HRIS Selection
Part of Payroll software integration
Checking payroll export formats during software selection
Check payroll import specifications, sample exports, field meanings and error handling before selecting software.
Ask for the exact file or API specification the receiving payroll system accepts, then compare it with an export from the proposed source system. A promise to export CSV is insufficient. Payroll needs the right employee, dates, units and pay codes in a form its import can interpret.
Establish which boundary the format serves
An HR or time-system export sent into payroll is a different interface from a payroll report sent onward for Single Touch Payroll (STP).
Ask each vendor to name the interface, direction, supported version and intended data. For a proposed connector, request its field mapping and error documentation and confirm the supported product versions, modules and quoted configuration. Treat an undocumented compatibility claim as an open requirement.
Inspect a sample and its specification
Request a sample export generated by the proposed configuration and the corresponding payroll import specification. Compare them on these points:
| Check | What to establish |
|---|---|
| Employee key | The same stable identifier is used on both sides; names are not the only match. |
| Dates | Format, effective date and pay-period boundary are unambiguous. |
| Amounts and units | Hours, dollars and decimal precision have defined meanings. |
| Codes | Each source value maps to a valid destination category. |
| Empty values | Blank, zero and omitted fields have documented effects where they differ. |
| Delivery | File or API version, secure transfer, acknowledgement and retry behaviour are specified. |
For a delimited file, also inspect headers, column order, character encoding and escaping. For an API, check required fields, permitted values, versioning and error responses. Focus on the receiving system's documented import layout.
A structurally valid file can still convey the wrong business meaning. Have payroll review ordinary time, leave, overtime and allowance categories that matter to the workforce. A source label must lead to the correct payroll category and calculation under the applicable arrangement.
Payroll Export Format Requirements vs. Common Gaps
- Employee KeyMust use a stable identifier; names alone are insufficient
- DatesFormat, effective date and pay-period boundaries must be unambiguous
- Amounts and UnitsHours, dollars and decimal precision must have defined meanings
- CodesEach source value must map to a valid destination category
- Empty ValuesBlank, zero and omitted fields must have documented effects
- DeliveryFile or API version, secure transfer, acknowledgement and retry behaviour must be specified
Request an acceptance demonstration
Give vendors the same small synthetic dataset and expected destination results. Include an ordinary row, a future-dated change, an invalid code, an unknown employee, a duplicate item and a correction. Request the exported payload, import log and resulting payroll input. Record whether bad rows are rejected individually or the whole batch fails, and whether a retry creates duplicates.
A suitable format carries every required field with an agreed meaning and gives the team a way to identify and repair failures. If manual conversion is necessary, specify who performs it, how they check the result and what happens at the payroll cut-off. Keep the sample, specification and unresolved gaps with the selection decision.
Further reading: Single Touch Payroll (softwaredevelopers.ato.gov.au).
