Import employee data and earnings

You can use the Spreadsheet Import wizard to import employee data from a spreadsheet file using Microsoft Excel files. You can use this method to add new employee records to a client record.
To import changes to the rates of employee payroll items, Federal W-4 allowances, or State W-4 allowances, select
Update employee information
in the Import type section of the Spreadsheet Import wizard. If you want to update other employee information, select
Setup
, then
Employees
.

Special considerations

Before importing employee information, you may need to set up the following:
  • Departments
    (if you use payroll departments for your client)
  • Locations
    (if you're importing multiple locations or location names that are different from the default Business location)
  • Banks
    (if you're importing direct deposit information)
  • Bank accounts
    (if you're importing earnings information)
  • Payroll items
    (if you're importing earnings information)
  • Accruable benefit items
    (if you're importing benefit hours)

Requirements for Excel spreadsheet formatting

  • The employee information that you import needs to match the information that exists for the client. For example, if the spreadsheet includes a payroll item for an employee, and that item doesn't exist for the client in Accounting CS, the application won't import that employee record into the client record.
  • The spreadsheet needs to contain an Employee ID column as the 1st column. The employee ID can't be longer than 11 characters and can only have capital letters and numbers.
  • The spreadsheet needs to have an Employee Last Name column.
  • If there's a Social Security Number column, format the numbers with the dashes:
    XXX-XX-XXXX
    .
  • There can't be any blank rows between employee records in the spreadsheet.
  • The spreadsheet can have extra rows and columns of information to ignore during the import process in the Spreadsheet Import wizard.

Select the source file

  1. Select
    File
    ,
    Import
    , then
    Spreadsheet
    .
  2. In the
    Source Data
    screen, select the client from the
    Client name
    field.
  3. Select
    Employees
    from the dropdown in the
    Data type
    field.
  4. In the Import File section, select
    Browse
    to go to the file, or enter the path and file name of the spreadsheet file to import.
  5. Select the worksheet in the spreadsheet file to import.
  6. Select the year you're importing data for.
  7. Select
    Next
    .

Map spreadsheet columns

  1. Select a template. If you saved mapping information from a prior import as a mapping template, you'll find that template in the
    Template
    dropdown.
  2. If the spreadsheet includes column headings or other rows of data you don't want to import, mark the checkbox in the Omit row column. The application won't validate or import data in that row.
  3. For each column, select the column heading in the grid, then select a mapping item from the dropdown in the
    Column <x>
    field earlier the grid. Refer to the following table for more information on certain mapping items:
    Mapping item
    Additional info
    Additional info 2
    Additional info 3
    Required?
    Employee ID
    N/A
    N/A
    N/A
    Yes
    Last Name
    N/A
    N/A
    N/A
    Yes
    Phone
    Business
    Fax
    Car
    Home
    Mobile
    Pager
    Other
    N/A
    N/A
    No
    Direct Deposit Allocation
    Routing Number
    Account Number
    Account Type
    Amount
    Percent
    Status
    N/A
    N/A
    Yes if Direct Deposit Allocation
    Yes if Direct Deposit Allocation
    Yes if Direct Deposit Allocation
    No
    No
    No
    State Allowance
    <State> or <Territory>
    Additional Amount
    Dependents
    Filing Status
    N/A
    No
    No
    No
    Accruable Benefits
    N/A
    Beginning Balance
    Allowance
    Carryover Maximum
    Available Limit
    Annual Limit
    Per Check
    Per Month
    Used
    Accrued
    N/A
    No
    No
    No
    No
    No
    No
    No
    No
    No
    No
    Pay Item Setup
    <Item> (includes all pay items set up for the client)
    Amount
    Regular Hours
    OT Amount
    OT Hours
    DT Amount
    DT Hours
    Rate
    GL Expense
    <Month>
    <Month>
    <Month>
    <Month>
    <Month>
    <Month>
    No
    No
    No
    No
    No
    No
    No
    No
    Deduction Item Setup
    <Item> (includes all deduction items set up for the client)
    Deduction Amount
    Rate
    GL Liability
    <Month>
    No
    No
    No
    Employer Contribution Item Setup
    <Item> (includes all employer contribution items set up for the client)
    Amount
    Rate
    GL Liability
    GL Expense
    <Month>
    No
    No
    No
    No
    FICS-SS
    Tax Amount
    GL Liability
    GL Expense
    <Month>
    N/A
    No
    No
    No
    FICA-MED
    Tax Amount
    GL Liability
    GL Expense
    <Month>
    N/A
    No
    No
    No
    EFRICA-SS
    Tax Amount
    GL Liability
    GL Expense
    <Month>
    N/A
    No
    No
    No
    ERFIA-MED
    Tax Amount
    GL Liability
    GL Expense
    <Month>
    N/A
    No
    No
    No
    FIT
    Tax Amount
    GL Liability
    GL Expense
    <Month>
    N/A
    No
    No
    No
    ERFUTA
    Tax Amount
    GL Liability
    GL Expense
    <Month>
    N/A
    No
    No
    No
    Withholding State
    N/A
    N/A
    N/A
    Yes, if importing earnings and taxes
    SIT
    Tax Amount
    GL Liability
    GL Expense
    <Month>
    N/A
    No
    No
    No
    Employee State Tax
    <State Tax> (includes all state taxes, based on the client/employee addresses
    Tax Amount
    GL Liability
    GL Expense
    <Month>
    No
    No
    No
    Employer State Tax
    <Employer State Tax> (includes all employer state taxes, based on the client/employee addresses)
    Tax Amount
    GL Liability
    GL Expense
    <Month>
    No
    No
    No
    Local Tax (Resident)
    Tax Amount
    GL Liability
    GL Expense
    <Month>
    N/A
    No
    No
    No
    Local Tax (Workplace)
    Tax Amount
    GL Liability
    GL Expense
    <Month>
    N/A
    No
    No
    No
    Ohio School District
    Tax Amount
    GL Liability
    GL Expense
    <Month>
    N/A
    No
    No
    No
    Employer Local Tax
    <Employer Local Tax> (includes all employer local taxes, based on the client/employee addresses)
    Tax Amount
    GL Liability
    GL Expense
    <Month>
    No
    No
    No
  4. After you've mapped all the columns you need, select
    Next
    .
  5. The application validates the spreadsheet data. If it finds any issues, it highlights the invalid items. If necessary, correct the data then select
    Next
    .

Column headings available for mapping

  • Employee Information:
    • Employee ID
    • First Name
    • Middle Name
    • Last Name
    • Suffix
    • SSN/EIN
    • Type
    • Address Line 1
    • Address Line 2
    • City
    • State
    • Zip
    • County
    • School District
    • Municipality
    • Phone
    • Email
    • Payroll Schedule (Primary)
    • Payroll Schedule (Alternate)
    • Hire Date
    • Last Raise Date
    • Inactive Date
    • Birth Date
    • Job Title
    • Gender
    • Marital Status
    • Race
    • Direct Deposit Allocation
    • W-4 Form Year
    • Fed Filing Status
    • Federal Two Jobs Total
    • Federal Claim dependents
    • Federal Other income
    • Federal Deductions
    • Fed Allowances
    • State Allowances
    • Accruable Benefits
  • Pay and Deduction items:
    • Pay Item Setup
    • Deduction Item Setup
    • Employer Contribution Item Setup
  • Taxes:
    • FICA-SS
    • FICA-MED
    • ERFICA-SS
    • ERFICA-MED
    • FIT
    • ERFUTA
    • Withholding State
    • SIT
    • Employee State Tax
    • Employer State Tax
    • Local Tax (Resident)
    • Local Tax (Workplace)
    • Ohio School District
    • Ohio Local Tax

Verify address information

If the application encountered any invalid addresses in the
Column Mappings
screen, it will open the
Address Mapping
screen and list all employees with address information that needs correcting. Use this screen to enter and look up correct address information.
  1. In the
    Lookup
    field, enter a city and state combination, separated by a comma, or enter a ZIP Code. The application looks up the information and enters valid information in the address fields. If multiple valid entries are available, the application populates the dropdown in the fields you need to select a valid entry for.
    Examples:
    • If you enter
      Dexter, MI
      in the
      Lookup
      field, the application enters 48130 in the
      ZIP
      field because that's the only valid ZIP Code for Dexter.
    • If you enter
      Ann Arbor, MI
      in the
      Lookup
      field, the application finds all ZIP Codes that apply to Ann Arbor — 48103, 48104, 48105, 48106, 48107, 48108, 48109, and 48113 — and lists those in the dropdown for the
      ZIP
      field.
    • If you enter
      48130
      in the
      Lookup
      field, the application finds all cities that use that ZIP Code — Dexter, Dover, Hudson Mills, Scio, and Webster — and lists those in the dropdown for the
      City
      field.
  2. Complete the remaining fields then select
    Update
    . If all address information for the selected employee is valid, the application marks the checkbox in the Valid column and moves to the next employee record.
  3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until you've validated all employee records.
  4. Select
    Next
    to continue with the import.

Select import options

In the
Import Options
screen, set the following options for how to import the spreadsheet data:
  • Bank account.
    Select the bank account to use when writing checks to the client's employees. The dropdown includes only active bank accounts set up in the
    Setup
    then
    Bank Accounts
    screen.
  • Journal.
    Select the journal to use when posting transactions for the client. The dropdown includes all journals set up for the client in the
    Setup
    then
    Journals
    screen.

Review import diagnostics

The
Data Analysis
screen shows a list of the information that will import from the spreadsheet and the analysis results for the data. If necessary, you can select
Back
to make changes to any of the mapping and options screens. To view a diagnostic report for any of the items listed, mark the checkbox next to that item, then select
Preview Selected
or
Print Selected
.
When you're happy with the data that will be imported, select
Finish
. The
Import Complete
screen displays a summary of the information imported from the spreadsheet. Review the information. Select
Print
for a report of the import results, or select
Close
to close the Spreadsheet Import wizard. If you're happy with the imported data, select
Finish
.

Sample spreadsheet file

The following sample spreadsheet file is available for you to download and review. The sample spreadsheet includes commonly used columns and sample data. You can change the formatting, column, and data to fit your needs. There are 4 worksheets in this sample spreadsheet:
  • Basic:
    example for importing basic employee information
  • Multiple location:
    example for importing multiple locations for each employee
  • Detailed:
    example for adding detailed payroll items for each employee
  • Training:
      example used for our training classes
Open the spreadsheet file, then save it to the location specified in the
Spreadsheet
field in the
Import Data
tab of the
Setup
,
File Locations
window.