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View common CSV import issues

Gabriella Adelyne Alicaya
Updated
EH Content Team

CSV uploads are a powerful feature for quickly and easily importing data into your platform. However, there are some common errors that can arise when uploading a CSV. Here are a few examples and what they mean. 

Common CSV import errors

General issues
Adding spaces. Any cell that starts or ends with a space will 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.
Adding hyphens.

TFNs and BSBs 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.
Deleting a column header.

Check that all headers are present and that there are not any data in a cell with no header.
Uploading the advanced spreadsheet when Payroll settings are turned off. The platform will not allow this action. You would need to delete all columns that disappeared along with payroll settings, and then upload.
Importing errors
If an import error occurs, the platform will outline which row the error has occurred on. Please note that the platform will start counting the rows from the first employee on your CSV file, it does not consider the heading row. This means if an error is listed on row 10 for example, please refer to row 11 on your Excel file to resolve the issue.
To resolve import errors, follow the below steps:
  1. Download the attached file in Step 1.
  2. Open the downloaded file and fix the errors. The errors will appear in the red text and will display the row in which the error needs to be resolved.
    CSV file import errors
  3. Re-upload the corrected CSV file.
A - F
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. 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.
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. Please 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.
G - L
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

To rename leave allowance templates (LATs) in the payroll platform so that the same name is not used against different templates. If awards are in use, it may be helpful to amend the name of the template to include the award number at the end to 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 tends to occur when mandatory columns are removed from the CSV file. For more information on what columns are required when updating certain fields, please refer to the section CSV fields that need updating together in this article.
M - R
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.

  • Please 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.
S - Z
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
  • 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 employees profile or create a new record. It is not possible to amend previous salary records. To resolve this error, please 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.

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