Uploading Pay Items in Bulk
Using the Upload Pay Item feature, upload pay items to a pay period in bulk. This can include details for multiple items and employees by preparing a .csv sheet.
Buddy supports two types of templates.
Classic Template: Import Pay Items per Employee
In the Classic Template, each row references an employee with all pay items included in additional columns.
To download the complete template:
- Go to Run Payroll
- Click on the download button on the left of Upload Pay Items
Similarly, you can create your own template, as long as the first column uses the Header "Employee" and each following header refers to a pay item or overtime.
| Employee | Pay Item Name 1 | Pay Item Name 2 | .. Pay Item Name N |
| employee reference | value input | value input | value input |
Template 2: Import Pay Items per Item
The second type of template instead uses a row for each pay item. This requires the following headers to be used:
| Employee | Allowance Type | Rate | Amount |
| employee reference | name of pay item | rate of pay, if applicable |
input of hours or value |
Custom Rates using Template 2
The second type of template allows users to insert custom rates. Thus, the rate of hourly or daily pay items can be determined by the sheet and does not require input from the employee's salary details.
Filling in Templates
Apart from utilising the headers based on the chosen template, there are certain structures on how to fill in the details.
Employee Column
The employee details can be matched by either:
- employee reference
- NI Number
- full name
- payroll ID
Insert any of the above as long as they have an exact match with the details stored in Buddy.
Pay Item Name
Pay items names can either match the primary name of the item or the alternative codes set in the Custom Pay Item Settings.
This applies to both the Header Names in the first template, as well as the Allowance Type values in the second template.
Uploading Pay Items during Payroll
Buddy will only upload pay items for payslips that are not currently saved (i.e. 'finalised'). If you have already saved payslips that you need to amend, make sure to click Edit prior to uploading.
Within the Run Payroll page:
- Click the Upload Pay Item button.
- Drag your .csv into the dotted area, or click Upload and select your file
- Select whether to "Allow repeat pay items"
- If disabled, Buddy will overwrite pay item values of the same name
- If enabled, Buddy will create duplicate pay items, e.g. if you have multiple rows of Tips for the same employee
- Confirm by clicking Upload [file name]
The pay items will be immediately uploaded. The most efficient way to validate totals is to download a payroll report from the Reports section.
Upload Errors
Should there be any failure to upload any specific allowance, Buddy will list this in the interface, such as "agreement not found" with the row information (e.g. if you have a typo in an employee name or identification).
Reconciling Imported Pay Item
It is great practice to reconcile and confirm the importation before proceeding with payroll.
The best way to verify the total amounts of each allowance are to:
- Go to Reports
- Select the current Pay Period
- Select to view draft calculations
- Download the Pay Period Report
Within the report, then check the totals of each allowance and confirm they align with your expected amounts.
For more information about reports, check: Generating and Downloading Buddy Reports