Skip to main content

Supported payroll file formats

UpSheets allows you to upload the following transactions to Xero:
If you are importing monthly totals such as basic hours and overtime hours, Xero Australia allows more than 24 hours on a single timesheet date for an employee. If you would rather not upload those totals as timesheets, Australia also supports loading them as payslip lines.
If you see Unable to determine transaction type (or similar) on the Validate screen, first check Items to Import on the Import screen. Those options must match the transaction types in your file; they control required columns and how each row is interpreted. See Import OptionsItems to Import. For step-by-step troubleshooting, see Unable to Determine Transaction Type.

Alternative Formats

This default file requirements are for a single row for each employee/date/type/hours. A common alternative format contains multiple columns for each type (pay item/earnings rate). These can be imported directly by adding the required columns. On the Import screen, the standard row-based format uses File contains Earnings Rate. To use horizontal mode instead, first define the pay item columns in Add Columns, then import with File contains multiple Earnings Rate columns. You may include any or all of the supported transaction types in the same file. To do so, provide data in the appropriate columns for each row and leave the others blank. See Multiple Types for examples.

Notes on file formats

  • Clicking the Download Sample button on the Import screen will download a file with your Xero data in it and is the easiest way to get started.
  • A header row is not required, but it will save you time as UpSheets matches the headings automatically where possible and saves you from selecting them individually.
  • The order of the columns in your file does not matter.
  • Extra columns will be ignored, but it is faster if they are removed.
You may use a single full_name column instead of first_name and last_name.
You may optionally provide a Start Time and End Time column instead of a single Hours column where hours are required.
For information on saving spreadsheets as CSV files, see File Types.