Importing Employees from a XLSX or CSV file is a great way to get set up and running quickly.
Hint: it is also a handy way to perform bulk updates of employee data
The Import Employees feature can be found in the menu under the 'Add Employee' tab:
The best way to get started is by exporting the XLSX or CSV template file, adding data to it and then re-importing it. To export the template, click the 'Export' button and then click on the down arrow to choose an empty template, then choose whether you want to work with an XLSX or CSV Template.
This file contains the column headers for the import. You simply need to add a row for each employee that you wish to import.
Once you have finished editing the XLSX or CSV file, you can upload it by clicking the "Select File…" button.
Take note of the setting Automatically create missing locations. Selecting this means that any location names listed in the PrimaryLocation and Locations column in the import that are not already set up in the system, will automatically be created. If this setting is not selected, there will be an import error if there are location names contained in the import not already created in the system.
Once you select your file, click on "Confirm Upload" and the import will begin.
When the import is complete, the results will be displayed on the screen advising the status of each employee updated.
File Specification
There are quite a few fields in the file however they are broken into sections as shown below and not all sections need to be completed.
Core DataNOTE: either Income Tax Number or First Name+Surname+Date of birth must be present in the file to uniquely identify the employee |
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Income Tax Details |
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| Field Name | Data Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| EmployeeId | Number |
Must stay blank for new employees as the system will auto generate the next available unique number. N.B. If an external Id is used that has been used before you won't be able to save it if the 'unique external Id' setting is switched on. This setting is located on the Payroll settings > Advanced settings page. See here for more information. |
| Title | Drop down | Valid values: Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms, Dr |
| PreferredName | Text | |
| FirstName | Text | Mandatory field |
| MiddleName | Text | |
| Surname | Text | Mandatory field |
| DateOfBirth | Date | |
| Gender | Text |
Mandatory field Valid values: Male, Female |
| ExternalId | Text | Can be the Id of the employee in another system (eg: HR) |
| ResidentialAddressType | Drop down |
Options: Foreign address, Local C/O address, Local residential address |
| ResidentialBlockNumber | Text |
Only applicable if local residential or local C/O address type. Mandatory field for these address types |
| ResidentialLevelNumber | Number |
Only applicable if local residential or local C/O address type. Mandatory field if the ResidentialUnitNumber is entered |
| ResidentialUnitNumber | Number |
Only applicable if local residential or local C/O address type. Mandatory field if the ResidentialLevelNumber is entered |
| ResidentialStreetName | Text |
Only applicable if local residential or local C/O address type. Mandatory field for these address types |
| ResidentialAddressLine1 | Text | Only applicable if foreign address type. Mandatory field for this address type |
| ResidentialAddressLine2 | Text | Only applicable if foreign address type |
| ResidentialAddressLine3 | Text | Only applicable if foreign address type |
| ResidentialPostcode | Number | Mandatory field if local residential or local C/O address type |
| ResidentialCountry | Text | Only applicable if foreign address type. Mandatory field for this address type |
| PostalAddressType | Drop down | Options: Foreign address, Local C/O address, Local residential address |
| PostalBlockNumber | Text | Only applicable if local residential or local C/O address type. Mandatory field for these address types |
| PostalLevelNumber | Number |
Only applicable if local residential or local C/O address type. Mandatory field if the PostalUnitNumber is entered |
| PostalUnitNumber | Number |
Only applicable if local residential or local C/O address type. Mandatory field if the PostalLevelNumber is entered |
| PostalStreetName | Text |
Only applicable if local residential or local C/O address type. Mandatory field for these address types |
| PostalAddressLine1 | Text | Only applicable if foreign address type. Mandatory field for this address type |
| PostalAddressLine2 | Text | Only applicable if foreign address type |
| PostalAddressLine3 | Text | Only applicable if foreign address type |
| PostalPostcode | Number | Mandatory field if local residential or local C/O address type |
| PostalCountry | Text | Only applicable if foreign address type. Mandatory field for this address type |
| JobTitle | Text | |
| EmailAddress | Text | Mandatory field |
| HomePhone | Number | |
| WorkPhone | Number | |
| MobilePhone | Number | |
| StartDate | Date | Mandatory field |
| EndDate | Date | Date that employment was terminated (if employee has ceased employment) |
| AnniversaryDate | Date | eg: the date the employee received their qualifications |
| Tags | Text | Pipe (‘|’) separated list of tags associated with this employee |
| Field Name | Data Type | Notes |
| EmployingEntityCompanyRegistrationNumber | Number | You cannot change an employee's employing entity using this import file. Rather, you can find instructions on how to do this from here. You can set the employing entity for new employees |
| IncomeTaxNumber | Number | Mandatory field |
| EmploymentType | Drop down | Options: Full time / Part time |
| Nationality | Text | |
| MaritalStatus | Drop down | Options: Single / Divorced or Widowed / Married and spouse is working / Married and spouse is not working |
| EPFNumber | Number | |
| EISExempt | Drop down | Options: True / False |
| SOCSOType | Drop down | Options: Employment injury and invalidity scheme / Employment injury scheme |
| SSFWNumber | Number | |
| ResidenceStatus | Drop down | Options: Resident / Non resident |
| WorkerStatus | Drop down |
Options: Knowledge worker / Normal / Returning expert program |
| ResidenceType | Drop down |
Options: Malaysian / Non Malaysian / Permanent resident of Malaysia |
| PCBTaxBorne | Drop down |
Options: True / False |
| IdentityCardPassportNumber | Number |
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| DependentChildren | Number |
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| EPFContributionType | Drop down |
Options: Don't contribute / Member after Aug 1998 / Member before Aug 1998 |
Pay Run Setup |
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| Field Name | Data Type | Notes |
| PaySchedule | Drop down | Corresponds to the name of a Pay Schedule that you have already created. For example ‘Monthly’ |
| PrimaryPayCategory | Drop down | Corresponds to the name of a Pay Category that you have already created. For example ‘Full Time – Salary’ |
| PrimaryLocation | Drop down | Corresponds to the fully qualified name of a Location that you have already created. See below for details on Fully Qualified Locations. |
| PaySlipNotificationType | Drop down | Options: Email, SMS, Manual, None |
| Rate | Number | How much is the employee paid (may be specified as a ‘per Month’ or ‘per Annum’ value) |
| RateUnit | Drop down | Options: Hourly, Monthly, Annually, Daily |
| HoursPerWeek | Number | Standard number of hours per week for the employee |
| HoursPerDay | Number | Standard number of hours worked per day for the employee. Value cannot be '0' |
| AutomaticallyPayEmployee | Drop down |
Options: True / False Determines whether the employee's 'standard weekly hours' are automatically added as earnings lines to a new pay run |
| TieredLeaveAllowanceTemplate | Drop down | Name of the Tiered Leave Allowance Template to apply to this employee |
| LeaveTemplate | Drop down | Name of the Leave Allowance Template to apply to this employee |
| PayRateTemplate | Drop down | Name of the Pay Rate Template to apply to this employee |
| IsEnabledForTimesheets | Drop down | Valid values: Enabled, Disabled, EnabledForExceptions |
| Locations | Text | Pipe (‘|’) separated list of Fully Qualified Locations that this employee works at |
| WorkTypes | Text | Pipe (‘|’) separated list of Work Types to enable this employee to submit timesheets for |
Emergency Contacts |
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| Field Name | Data Type | Notes |
| EmergencyContact1_Name | Text | |
| EmergencyContact1_Relationship | Text | |
| EmergencyContact1_Address | Text | |
| EmergencyContact1_ContactNumber | Number | |
| EmergencyContact1_AlternateContactNumber | Number | |
| EmergencyContact2_Name | Text | |
| EmergencyContact2_Relationship | Text | |
| EmergencyContact2_Address | Text | |
| EmergencyContact2_ContactNumber | Number | |
| EmergencyContact2_AlternateContactNumber | Number | |
Bank Accounts
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| Field Name | Data Type | Notes |
| BankAccount1_AccountName | Text | |
| BankAccount1_BankSwift | Text | Up to 11 characters, validated to ensure number is valid and returns bank name for IRAS lodgement |
| BankAccount1_BranchCode | Text | 3-4 characters |
| BankAccount1_AccountNumber | Number | Up to 34 characters |
| BankAccount1_AllocatedPercentage | Number | Use 100 to nominate remaining balance |
| BankAccount1_FixedAmount | Number | Fixed dollar amount may be specified |
| BankAccount2_AccountName | Text | |
| BankAccount2_BankSwift | Text | Up to 11 characters, validated to ensure number is valid and returns bank name for IRAS lodgement |
| BankAccount2_BranchCode | Text | 3-4 characters |
| BankAccount2_AccountNumber | Number | Up to 34 characters |
| BankAccount2_AllocatedPercentage | Number | Use 100 to nominate remaining balance |
| BankAccount2_FixedAmount | Number | Fixed dollar amount may be specified |
| BankAccount3_AccountName | Text | |
| BankAccount3_BranchCode | Text | Up to 11 characters, validated to ensure number is valid and returns bank name for IRAS lodgement |
| BankAccount3_BankSwift | Text | 3-4 characters |
| BankAccount3_AccountNumber | Number | Up to 34 characters |
| BankAccount3_AllocatedPercentage | Number | Use 100 to nominate remaining balance |
| BankAccount3_FixedAmount | Number | Fixed dollar amount may be specified |
Miscellaneous |
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| Field Name | Data Type | Notes |
| RosteringNotificationChoices | Drop down | Options: Email, SMS, None |
| LeaveAccrualStartDateType | Text | Options: LeaveAccrualStartDateType, SpecifiedDate |
| LeaveYearStart | Date | A date should only be entered here if the LeaveAccrualStartDateType setting is set as 'SpecifiedDate'. Otherwise keep blank. |
Minimum Required Fields
To setup an employee to be processed in a pay run the following fields are required as a minimum:
- IncomeTaxNumber
- FirstName
- Surname
- DateOfBirth
- ResidentialAddressType
- ResidentialBlockNumber
- ResidentialLevelNumber
- ResidentialUnitNumber
- ResidentialStreetName
- PostalAddressType
- PostalBlockNumber
- PostalLevelNumber
- PostalUnitNumber
- PostalStreetName
- StartDate
- EmploymentType
- PaySchedule
- PrimaryPayCategory
- PrimaryLocation
- PaySlipNotificationType
- Rate
- RateUnit
- HoursPerWeek
- BankAccount1_SWIFT
- BankAccount1_AccountNumber
- BankAccount1_AccountName
- BankAccount1_AllocatedPercentage
Once an employee is set up in the system, import files may contain a smaller subset of fields but the following must always be included in order to be able to identify the employee to update:
EITHER:
- Income Tax Number
OR:
- First Name
- Surname
- Date of Birth
Fully Qualified Locations
Since locations may be nested, When importing from the CSV file, it is important to specify the Fully Qualified Location. For the following set of locations:
- All Offices
- Head Offices
- Sales
- Admin Offices
- HR
- Head Offices
The fully qualified location for ‘Sale’ would be All Offices / Head Offices / Sales
Deleting Data
If you want to use an import file to remove data from the employee records, in bulk, you'll need to use the value '(clear)' without the quotes in the appropriate field on your import file to remove it from the matching field on the employee record.
If you have any questions or feedback, please let us know via support@yourpayroll.io