the Debit and Credit sides and correct them.

Please note: If you need to reconcile the accounts, you must do so in Xero.

“Account code ‘xyz’ has been archived, or has been deleted. Each line item must reference a valid account”¶

This error occurs when one or more items have been mapped to a Xero account which has been archived or deleted. Follow the below steps:

Go to Settings > Accounting > Accounting Integration and view the Pay Run Mapping page for the relevant integration.
Check for any items mapped to a deleted or archived Xero account.
Click on Update Chart of Accounts to update the Xero accounts and remap the affected items.

“Account code ‘xyz’ is not a valid code for this document”¶

The most common cause for this error is when a Xero account code has been changed, but the Chart of Accounts has not been updated on SimplePay. Follow the below steps:

Go to Settings > Accounting > Accounting Integration and view the Pay Run Mapping page for the relevant integration.
Check for any items mapped to an Xero account whose code has recently changed.
Click on Update Chart of Accounts to update the Xero accounts and remap the affected items.

“The document date cannot be before the period lock date”¶

The most common cause for this error is when the journal date is after the period lock date on Xero. This will need to be corrected on Xero. You can follow the steps on Xero’s Set up or remove lock dates help page.

“The document date cannot be before the end of year lock date”¶

The most common cause for this error is when the journal date is after the year lock date on Xero – this will need to be corrected on Xero. You can follow the steps on Xero’s Set up or remove lock dates help page.

”Please re-authenticate and select the 'company name' on the Xero confirmation screen.”¶

This error occurs when you try to re-authenticate with a different Xero organisation than the one with which the integration was set up. Try again and ensure that you select the correct Xero organisation.

In some cases, you may have created a new Xero organisation with the same name as the old Xero organisation, which often leads to confusion. Follow the steps below to correct this:

You will be unlinking the current organisation and creating a new link to the correct organisation. Therefore, go to Settings > Accounting > Accounting Integration, and take note of your mapping and configuration on the tabs below.
- Pay Run Mapping
- Submission Mapping (if applicable)
- Tracking Category Mapping (if applicable)
Go to Settings > Accounting > Accounting Integration, and click Disconnect from Xero.
Follow these steps to create a new Xero connection.