1. Click  People on the main menu.
2. Select Import Employees from the submenu.
3. Choose which one of the templates you need:
   • Update Employee Employment Details
   • Update Employee Pay Details (Xero, MYOB Account Right)
   • Update User Pay Details (Employment Hero Payroll, KeyPay, QuickBooks Online)
   • Advanced Import Employees (including pay details)
   • Quick Import Employees
   • Update Employee's Custom Fields
4. Tick or leave the following checkboxes as appropriate:
   • Include existing user information (If you select this, 2FA will be required to access sensitive data such as superannuation and tax details.)
   • Include terminated users
5. Click the Download button.
   
6. Enter the required details in the template you downloaded.
7. Save the changes you made to the file.

8. Upload the file by clicking or dragging it into the Click or Drag file(s) here to upload tile.

   

9. Click the Yes button.
   
10. Map the columns in the CSV file to the correct fields in the Employment Hero platform. (If the CSV file includes the Contract Type column, select either Permanent or Fixed Term as the field cannot be blank.)

11. Click the Continue button.

12. New employees will now receive an email invitation prompting them to create their HR/Employment Hero Work account password and begin the onboarding process.
    
13. Check the Imported Successfully page, which shows the number of employee records created and updated. (Refer to this article's Troubleshooting section if import errors apply.)
14. Click the Go to Employee page button if you would like to review the employee data.

When adding international employees via CSV upload, note that certain address fields (such as 'Suburb' and 'State') may not apply to employees based outside of Australia.

For example, countries like Singapore do not use these fields, and adding information in these fields through the CSV may result in non-editable address data in the platform.

We recommend using the pre-prepared sample CSV templates available. We have listed the following tips on how to best use these templates and help ensure a successful upload of your data:

• We recommend adding a personal email in the Account Email column. Enabling a valid personal email address for login purposes ensures employees will still be able to access their read-only employee information after they leave your organisation.
• Do not use a generic email for your employees, such as info@company.com
• If you receive any error messages during your upload, the error message always corresponds to the following row. For example, an error in row one means the error is in row two; an error in row two means the error is in row three (and so on).
• Remember that fields with an asterisk are always mandatory.
• Follow the naming conventions used in the column headers of your CSV. For example, if an employee belongs to multiple teams (such as HR, Admin, and Payroll), separate the team names using the | symbol. The correct format should look like this: John Smith HR | Admin | Payroll.
• In the Update Employee Employment Details CSV, remember that the Start Dates and Job Titles fields are interdependent. You can not complete one field without the other.
• In the Advanced Import Employees (including Pay Details) CSV, Salary and Pay Details effective date are interdependent. You can not complete one field without the other. 
• Downloading the Advanced Import Employees (including Pay Details) CSV removes the leading zeros from sort codes and account numbers. You must reformat these columns by making the columns custom and adding six zeros for sort codes and eight zeros for account numbers. 

We recommend you have your employees' data in Employment Hero before you assign their teams and managers. You can then use the Update Employment Details template to assign teams and primary/secondary managers to employees in bulk.

You can only use the <<clear>> feature in the following Personal Details columns:

• Address_Country.
• Address_Postcode.
• Address_State.
• Address_Street.
• Address_Suburb.
• Date of birth [dd/mm/yyyy].
• Gender [Female | Male | Non-binary | Prefer not to say].
• Home phone.
• Marital status [Single | Married | In a Relationship].
• Middle name.
• Nationality.
• Personal mobile number.
• Preferred name.
• Title [Mr | Ms | Mrs | Miss | Dr | Mx].

You can only use the <<clear>> feature in the following Employment Details columns:

• Company email.
• Company landline.
• Company mobile.
• Length of probation.
• Payroll code.
• Primary cost centre.
• Primary manager email.
• Secondary manager's email.
• Team [separate multiple teams with ' | ' e.g. Accounts | Engineering | Sales].

You can only use the <<clear>> feature in the following Emergency Contact columns:

• EmergencyContact1_Name
• EmergencyContact1_Relationship
• EmergencyContact1_Phone (daytime)
• EmergencyContact1_Phone (after hours)
• EmergencyContact1_Mobile

CSV Column Name.	Platform Field Location.	Notes.
First name.	Personal details.
Last name.	Personal details.
Account email.	Personal details.
Location.	Employment details.

CSV Column Name.	Platform Field Name.	Notes.
Primary cost centre.	Employment details.
Additional cost centres.	Employment details.	Separate additional cost centres with a |.
Primary manager email.	Employment details.
Industrial instrument.	Pay details: Salary history.
Classification.	Pay details: Salary history.
Pay rate template.	Pay details: Salary history.
Pay schedule.	Pay details: Salary history.
Pay category.	Pay details: Salary history.
Leave allowance template.	Pay details: Salary history.

If you receive general errors when bulk-updating employees via a CSV file, try splitting them into separate files based on key differences (such as employment type). Then, upload each file separately.

For example, if your CSV includes both hourly and salaried employees and you encounter an error, move the hourly employees into a separate file. Upload the salaried employees first, followed by the hourly employees. This helps prevent formatting issues and ensures a smoother update process.

Additional spaces	Any cell that starts or ends with a space can cause an error in the upload.
Format errors	When copying from Excel to CSV, the format changes. This also changes the data, most often with numbers that have leading zeros, such as BSBs and phone numbers. You will need to reformat the column to a custom format that includes the zero.
Additional hyphens	Tax file numbers (TFNs) and bank state branch (BSB) numbers are the most common to have added hyphens. There should not be hyphens in these sections.
Data missing from columns linked to other columns	When inputting data into certain columns, you will need to fill out others. Examples are the super columns, banking columns, and tax columns. If you do not have all the data, it is better to delete all these related columns before upload. You can come back instead when you have the data.
Missing column header	Ensure every column has a header and that no data exists in a cell without a corresponding header.
Uploading the advanced spreadsheet when Payroll settings are turned off	The platform will not allow this action. You need to delete all columns that have disappeared along with payroll settings, and then upload. This includes any fields related to payroll that may not be available or visible when payroll settings are disabled (such as salary or contribution fields).
Missing surnames	Ensure every employee has a surname. If any surnames are missing, either remove those employees from the file or add the missing surnames.
Blank columns	If optional columns (e.g., the 'Cost Centre' and 'Primary & Secondary Managers' columns) have no data, delete them from the CSV to prevent errors. Keep only mandatory fields marked with asterisks.
Missing mandatory fields	Ensure all mandatory fields (marked with an asterisk) are filled out before uploading. Missing mandatory fields will cause the upload to fail.
Leading zeros appear in dates	If leading zeros appear in dates where they are not allowed, revise the formatting rules and remove them.
Unnecessary sheets in the import file	Having unnecessary sheets (sometimes called tabs) in the import file can lead to a failed import. Remove the data from any unneeded sheets and try the upload again.
General errors persist	If general errors persist, try uploading a smaller dataset (e.g., a file with only three employees) to manually pinpoint errors before reattempting to upload the full list.

To resolve import errors, follow the below steps:

1. From the platform, re-download the file that had the import error.
2. Open the downloaded file and fix the errors. (The errors will appear in red text in the Resolve Errors section and will display the row in which the error needs to be resolved.)
   
3. Re-upload the corrected CSV file.

If you need to update the bank account details stored on your HR platform in bulk, you will need to update all the following fields together:

• BankAccount1_AccountName.
• BankAccount1_AccountBSB.
• BankAccount1_AccountNumber.
• BankAccount1_AllocatedPercentage (Not applicable for Xero payroll).
• BankAccount1_FixedAmount (Will always hold the remaining balance. Please enter 'Remaining').

You can only have one of the below columns in a row:

• BankAccount1_AllocatedPercentage (Not applicable for Xero payroll).
• BankAccount1_FixedAmount (Will always hold the remaining balance. Please enter 'Remaining').

If you need to update the Employment History details stored on your HR platform in bulk, you will need to update all the following fields together:

• Employment type (Full-time | Part-time | Casual).
• Job title.
• Start date (dd/mm/yyyy).
• Contract type.

If you include the Contract Type column in your CSV file, it must have either the Permanent or Fixed Term option filled in. It cannot be left blank.

If any employees have no contract type listed, an error will display and the upload will fail due to the blank field(s).

To avoid this, you can remove the Contract Type column entirely. As this field is optional, it does not need to be included in the CSV.

If you need to update the Superannuation details stored on your HR platform in bulk, you will need to update all the following fields together:

• The mandatory columns will depend on the Super Choice
  • Super Choice [Regulated | SMSF | Company nominated].
• If you chose the Regulated or Company-nominated option, the below columns are mandatory:
  • Super Fund Name.
  • Super Fund ABN.
  • SPIN/USI.
  • Super Member Number.
  • Super Account Name.
• If you chose the SMSF option, the below columns are mandatory:
  • Super Fund Name.
  • Super Fund ABN.
  • ESA.
  • Super Member Number.
  • Super Account Name.
  • SMSF Contact Email.
  • SMSF Account Name.
  • SMSF BSB.
  • SMSF Account Number.

If you need to update the Pay details stored on your HR platform in bulk, you will need to update all the following fields together:

• Industrial instrument (If an employee is on an Industrial Instrument, you must also complete the Anniversary Date column.)
• Classification
• Pay rate template
• Salary
• Salary option (Annum | Month | Fortnight | Hour | Day)

You will need to enter data into the 'Pay Details - Effective From' column if you are to update any of the following columns:

• Industrial instrument (If an employee is on an industrial instrument, you must also complete the Anniversary Date column.)
• Classification
• Pay rate template
• Anniversary date (dd/mm/yyyy)
• Salary
• Salary option (Annum | Month | Fortnight | Hour | Day)
• Override template rate
• Pay schedule
• Pay category
• Leave allowance template
• Superannuation (%)

ABN	Incorrect number of digits.
Account BSB Columns	Hyphens being included. Not 6 digits. Including alpha characters. Space between digits 3 and 4.
Account email	Account emails can only be changed within the person’s profile, not via CSV. If you change someone’s account email in the CSV, you will create a new employee.
Account Number Columns	Spaces in the numbers. Hyphens in the numbers. Including alpha characters.
Additional Cost Centres	Adding ‌a cost centre before updating from Payroll classic. If it has been added to the Payroll classic platform and not re-synced to Employment Hero, Employment Hero will think it does not exist. Not utilising the '|' symbol to separate multiple additional cost centres.
Allocated Percentage Columns	Empty for those with multiple accounts.
Anniversary date [dd/mm/yyyy]	Not in dd/mm/yyyy format.
Classification	Misspelling. Inputting a combination that does not exist.
Company Landline	Leading zero being dropped. Spaces being added.
Company Mobile	Leading zero being dropped. Spaces being added.
Contract type [Permanent|Fixed term]	Misspelling. Inputting a type that is not listed. Leaving blank for Full-time or Part-time employment types. Head to the 'Contract Type' column in your CSV file and enter either Permanent or Fixed Term, depending on the employees employment status.
Contract type is only applicable for full-time and part-time employment types.	Ensure the 'Contract Type' field is left blank for independent contractors Anniversary Date: If an employee is assigned to an award (Classification, Industrial Instrument and/or Pay rate Template), they will need to have an anniversary date listed. This is the anniversary date of the pay rate and indicates when the employee may be eligible for their next pay increase based on the award settings.
Could not assign the correct Pay Rate Template to employee	This error occurs when the pay rate template listed in the CSV data does not align with the classification and/or industrial instrument selected for the employee. Ensure the correct pay rate template is listed.
Date of birth	Not in dd/mm/yyyy format.
Employing Entity	Misspelling.
Employment type [Full-time | Part-time | Casual]	Misspelling. Inputting a type that is not listed.
End Date	Not in dd/mm/yyyy format.
ESA	Details missing from one column that is related to the others.
Fixed Amount Columns	Leaving empty.

Gender [Female | Male | Non-binary | Prefer not to say]	Misspelling. Inputting a type that is not listed.
Home Phone	Leading zero being dropped. Spaces being added.
Industrial Instrument	Misspelling. Inputting a combination that does not exist.
Job Title	Leaving empty.
Leave allowance templates	Renaming leave allowance templates (LATs) in the Employment Hero platform ensures that each template has a unique name. If awards are in use, including the award number at the end of the template name can help differentiate the LATs.
Line 1 contains empty header or columns	This occurs when the CSV file has empty columns at the end of the document. To open this, open the file, delete or all needed 'Columns' and then save as CSV again.
Line 0 unfortunately an error has occurred	This error typically occurs when mandatory columns are removed from the CSV file. To learn about what columns are required when updating specific fields, refer to this article's CSV fields to update together section.

Marital status [Single | Married | In a Relationship]	Misspelling. Inputting a type that is not listed.
Nationality	Listing a nationality that is not listed. Misspelling.
Pay category	Misspelling. Inputting an option that does not exist in your platform.
Pay details - Effective from [dd/mm/yyyy]	Not in dd/mm/yyyy format. Not updating this field when you are attempting to create a new salary line. Ensure a date is listed in the Pay details - effective from column.
Pay Rate Template	Misspelling. Inputting a combination that does not exist.
Pay schedule	Misspelling. Inputting an option that does not exist in your platform.
Personal Mobile Number	Leading zero being dropped. Spaces being added.
Primary Cost Centre	Adding ‌a cost centre before updating from Payroll. If it has been added to the Payroll platform and not re-synced to HR, HR will think it does not exist. Not utilising the '|' symbol to separate multiple additional cost centres.
Primary Manager Email	Putting an email that is not the account email for the manager. Putting the manager’s name instead of an email.

Salary option [Annum | Month | Fortnight | Hour]	Misspelling. Inputting a type that is not listed.
Secondary Manager Email	Putting an email that is not the account email for the manager. Putting the manager’s name instead of an email.
SMSF Account Name	Details missing from one column that is related to the others.
SMSF Account Number	Details missing from one column that is related to the others.
SMSF BSB	Details missing from one column that is related to the others.
SPIN/USI	Pasted in incorrectly, causing error in cell.
Start Date	Not in dd/mm/yyyy format.
Super Account Name	Details missing from one column that is related to the others.
Super Choice [Regulated | SMSF | Company nominated]	Misspelling. Inputting an option that does not exist in your platform.
Super Fund ABN	Not enough digits. Spaces being added.
Super Member Number	Details missing from one column that is related to the others.
Tax File Number (TFN)	Inputting asterisks instead of numbers (most common with Xero and MYOB clients). Hyphens listed. Spaces being added. Less than 9 digits.
Team [separate multiple teams with '|']	Not utilising the '|' symbol to separate multiple teams.
Termination Date	Not in dd/mm/yyyy format. Missing when termination type is populated.
Timesheets [Enabled | Disabled | EnabledForExceptions]	Misspelling. Inputting a type that is not listed.
Title [Mr | Ms | Mrs | Miss | Dr | Mx]	Misspelling. Adding a full stop at the end. Inputting a type that is not listed.
Type [Employee | Contractor]	Misspelling. Inputting a type that is not listed.
Unable to touch historical versions	File imports are only able to update the 'current' salary record on an employee's profile or create a new record. It is not possible to amend previous salary records. To resolve this error, ensure the Pay details - effective date matches the date listed on the employee's current salary details or list a new date to create a new salary record.