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Import employee data into QuickBooks Online

SOLVED•by QuickBooks•5•Updated September 19, 2023

Importing employee data from a XLSX or CSV file is a great way to get set up quickly.

Note: You can also follow this process to perform bulk updates of employee data. 

Step 1: Download an employee template from the Data Extracts page

  1. Select Payroll.
  2. Select the Payroll Settings tab then select Data Extracts (Located under Business Management).  
  3. Under Data Type select Employee Data and Empty Template.
  4. Select the File format, then select Download.

You can then paste or enter the data into Microsoft Excel template. Once you've saved the template, you can proceed to upload the data into QuickBooks Payroll powered by Employment Hero.  

Step 2: Import the employee template into QuickBooks Payroll

  1. Select Payroll.
  2. Select the dropdown arrow next to Add Employees and choose Import Employees. 
  3. Select Select File, choose your completed template then select Open. 
  4. Select Confirm Upload. 

Note: Tick Automatically create missing locations. This will automatically create any locations names listed in the PrimaryLocation and Locations columns that are not already set up in the system.  If this setting is not selected, an import error will occur.  

When the import is complete, the results will be displayed on the screen advising the status of each employee updated.

Delete employee data using the import function

If you want to use an import file to remove data from the employee records, in bulk, use the value (clear) in the appropriate field/s on your import file. 

File Specification

There are quite a few fields in the import file, however, they are broken into sections, and not all sections need to be present.

To set up an employee to be processed in a pay run the following fields are required as a minimum:

  • TaxFileNumber 
  • FirstName
  • Surname
  • DateOfBirth
  • ResidentialStreetAddress
  • ResidentialSuburb
  • ResidentialState
  • ResidentialPostCode
  • PostalStreetAddress
  • PostalSuburb
  • PostalState
  • PostalPostCode
  • StartDate
  • EmploymentType
  • PaySchedule
  • PrimaryPayCategory
  • PrimaryLocation
  • PaySlipNotificationType
  • Rate
  • RateUnit
  • HoursPerWeek
  • BankAccount1_BSB
  • BankAccount1_AccountNumber
  • BankAccount1_AccountName
  • BankAccount1_AllocatedPercentage
  • SuperFund1_FundName
  • SuperFund1_MemberNumber
  • SuperFund1_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:

  • Tax File Number

OR:

  • First Name
  • Surname
  • Date of Birth

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
    • NSW Offices
      • Strathfield
    • QLD Offices
      • Logan

The fully qualified location for ‘Strathfield’ would be All Offices / NSW Offices / Strathfield.  

Content sourced from Employment Hero

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