Importing Payroll Mate Payroll Files

When importing payroll files, each payroll provider has its own nuances on how their payroll file will import into Shepherd's Staff. This article focuses on importing a Payroll File from Payroll Mate.

For overall instructions on importing payroll files into Shepherd's Staff, see our Payroll Import article.

For a video demonstration of importing, please see our video article.

1. Open the Payroll Import utility by going to the Activity tab of the Finance module, and clicking "Payroll import". 
2. Once you are in the Payroll Import utility window, select the book/fund you'll be importing your Payroll file into in the "Book" or "Fund" section. For the Payroll format section, set the option to "Payroll Mate", and select which bank account the money to pay for the payroll will be coming from in the "Pay Bank Account" field. In the "Mark payment as", set the option to "Pending" if you want to create the transactions as checks, or set the option to "Paid" if you want to generate the transactions as EFTs
3. Click the "Browse" button next to the "Payroll Import File" field. A file explorer window will appear. Navigate to your payroll file from Payroll Mate. Payroll Mate files can be .xlsx, or .xls format. Once you've found the file you want to import, you can either double-click it or, click on it, and then click the "Open" button in the bottom right corner of the file explorer window.
4. Click the "Import Payroll File" button to bring your payroll file into Shepherd's Staff. You'll receive a message letting you know that the payroll file successfully uploaded if there were no problems. Click "OK" on this message.
5. Click the "Account Xref Setup" button to enter the Account Cross Reference window. A message will appear, letting you know if the payroll file inserted any new Account XRef records. These records are how Shepherd's Staff will connect the line items on your payroll file with accounts in Shepherd's Staff. Click "OK".
6. In the window that appears, you will see each line item from your payroll file in its own row. Specifically, you'll see the account type of each line item in the "Account Type" column, the name (or account number) of that line item in the "Payroll Item" column, a "Matching Account in Shepherd's Staff" column where you will select what account in Shepherd's Staff this line item matches up with. The "Offset Account" column is not used in this import type, and then there will be a column of checkboxes labeled "Include item on pay stub?". If you have imported payroll files in the past, and each row has something filled in already in this view, then you can click the "Close" button at the bottom of the window, and continue on to step 8.
7. To link an unmatched account, you can either double click the row, or select a row and then click the "Edit" button at the bottom of the grid. When you do this, a window will appear with a drop list where you can select an account from Shepherd's Staff that matches the account type listed in the "Account type" field for that line item. You will also see a checkbox for "Include on pay stub". This should be checked for the bank account the employee is being paid from, any withholdings, and the salary expense lines. Any employer withholdings, should have this box unchecked. There is also a checkbox labeled "Link to a Liability offset" account, which you do not need for this payroll import type. Repeat this process for each line item that is not already matched up. Click the "Close" button at the bottom of the grid when finished matching accounts.
   
8. Click the "Vendor Xref Setup" button to enter the Vendor Cross Reference window. A message will appear, letting you know if the payroll file inserted any new Vendor XRef records. These records are how Shepherd's Staff will connect the people on your payroll file with vendor records in Shepherd's Staff. Click "OK".
9. In the window that appears, you will see each person who appears on your payroll file in their own row. Each row has two columns, "Vendor From Import File" and "Matching Vendor in Shepherd's Staff". The "Vendor From Import File" provides the name of the person from your Payroll file, while the "Matching Vendor in Shepherd's Staff" column provides you a space to select a vendor from Shepherd's Staff to match that person up with. If you have imported payroll files in the past, and there are no rows with nothing filled in under the "Matching Vendor in Shepherd's Staff" column, then you can click the "Close" button at the bottom of the grid and continue to step 11.
10. To link up unmatched  vendors, you can either double click each row, or click on a row and then click the "Edit" button at the bottom of the grid. When you do this, a window will appear where you can select a Vendor record in Shepherd's Staff from a drop list that matches the Vendor from your payroll file. Repeat this process for each vendor in your payroll file. Click the "Close" button at the bottom of the grid when finished matching vendor records.
    
11. Click the "Create Payments and Journal Entries" button. This will go through the process of creating your transactions. This will create a transaction for each employee, and a journal entry showing the payment of all taxes.  Note: If you receive a message that says that it may cause duplicate transactions, it may mean that you've already imported this payroll file. If so, click the "No" option on this window, and go back to check your transactions and make sure you haven't already imported this payroll file.