Syncing errors can occur infrequently between Dext Payments and Xero, causing invoices, payments, or bank transactions to appear out of sync. This article explains what syncing errors are, why they happen, how they impact your records, and the steps you need to take to resolve them safely.

Important: Dext Payments is only available for Xero-integrated UK clients.

What a syncing error is

A syncing error happens when the payment information in Dext Payments and Xero becomes out of sync. While this is rare, it can result in differences such as:

An invoice marked as paid in Dext Payments but outstanding in Xero
Bank transactions shown in Xero that are not linked to the correct invoice

Syncing errors should be resolved as soon as possible to keep your bookkeeping accurate and prevent duplicate payments.

How syncing normally works between Dext Payments and Xero

When you process a payment through Dext Payments, the following actions happen automatically:

The invoice in Xero is automatically updated to show the payment.
A corresponding payment record is created in Xero.
A bank transaction is created in Xero via the bank feed once the payment has settled.

This process ensures invoices, payments, and bank transactions stay aligned between Dext and Xero.

Common causes of syncing errors

Syncing errors can occur in a small number of scenarios, usually when changes are made after a payment is created or when a sync is interrupted.

Scenario 1: Changes made in Xero after payment

A syncing error may occur if:

A payment linked to an invoice in Xero is manually deleted, and
The invoice is then voided or edited

In this situation:

The payment still appears on the bank statement
The invoice is no longer correctly linked to the payment in Xero

Another common cause is editing payments that were part of a batch payment in Xero. If you edit an individual payment within a batch, Xero will automatically:

Delete the original batch payment, and
Recreate it as a new payment with new payment IDs

In this situation:

Dext Payments may no longer be able to match the updated payments in Xero because it stores the original payment IDs.
This may result in a sync warning or error in Dext Payments.

Scenario 2: Payment processed but not created in Xero

In rare cases, a payment may be successfully processed through Dext Payments, but the corresponding payment record is not created in Xero.

This can happen due to:

Temporary synchronisation issues
Validation errors returned by Xero
Network or API interruptions at the time the payment run was created

In this situation, you may notice:

The payment appearing on the bank statement or bank feed
The invoice in Xero still showing as outstanding
A sync error or warning displayed in Dext Payments
Further payments temporarily blocked to prevent accidental double payments

Impact of syncing errors on your records

When a syncing error occurs:

The bank statement shows a completed payment
There is no matching payment or Spend Money transaction in Xero
The invoice balance in Xero may be incorrect
The invoice could be unintentionally included in another payment run if the issue is not resolved

How to resolve a syncing error

To restore accurate records and unblock payments, you need to reconcile the completed payment in Xero.

Record the payment against the original invoice

Open the affected invoice in Xero.
Manually record a payment against the invoice for the correct amount and date.
Once the records are corrected in Xero, you can acknowledge the sync warning in Dext Payments by clicking the Acknowledge button in Dext.

Alternatively, since the payment appears in the bank statement in Xero:

Use Find & Match to allocate the bank transaction to the correct invoice(s) if Xero does not match it automatically.
Once the records are corrected in Xero, you can acknowledge the sync warning in Dext Payments by clicking the Acknowledge button in Dext.