Yes. If you post payroll journals in your own accounting system (and are not using Microkeeper's built-in Accounting Export to Xero, MYOB, Reckon, etc.), you can pull the payroll detail you need with the Developer API and build your own export or GL file on your side.
Note: if we don't have your accounting system supported, contact our support team to see if it is on our roadmap
You do not need Microkeeper account codes, journal descriptions, or tracking categories. You apply your own general ledger mapping to the amounts and descriptions returned by the API.
Before starting, complete the Hello World tutorial and read Process and get payroll data via developer API especially the section Retrieving Payroll Data or a List of Payruns.
Use get_payroll to download completed payrun data in JSON.
Use get_payrun_list only if you need a lightweight list of payruns (dates and identifiers) without full payslip detail for example, to let a user pick a payrun before calling get_payroll.
Microkeeper's Accounting Export report is designed to push pre-mapped journal lines into connected accounting software. It stores GL accounts and tracking against pay types inside Microkeeper.
get_payroll returns the same underlying payroll information as payslips and payroll reports payments, expenses, deductions, tax, and net broken down line by line. Your application decides how to group amounts and which accounts to use.
Set the mk_action and mk_data variables.
| Variable name | Values and example |
| mk_action | get_payroll |
| mk_data | By payment date range (up to 365 days) { "start_date":"2025-07-01", "end_date":"2025-07-31" }By specific payrun(s) { "payrun_id":[{ "PCID":0, "year":2018, "run_id":48 }] }Optional limit to certain staff { "start_date":"2025-07-01", "end_date":"2025-07-31", "EmployeeID":["A111","A222"], "eusername":["john_smith"], "EID":[3,4] } |
Important
- Only payruns that have finished processing are returned. If a payrun is still calculating, the API will return an error until it is complete.
- Request the same pay cycle and date range you would use when running payroll in Microkeeper. For a single payrun, using payrun_id is often clearer than a wide date range.
The response contains one or more payruns under data runs. Each payrun has run_data (header) and payslips (one record per employee).
Use these fields for journal dating and references:
| Field | Typical use in your export |
| payment_date | Journal or payment date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| period_start / period_end | Pay period covered by the run |
| PCID, year, run_id | Unique payrun reference (e.g. in memo or batch ID) |
| period | weekly, fortnightly, semi-monthly, monthly |
| pay_cycle_title, abn, abn_name, abn_trading | Entity / pay cycle labelling (may be omitted on legacy accounts check before use) |
For GL mapping, most integrators work from the line lists on each payslip rather than only the payslip totals.
| List | What it contains | Fields commonly used for mapping |
| pay_list | Wages and other payments | note, value, hours, date, LID, ROID, JID, class, rate, mult, STP |
| exp_list | Employer expenses (e.g. super guarantee, salary sacrifice) | note, value, class (e.g. SUPER3 for employer SG) |
| ded_list | Employee deductions | note, value, class (e.g. FEES, GIVE, SUPER) |
note is the pay or deduction description (e.g. Basic Rate, Super-Job C, Union Fees). Map this together with class and cost centre IDs to your own accounts.
value is the dollar amount for that line.
LID, ROID, and JID are Microkeeper Location, Role, and Job IDs. Use them in your mapping rules, or resolve to names in Microkeeper (Jobs, Locations, etc.) if your export needs readable labels.
Refer to the Payments Classification Chart for payment class values returned on pay_list (e.g. Normal, Overtime, Allowance).
Each payslip also includes summary fields useful for balancing your journals:
| Field | Typical use |
| payment, expense, taxable | Reconcile to summed pay_list / exp_list |
| deduction | Reconcile to ded_list |
| tax | PAYG withholding for the employee sum across payslips for a run-level PAYG line if required |
| net | Net pay sum for a wages payable / bank clearing line |
| hours | Total hours for the period |
Employee identifiers eusername, EID, and EmployeeID are included if you need per-employee exports or to match staff in your system.
super_fund_detail fund name, ABN, and USI keyed by super_fund on each payslip.
leave_accrual leave accrued and balances for the payrun (if your reporting needs them). Standard accounting exports usually focus on pay_list, exp_list, ded_list, tax, and net.
Microkeeper returns data per employee per payrun. Your application typically:
1. Loops through each payrun in runs.
2. Uses run_data.payment_date (and optionally period_start / period_end) on every journal line.
3. Groups pay_list, exp_list, and ded_list lines by the combination you care about for example note + class + JID, or by employee if you export separately.
4. Sums value for each group and assigns your own GL accounts.
5. Adds run-level lines from summed tax (PAYG) and net (wages payable) if your chart of accounts expects them.
This is the same information you would review on payslips in Microkeeper; the API simply delivers it in a structured format for your software.
Processing payroll via API If you use add_payroll as well, remember that totals you send may differ from payslip totals after Microkeeper calculates super, leave, and other rules. Use get_payroll after processing for an accurate picture for export. See the note in the main payroll API guide under Response for add_payroll.
Super on add_payroll Do not send super as a payment when processing payroll; Microkeeper calculates it. When getting payroll, employer super appears on exp_list (often with class SUPER3).
Locked payruns Locked payruns cannot be reprocessed via add_payroll; get_payroll can still be used to read historical data.
Date range A single request can cover up to 365 days. For large employers, request one payrun or a narrow date range per call.
Process and get payroll data via developer API (full field reference for get_payroll)