Payroll Processing: Importing from a spreadsheet

Objectives:

Learn how to import payroll data, such as hours or other earnings like bonuses, tips, or reimbursements, using a spreadsheet.

What's in this article?

Instructions for how to import payroll data from a spreadsheet.

💡 Good to know: There are many ways to import payroll information into AllPay. Your AllPay should already be set up to import spreadsheets if that is your company's method for inputting payroll data, but if it isn't, then please get in touch with your Customer Service Representative to make sure your system is set up for importing a spreadsheet.

Please visit this article to learn more about other steps of the payroll process, including how to manually input data.

AllianceHCM tips: Keep an eye out for tips from our experts!

Importing payroll data from a spreadsheet

Before you get started, you’ll need to have a spreadsheet with all of the data you need to import saved off in a place where you can easily find it.

Let’s talk about your company’s payroll spreadsheets for a moment. Your AllPay will be configured to upload a spreadsheet that looks exactly the same payroll to payroll – that means it should always have the same columns in it. Exactly what data is in those columns will depend on your company’s needs and can be very basic or very complex. For example, the columns may include base rates, salaries, tips, job codes that are coded and paid differently, and more.

AllPay can be configured to import any type of spreadsheet, but if you ever need to make changes to your spreadsheet’s format, please contact AllianceHCM first. Let’s say you need to add another column for time worked in a new role that you just added to your company. You’ll need to ensure your AllPay environment is configured to map that data correctly before you try to import it for the first time.

When your spreadsheet is ready to go, log in to AllPay and choose Payroll Control from the Payroll module.

We’re going to be looking at a check that is already scheduled. If you need to know how to change a check date or add a check date, refer to the article for Payroll Processing Step 1: Starting payroll and adding batches.

Scroll down until you can click on Save & Verify Options.

Then, you’ll click on Start Payroll Now.

Once you’ve advanced to Step 2–Entry in Payroll Control, you’re ready to move on to importing your spreadsheet. Click on the tab for Time Import.

Once on the Time Import tab, choose the Import button.

This will open a small window where you can click on Choose File to choose your spreadsheet, and then you’ll click on the Begin Import button to begin uploading the spreadsheet and its data.

It may take a few moments for your spreadsheet to fully import, but you can watch the progress in your Recent Jobs window, which will pop up.

Once the spreadsheet has uploaded correctly with no errors, you’ll see a green checkmark and a notification that it’s done.

What happens if you don’t get the green checkmark, though? You can see here that this other spreadsheet was uploaded with a warning. Under the Action column, you can also see it identified 15 potential problems.

But don’t panic! A warning is just that: A warning. It may happen when something is imported but doesn’t match data in AllPay, such as when an employee’s social security number in the spreadsheet doesn’t match what’s listed as their social security number in AllPay. After you’ve imported a spreadsheet, you can still make adjustments to the data in AllPay. You can manually fix errors in AllPay, or you can delete the imported entries, fix the errors on the spreadsheet, and import again.

AllianceHCM tip: A warning doesn’t stop you from being able to move on and fix data problems later in AllPay. Importing is simply taking away the step for manually inputting data, and your imported data is not set in stone.

But back to our spreadsheet that was uploaded without any errors. You can check the import by clicking on Download Import Results. Open the results file and you’ll see a spreadsheet with the import results.

The first tab specifies any Interface Problems, such as errors and warnings.

The second tab, Imported Items, will show all imported data.

Back in AllPay, you can make any needed adjustments to data that wasn’t a part of your import. Then you can use the Batch Totals tab to check your data.

AllianceHCM tip: Using batch totals isn’t required, but it is a best practice that we recommend to all of our clients to ensure accurate data and more easily pinpoint where there may be discrepancies between your source of data and the data in AllPay.

For a refresher on how to use batch totals, please reference our guide for Payroll Processing Step 3: Using batch totals to check payroll information. After using the batch totals, you can run a pre-process register (see our guide for Payroll Processing Step 4: Running the pre-process register) and then you can close your payroll batch and submit payroll (see our guide for Payroll Processing Step 5: Closing a payroll batch and submitting payroll).

Again, if you need assistance on payroll basics in AllPay, you can refer to our Overview: Payroll Processing and Manual Entry.

And that’s it! Now you know how to process payroll by importing off a spreadsheet. As always, you can reach out to us if you have any questions by giving us a call at 281-875-1818. Your Customer Service Representative is also listed on your AllPay dashboard so you can reach out to them directly. We’re here to guide you through anything you need to use imports as a way to save you some time and effort with payroll processing.