Import and Export Items for Multiple Pay Runs

Before You Begin: This topic covers how to run an import and export for multiple pay runs and pay groups (that is, to run a global import). To run imports and exports for individual pay runs, you need to work in the Pay Run Management tab. The basic functionality for importing and exporting in the Data Entry and Pay Run Management tabs is the same. See Import and Export Items to Individual Pay Runs.

In the Quick Entry, Adjustments, Checks, and (for Canadian pay groups only) ROE sub-tabs of the Data Entry tab in Payroll, the application provides functionality for importing items to and exporting items from multiple pay runs and pay groups. You can also view the status of imports and filter quick entries from specific imports. You can import data for the following pay runs of the pay groups to which you have access:

The current pay run that is open
The next scheduled pay run
Off-cycle pay runs that are open and associated with the current and next pay runs of a pay group

If you have a large number of items, instead of manually entering them into Payroll, you can create records outside of the application using a CSV (comma-separated values) file. You can then import the CSV file into Dayforce to load those records.

For example, you have a list of all employee quarterly bonuses that you want to enter into Dayforce. The list of bonuses currently exists in a spreadsheet and would take a considerable amount of time to manually add into the Quick Entry sub-tab. Or, each week you receive a list of amounts that are reimbursed to employees to cover expenses. Again, as with the list of bonuses, the reimbursements are in a spreadsheet. In both cases, instead of manually adding each record, you can import this information into the application.

When you run an import or export, it is for the specific sub-tab you are working in. For example, if you are running the import in the Quick Entry sub-tab, the import file can only include quick entry records and cannot include adjustment or check records.

For more information about importing and exporting items for multiple pay runs, see the following topics:

Create an Import File

In the Quick Entry, Checks, and Adjustments sub-tabs, you can create a file that you can use as a template for importing each type of item. The application generates the file in the CSV format, which you can open in Microsoft Excel. When you download the template file, it is named Data Entries Import Template by default but you can rename it. You can generate an import template as many times as needed. The benefit of generating a template is that it contains all of the correct names of the column headers, and it is in the correct file format.

To create and download an import template:

Go to Payroll and click the Data Entry tab.
Click the Quick Entry, Adjustments, or Checks sub-tab.
Click Import and select Create Import Template:
Follow the browser prompt to download the template file. You don’t need to add the extension .csv to the name of the file.

Note: When you save changes to the template file, make sure that it remains in the CSV format. Dayforce cannot import files in Excel format.

Each template file is described in the topics that follow.

Quick Entry File

In the template file that you generate from the Quick Entry sub-tab, the top row always includes all columns. You can delete optional columns that you don’t need to use in your import. However, some columns such as Code are mandatory for an import. The Saved At and Saved By columns aren’t included in the template, because these aren’t relevant for importing or exporting data. The following is an excerpt from an import template:

Import template spreadsheet.

In the template, you can add the quick entries you want to import. You can either type quick entry records directly into the file or copy records from another source into the file.

Create the import file by providing appropriate values in the columns, following the template. You must save the file as a CSV file (and not in Excel format). After you create the import file, you can import it to load the quick entries.

You can import files with a blank Pay Run column or without this column. When you don’t include a pay run value, Dayforce imports the item for the current open pay run by default. When you include a pay run value for an item, it must be for the following pay runs:

the current pay run that is open
the next scheduled pay run
off-cycle pay runs that are open and associated with the current and next pay runs of a pay group

If a pay item isn’t part of the above pay runs, Dayforce rejects the individual entry.

To add an entry to a specific pay run, you must use the following format in the Pay Run column of the CSV file. You must include the pay group name and pay period number and suffix, as follows:

As an example, consider the user is importing a quick entry for pay period number 12 -00 for the CAD Semi-Monthly pay group. As a result, the user enters CAD Semi-Monthly - 12 - 00 below the Pay Run column for the quick entry.

When importing quick entry records you can specify the same quick entry shortcuts in the Rate column of the CSV import template as you can in the Quick Entry sub-tab. You can use the following in the Rate column: J to use the employee’s Job Rate, B for Base Rate, V for Vacation Rate, O for Average OT Rate, and A for Alternate Rate.

When recording quick entries in the CSV file you need to specify 0 in the Rate column to record an earning that is just a dollar amount, such as a bonus or commission payment (instead of leaving it blank as you can in the application itself).

Checks File

The template file that you download from the Checks sub-tab contains the headings for the column names of both header and details records. All available columns are included in the template. You can delete optional columns that you don’t need to use in your import. However, some columns such as Code are mandatory for an import. The Saved At and Saved By columns aren’t included in the template, because these aren’t relevant for importing or exporting data.

The template indicates that for each header row, you record an ‘H’ to indicate the record is a header record, and then provide the employee number, name, and the check's check type and check template, while for each detail row, you need to record a ‘D’, and include the earning or deduction code, hours, and pay rate being recorded on the check. The following is an excerpt from a check import template:

Import template spreadsheet.

When importing checks, the header rows or records refer to the initial entries recorded in the Checks tab. These records control the check type and check template being used, and for whom the check is being written.

The details are the entries recorded in the Entries dialog box; these entries detail the actual earnings or deductions on the check, such as an earning with the ‘Bonus’ code recorded for an amount of 500.

When importing check entries, you must include one header record for each detail record being imported; often there are multiple detail records underneath a single header, such as a check that three separate earnings on it, one for regular pay, one for vacation pay, and one for bonus. In this case, you would create an import file with four records in it: one header record with the details of the check itself (the employee number and name, check type and check template) and three detail records underneath, one for each earning entry.

Reminder: The import template details what needs to be included in import files for both header and detail records. Each row or record within the check import file must begin with either H or D to designate whether it is a header or detail row; a header row must precede its detail rows and detail rows cannot be imported without a corresponding header row.

Create the import file by providing appropriate values in the columns for both the header and detail records, following the template. You must save the file as a CSV file (and not in Excel format). After you create the import file, you can import it to load the checks.

the current pay run that is open
the next scheduled pay run
off-cycle pay runs that are open and associated with the current and next pay runs of a pay group

If a pay item isn’t part of the above pay runs, Dayforce rejects the individual entry.

To add an entry to a specific pay run, you must use the following format in the Pay Run column of the CSV file. You must include the pay group name and pay period number and suffix, as follows:

Adjustments File

The template file that you download from the Adjustments sub-tab contains the headings for the column names of both header and details records. All available columns are included in the template. You can delete optional columns that you don’t need to use in your import. However, some columns such as Code are mandatory for an import. The Saved At and Saved By columns aren’t included in the template, because these aren’t relevant for importing or exporting data. The following is an excerpt from the adjustment template file:

Adjustment template spreadsheet.

The template indicates that for each header row, you record an ‘H’ to indicate the record is a header record, and then provide the employee number, name, any comments, etc. for the adjustment entry. For each detail row of the adjustment, you need to record a ‘D’, followed by the settings (for example, code, hours, and amount).

When importing adjustments, the header rows or records refer to the initial entries recorded in the Adjustments tab. These records identify the employee that the adjustments are being recorded for; for adjustments this primarily identifies the employee whose payroll records are being adjusted.

The details are the entries recorded in the Entries dialog box; these entries detail the codes being adjusted, such as a -245 entry with the ‘Regular’ code and a +245 with the ‘Sick Pay’ code to adjust down $245 of regular pay that should have been recorded as sick pay.

When importing adjustment entries, you must include one header record for each detail record being imported; often there are multiple detail records underneath a single header, such as the example above where there are two detail records (one for the -245 and one for the +245) for the header record of the adjustment.

Reminder: the import template details what needs to be included in import files for both header and detail records. Each row or record within the adjustment import file must begin with either H or D to designate whether it is a header or detail row; a header row must precede its detail rows and detail rows cannot be imported without a corresponding header row.

Create the import file by providing appropriate values in the columns for both the header and detail records, following the template. The file must be saved as a CSV file (and not in Excel format) and closed before it can be imported.

the current pay run that is open
the next scheduled pay run
off-cycle pay runs that are open and associated with the current and next pay runs of a pay group

If a pay item isn’t part of the above pay runs, Dayforce rejects the individual entry.

To add an entry to a specific pay run, you must use the following format in the Pay Run column of the CSV file. You must include the pay group name and pay period number and suffix, as follows:

The Import Process

Once you have prepared the CSV file containing the data that you want to import into Dayforce, you can upload it to Dayforce. For example, if you create a quick entry file, you can import it in the Quick Entry sub-tab. You do this by clicking Import and selecting Import Items:

Import drop-down list shows Import Items option.

Import Details

When you click the Import Items option, Dayforce displays the Import Items dialog box, where you can define details about the import.

In the Import Items dialog box, you need to enter a value in the Import Set Name field, which has a character limit of 512 characters. Once you run an import, the import set name can be used to filter adjustment entries records in order to view, edit, or delete the results of an import.

Also in this dialog box, the If Validation Errors Occur drop-down list has the Delete All Records option selected by default. When this option is selected, and any individual record fails validation, Dayforce doesn’t import any of the records that have passed validation.

For example, if one record in an import file doesn’t have the Code column defined, and all of the other records are valid, none of the entries from the import file are saved. Continuing this example, if you select the Keep Successful Records option from the drop-down list, Dayforce saves all of entries except the one that doesn’t have the Code column defined.

'If Validation Errors Occur' field has drop-down list with options to delete or keep sucessful records.

In Payroll, Dayforce only allows valid entries to be imported. For example, if the import file contains an entry with no earning or deduction code defined, you must add the appropriate earning or deduction code directly in the import file before you run the import.

The If Validation Errors Occur setting of the Import Items dialog box only adjustments for validation errors in individual entries. The entire import fails if the import file contains invalid elements, such as duplicate columns or invalid columns.

Upload a File

When you click Next in the Import Items dialog box, Dayforce displays the standard control for uploading files in Dayforce. When you click Add File, you can select a TSV or CSV file from the file explorer of you operating system. After you select a file, Dayforce displays its size. You can only upload one file per import transaction. You can click Upload to run the import process:

Import Items dialog box with one added file and disabled 'Add File' button. The Upload button is clickable.

Messages

After you click Upload in the Import Items dialog box, Dayforce displays confirmation, warning, or error messages at the bottom right of the screen, depending on the state of the import. In this example, the export was successful, but there is a warning that the import file contained the Saved By and Saved At columns, which are columns that Dayforce recognizes but ignores (that is, information in these columns isn’t imported):

Confirmation and Warning toaster messages as described in the example.

In this example, Dayforce displays an error message to indicate that the import failed because a required column was missing from the file:

Error toaster message for missing columns.

Background Process

When you run the import process, it’s performed as a background process, so that you can continue to use Dayforce or even log out while Dayforce imports entries.

Handing of Data

Dayforce attempts to import as much data from the CSV file as it can. The application will either ignore certain empty fields–for example, Comment–or will fill in the information as best it can. For example, if one or more rows in the CSV file contain an employee number but not an employee name, upon import Dayforce will add the employee's name based on their employee number.

Imported Entries

When you import entries in the new version, they are automatically saved to the system, and no further action is required.

Important: The entries aren’t automatically displayed in the list, and you must click Refresh to view them.

Dayforce only displays imported entries that meet the current filter settings that you defined. For example, if you are filtering by a specific location, only imported entries from that location are displayed. You can change the filter settings to view the remaining imported entries.

Moreover, Dayforce excludes columns from the imported entries that don’t meet the current view settings that you defined. For example, if you excluded the Work Location column from the list, this data isn’t displayed for the imported entries. To view this information for the imported entries, you need to add the column back to the list.

Import Set Filter

Before You Begin: This functionality is available in the Adjustments, Checks, and Quick Entry sub-tabs, but not in the ROE sub-tab.

There are several ways to filter the list of imported entries.

You can do this by selecting the Import option in the Add Filter menu of the Filter panel. See The Filter Button.
You can use this filter to search for and select one or more imports. These are listed by the Import Set Name value, which you define when you create the import. The application also displays the date and time that the data was imported:
The application returns import set names for imports run by you or any other user for the specific pay run that you are in. In order for an import set name to be displayed in the search results, it must have at least one saved entry for the pay run. For example, if you delete all of the quick entries of a specific import set, its name is no longer returned in search results.
After you filter the list, you can click Copy or Delete to manage entries for the specific import sets.
After performing the imports, click Import to show a list of import set names below Import History. Click to select one or more import set names so that only those import entries are displayed in the list.

View Import Status

The application displays an icon for viewing import status:

An icon with two arrows in opposing directions next to the Import button.

Clicking this icon opens the Import Status control, which displays a list of imports that you have run in the last 24 hours. It doesn’t display imports that were made by other users.

The list displays the following information:

The name of the import set.
The path of the file that you uploaded, which ends with the file name (for example, C:\Desktop\2016 Bonus).
The file size.
The start and finish time of the import process.
The error action that you defined from the If Validation Errors Occur checkbox in the Import Items control when you ran the import (that is, the Keep Successful or Delete All option).
An error icon and the number of errors, if any. You can click the download icon next to the number of errors to export the errors to a CSV file:
The status of the import, the total number of files in the import, and the total number of entries that were successfully imported.

Moreover, when you click the Problems Only checkbox at the top of the Import Status control, Dayforce hides any import that has zero errors from the list.

View Import History

When you click Import, Dayforce displays the Import History option:

Import History option in Import drop-down.

Clicking this option opens an Import Status control that has the same functionality as described in the previous section of this topic, with the addition of a date filter, so that you can search for older imports. The filter only returns imports that you performed, and not those done by other users.

Import Payroll Items

In the Data Entry tab, import the CSV file you've prepared for quick entries, checks, or adjustments from multiple pay runs and pay groups. See The Import Process.

Before You Begin: For checks, if your organization has access to the Dayforce SFTP site, you can also import the checks CSV file by placing the file into the PayrollChecksImport folder under Import file directory. Imported checks that have passed validation show up in the Checks sub-tab.

To import a CSV file in Payroll:

Go to Payroll and click the Data Entry tab.
Click the Quick Entry, Checks, or Adjustments sub-tab, depending on which items you are importing.
Click Import and select Import Items.
In the Import Items dialog box, enter an import set name.
Select an option in the If Validation Errors Occur drop-down list.
Click Next.
Click Add File.
Select a file from the file explorer of your operating system.
When you've selected a file, click Upload in the Import Items dialog box.

Export Payroll Items

You can click the Export button in the toolstrip of the Quick Entry, Adjustments, or Checks sub-tabs of the Data Entry tab in Payroll to export the list of payroll items to a CSV file, which you can access in Microsoft Excel.

Highlighted Export button.

The application exports the data as it is currently displayed on the screen. This means that you can use the filter and view settings to define how data is displayed in the export file.

For example, you can filter the list of entries by location and sort records by employee name. You can also reduce the number of columns displayed in the list to only those that are required for your organization. All of these filter and view settings are reflected in the export file.

The export file that the application generates excludes unsaved entries. This ensures that only valid data is included in the export.

To export the CSV file:

Go to Payroll and click the Data Entry tab.
Click the Quick Entry, Adjustments, or Checks sub-tab.
Click Export and download the file.