If you don't have the right data in Bob for your UK Payroll integration, it may not pull the right information. Learn how to create a UK Payroll-specific import template to ensure that payroll data can flow smoothly from Bob to UK Payroll, especially if your company uses custom fields.
Get the most out of Bob
- Create or update multiple employee records at once.
- Bulk adjust salaries, pay rates, or other recurring compensation items.
- Update working patterns, benefits, deductions, student loan or tax code info in bulk.
- Maintain an audit trail across both systems. Bob records who performed the import and when, while UK Payroll shows synced changes and their sources.
Before you begin
- Match Employee IDs: If the ID in your imported file doesn’t match what's in Bob (or isn't what UK Payroll expects), the record may fail to update, or UK Payroll may treat it as a new starter or an error.
- Map custom fields: If Bob uses custom fields not mapped in UK Payroll, those values may not show in UK Payroll. To learn more, see Configure your Bob integration in UK Payroll.
- Unpause syncing: If syncing is turned off or paused, changes in Bob won’t update UK Payroll until syncing is resumed.
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Know your cut-off dates: Changes made after the payroll cut-off for a given payroll run won't apply to the current pay cycle, meaning pay or benefits may be calculated incorrectly.
Tip: Schedule imports well ahead of payroll deadlines, so any syncing or validation issues can be resolved.
- Use correct field formatting: Date format, number format, dropdown/list values need to match what Bob and UK Payroll accept. Invalid formats will cause errors or fall-backs.
Data import syncs from Bob to UK Payroll
Once data has been imported into Bob, it will sync to UK Payroll.
| In Bob | In UK Payroll | Notes |
Both data types appear in the Payroll > Salary section of the employee's profile. |
New salaries and base pay rates are synced to UK Payroll and used in upcoming pay cycles. Appear in Compensation in the employee's profile. |
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These data types appear in the Payroll > Variable Pay/Deduction/Entitlement section of the employee's profile. |
Appears on employee payslips as recurring or one-off pay items. The lightning bolt icon denotes pay items synced from Bob. | Ensure the effective dates are within the current period to process them in the current pay cycle. |
How to import UK Payroll data into Bob
To learn more, see Getting started with Import.
- In Bob, navigate to System Settings > Data management > Import > Go to People import.
- Click the relevant import type (Import People, Update People, or Import Table). If you want to Import table data, choose the relevant table from the dropdown, and mark the button next to Replace existing and add new records.
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To download a template, click the download button at the bottom of the importer. Prepare the spreadsheet according to the template.
Tip: Keep a master template for your regular imports, so everyone uses the same format.
- Once your data is ready, Click to upload and either drag the file into the importer or use the file selector. Click Done once the file is uploaded.
- If your file contains multiple sheets, select the correct sheet and click Next.
- Map the Identifier columns (e.g., Email, Effective date) and click Next.
- Match the data columns between your spreadsheet and the employee fields in the system, then click Import.
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If there are any errors, a report detailing rows that have successfully been imported, and any errors, will be displayed. You can download this report to know what to fix and import again, then click Done.
Tip: Verify a small subset (one to five records) before bulk importing.
- The imported data will appear in the employee's profile in Bob.