Failed to export into Xero. A contact with this name already exists.

Error message

Failed to export into Xero. A contact with this name already exists.

Cause

This error occurs when Payhawk attempts to create a contact in Xero for an employee who needs to be reimbursed, but a contact with a similar name already exists. The issue typically occurs due to slight differences in how the employee’s name is formatted between Payhawk and Xero.

For example, names, such as Alvaro and Álvaro (with and without an accent), are not treated as identical during the search process. When Payhawk searches for the employee in Xero, it returns no results because of the formatting difference. However, when Payhawk then attempts to create a new contact, Xero recognizes the similarity, returns an error, and cannot complete the export.

Solution

You can resolve this issue in one of the following ways:

• Match by email (recommended).

  1. Log in to your Xero account.

  2. Locate the employee’s contact record.

  3. Update the employee’s email address in Xero to match the exact email address set for the employee in Payhawk.

  4. Retry the export from Payhawk.

• Standardize the name format.

  1. Log in to your Xero account.

  2. Locate the employee’s contact record.

  3. Rename the employee in Xero to match the exact format used in Payhawk, including any special characters, accents, spacing, or capitalization.

  4. Retry the export from Payhawk.