Import a Payroll Register

You can usually import the payroll CSV that your payroll provider already exports. GrantLink recognizes common column names in any order, and it ignores columns it does not need. It accepts a file with one earning per row or a file with separate earnings columns, such as Regular Pay, Overtime, and Bonus.

You can also use the GrantLink payroll template, but it is optional. Replace its example rows with your own data before you import it.

Import your file

1. Open a new chat. You can also choose Import payroll in chat on the Allocations > Payroll page.
2. Attach one payroll CSV.
3. Ask GrantLink to import it, for example: "Import this payroll register."
4. Read the mapping summary. It shows which columns GrantLink uses for the employee, pay period, pay date, payroll run, entity, currency, and earnings.
5. Answer any questions about facts that the file does not contain. Name who or what confirms each answer, for example: "Morgan Chen, finance director, confirmed this is the September 6 off-cycle run."
6. GrantLink checks the original file. It then reports the number of rows and the total it imported, or it describes the problem you need to fix.

If the mapping is clear and no facts are missing, GrantLink imports the file right away and shows the mapping it used. GrantLink requires a named source for each answer, so you cannot skip the attribution.

The assistant only proposes which column holds which fact. It does not calculate payroll, change cell values, or invent a missing fact. GrantLink reads the original file again on the server and calculates each amount to the cent.

Supported files

The current importer accepts:

• CSV files in UTF-8 text, up to 2 MB;
• up to 1,000 earnings rows after mapping;
• renamed, reordered, and extra columns;
• one component and amount on each row, or separate earnings columns;
• dates in year-month-day order, or numeric month/day/year or day/month/year dates; and
• amounts with commas or a dollar sign.

Each file must contain one payroll run, one pay period, one pay date, one entity, and one currency. The file must also have an employee ID and an employee name on every row. If the date order in the file is unclear, GrantLink asks you which order it uses.

The payroll currency must match your organization's accounting currency in GrantLink. GrantLink supports USD, CAD, and BZD. If the file has no currency column, GrantLink asks you for the currency and does not guess it from a dollar sign.

Rules for the GrantLink template

When a file has all of the template columns, GrantLink imports it directly with no mapping step. The template columns are run_id, employee_id, employee_name, pay_period_start, pay_period_end, pay_date, component, and amount.

In a template file, write dates as YYYY-MM-DD and write amounts as plain numbers, such as 4000.00, with no dollar sign or commas. If you add no currency column, GrantLink treats the amounts as USD. If your organization uses CAD or BZD, add a currency column.

Earnings that GrantLink accepts

GrantLink imports earnings only. A component name must describe gross pay or wages, salary, regular pay, overtime, a bonus, or a stipend. GrantLink rejects other component names, for example paid time off, commission, employer payroll tax, benefits, deductions, and net pay.

When you import a familiar export

After GrantLink imports a file, it saves the mapping for your organization. When a later file has the same column headers, GrantLink uses the saved mapping again. If the headers change, GrantLink proposes a new mapping. GrantLink checks every file in the same way, even when it reuses a mapping.

GrantLink keeps the original file, the mapping, and each answer with its named source. You can see later how each import was made.

Duplicates, revisions, and off-cycle runs

• If you import the same file again, GrantLink does not create another payroll run.
• If you import a changed file with the same run identifier, GrantLink saves it as a new revision of that run. The earlier file stays unchanged. The new revision replaces the earlier one in the live view. You must record work evidence and match QuickBooks again for the costs in the new revision.
• An off-cycle payroll is a separate run with its own run identifier.
• If your payroll provider voided a run, ask GrantLink in chat to void the imported run. Do not import negative rows to cancel it. After you void a run, you cannot import that run identifier again, so use a new run identifier for a replacement run.

Files GrantLink rejects

GrantLink rejects the whole file when it finds a problem. It does not import only the valid rows. Problems include:

• a malformed row or an invalid date;
• two rows for the same employee and component;
• more than one entity, currency, run, pay period, or pay date;
• a negative amount; and
• a component that is not an accepted earning, such as a deduction, tax, withholding, net pay, or liability.

In a file with separate earnings columns, GrantLink maps only the earnings columns and ignores other columns, such as a net pay column.

The importer accepts CSV files only. It does not accept XLSX files, connect to a payroll provider, or calculate payroll. It does not import deductions, liabilities, taxes, benefits, fringe pools, negative reversals, or files with more than one entity or currency.

GrantLink treats headers and cells as data. Text inside a file cannot give the assistant instructions, change permissions, or skip the checks.

After the import

Open Allocations > Payroll and choose Needs attention. An imported cost does not yet show where the employee worked or which grant should pay for it. See Connect Payroll Work to Initiatives for the next step.