Client Payroll Integration - Census Import

In the past, one of the largest headaches of plan administration was collecting the employee census and payroll information. The plan sponsor would have to compile this data from their records, then transfer it to the TPA in a timely manner. Now, thanks to PensionPro's partnership with several payroll integration services, this data can be imported into PensionPro as soon as it's available, eliminating the need for the plan sponsor to provide the information and allowing administration work to begin more quickly.

Tier Availability: Track, Team, Business

Article Contents

• Overview of Payroll Import
• The Payroll Dashboard
  • Downloading Payroll Files
  • Importing Payroll Files
  • Acknowledging Payroll Files
  • Accessing Dismissed Payroll Files
• Payroll on the Client Tab
• Importing Payroll to Data Collection
• Payroll Insights
• Frequently Asked Questions

Overview of Payroll Import

By working with a payroll integration provider, importing payroll data into PensionPro becomes a simple process:

1. The integration partner retrieves the data from the Plan Sponsor's payroll system, then pushes it to PensionPro.
2. The file containing the payroll data lands on a Dashboard in PensionPro.
3. The file can be downloaded from the Dashboard; it will also be present on the Client tab for future use.

Additionally, year-end payroll data can be imported directly to an existing Data Collection or Annual Administration Project. When done before the Plan Sponsor starts their portion of Data Collection, they can review and approve the data on PlanSponsorLink, rather than providing it manually.

The Payroll Dashboard

Requires Security Rights: View Payroll Dashboard

When the integration partner receives the appropriate data from the Plan Sponsor's payroll system, that data will be forwarded to PensionPro, where it lands on the Payroll Dashboard. Each entry in this Dashboard represents the payroll file for a single Client, applicable to a specified plan year. By default, files are sorted from oldest to newest.

To open this Dashboard, navigate to Dashboards > Payroll > Payroll. The following sections detail how to work with the files that appear here.

Downloading Payroll Files

To save a copy of the payroll file:

1. Click to select the file in the grid, then select More > Download at the top-right. The Download window displays.
2. (optional) Select Mark as acknowledged to also dismiss the file from the Dashboard.
   • This will remove the file for all users.
3. Select Save.

The file will be downloaded to the device in spreadsheet (.csv) format.

Importing Payroll Files

As opposed to saving payroll data locally, the payroll data can instead be imported directly into the Employees step of Annual Data Collection. This will populate the step with the prior year's census data as provided by the Plan Sponsor's payroll system. For more information, refer to the section Importing Payroll to Data Collection.

A file that is imported from the Payroll Dashboard in this way will be dismissed from the Dashboard for all users following import.

Acknowledging Payroll Files

In some circumstances, a file may be placed on the Payroll Dashboard that—for whatever reason—is not relevant and doesn't need to be used. In these cases, the file can simply be acknowledged, dismissing it from the Dashboard for all users.

To do so, hover over the file in the grid, then select Edit on the right-hand side. In the window that displays, select Mark as acknowledged, then Save.

Accessing Dismissed Payroll Files

After a file is imported to Annual Data Collection or otherwise acknowledged, the file will be dismissed, effectively removing it from the Payroll Dashboard. Although a dismissed file cannot be returned to the Dashboard, it does not disappear from PensionPro entirely; instead, it can be found on the Client tab for as long as PensionPro retains the file. For more information, refer to the next section, Payroll on the Client Tab.

Payroll on the Client Tab

Requires Security Rights: Access Client Payroll Records

In addition to being shown on the Payroll Dashboard, any received payroll files can also be found on their respective Client tabs. While the Payroll Dashboard provides a constantly-changing list of incoming payroll files that need to be processed, the Client tab provides a more stable and consistent environment for files that still offers much of the same functionality as the Payroll Dashboard.

To access a Client's payroll files, open the Client record in a new tab and navigate to the Payroll Records view. The Payroll Records grid displays all files it has received from the payroll integration partner for this Client. These payroll files will be held until the listed Available Until date, at which point the file will be removed from PensionPro; this date will be set to 2 years after the date the file was received.

The same options for using and importing payroll files that are available on the Payroll Dashboard can also be found here; refer to the sections Downloading Payroll Files and Importing to Data Collection for more information. When performing these actions from the Payroll Records view, there will be no option to acknowledge the files as they cannot be dismissed from this screen.

Importing Payroll to Data Collection

Tier Availability: Team, Business

One of the greatest advantages of integrating with a payroll partner is the ability to easily work with a Client's year-end census data. To that end, PensionPro provides the ability to pull this census information directly into the appropriate Project or Plan Cycle. By importing the payroll data in this way, the Plan Sponsor can simply review the information for accuracy, as opposed to collecting and uploading the data themselves.

An import can be performed from one of the following areas in PensionPro:

• The Payroll Dashboard
• The Client tab > Payroll Records view
• The Employees step of a Project or Plan Cycle that includes Data Collection

The following steps can be performed in any of the above areas; if importing from the Project/Plan Cycle, start at Step 2. To import a payroll file to Data Collection:

1. Click to select the file in the grid.
2. Select More > Import Payroll File at the top-right. The corresponding window displays.
3. Select the Plan Name, Project Name/Data Collection, and/or Payroll File as appropriate.
   • Plan Name is only applicable when importing from the Payroll Dashboard or Client tab. If the Client only has one Plan, it will be chosen automatically.
   • Project Name/Data Collection is only applicable when importing from the Payroll Dashboard or Client tab.
   • Payroll File is only applicable when importing from the Project/Plan Cycle.
4. Select Import.

The census will be imported into the Employees step of Data Collection; data will be mapped to the appropriate columns automatically. If any census data already exists, it will be overwritten with the newly-imported data.

Payroll Insights

Requires Security Rights: View Payroll Dashboard

The Payroll Dashboard is useful for viewing recent payroll files that need to be acted upon, but once a file is imported to Data Collection, it is removed from the list. To see an overview of all received payroll files regardless of their status, use the Payroll Insights Dashboard instead.

To open this Dashboard, navigate to Dashboards > Payroll > Payroll Insights. By default, the grid will display payroll files received today; use the Received dropdown above the grid to choose the desired period of time, or set a custom date or date range.

When a payroll file is initially received by PensionPro, an entry will be added to the Payroll Insights Dashboard detailing the associated Client Name, EIN, and received date. No further information is associated with the entry at this time. After the payroll file is added to a Project/Plan Cycle (per the steps in the section Importing Payroll to Data Collection), the grid entry will update to include the corresponding Plan Name, as well as the Data Collection name and Period End.

The Data Collection Status column will remain blank until the Census Request Sent step is completed and the Data Collection is made available on PlanSponsorLink; at this point, the Status will update to In Progress. When the Plan Sponsor approves and submits Data Collection, the Status will read Completed.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What happens if there was an issue with the original payroll file and it needed to be corrected?
  The payroll integration partner will send an updated payroll file to PensionPro, where it will replace the original file. If the original file was imported to Data Collection, the import should be re-performed with the new file.
   
• When should I import the payroll file to Data Collection?
  PensionPro recommends the following order when launching Annual Data Collection on PlanSponsorLink:
  1. Create the Project or Plan Cycle.
  2. Import the payroll.
  3. Send the Census Request Blast Email.
      
• What do I do if I customized the columns I'm using for the census based on plan type?
  The payroll import will work as intended without any additional setup required; PensionPro will ensure that the imported data conforms to any Collection Field configurations that are in use.