Importing payroll data

Switching payroll software is easy with CSV import. Bring in employees in bulk, or migrate mid-year by importing your already-calculated pay runs.

Importing employees

1. Go to Payroll → Import payroll data.
2. Choose the client.
3. Set the mode to Employees (CSV).
4. Download the Employees CSV template.
5. Fill in the columns:

• first_name, last_name — required.
• email, ni_number, tax_code, pay_frequency — optional but recommended.
• pay_rate — the annual salary, required.

1. Upload the file and click Import payroll data.

Rows are added as payroll employees. Any rows with problems are listed so you can fix and re-upload just those.

Importing a pay run

If you are moving mid-year and want history to stay correct:

1. Choose the mode A pay run with calculated amounts (CSV).
2. Download the Pay run CSV template.
3. Fill in employee (must match an existing payroll employee's name), gross, tax, ni, pension, net and pay_date.
4. Upload — a new payroll run is created with those exact amounts, so historical figures are preserved rather than recomputed.

Column notes

• Header names are matched flexibly (for example ni_number or ni, pay_rate or salary).
• Amounts are accepted in pounds with decimals (e.g. 865.38).
• Only the first two columns and pay_rate (employees) or employee, gross, net (runs) are strictly required.

Related

• [Running payroll](/guides/running-payroll)