Every ADP account is set up a little differently, so your exact columns and codes come from your own ADP setup. This guide covers the parts that are nearly always the same, and the mistakes that most often make an import fail on trade show crews.
Before you start: four things from your ADP account
You need these before you build a single row:
- Company code. Usually a three-character code. If you run more than one company in ADP, each has its own.
- Batch ID. A number that identifies this paydata batch. Many payroll teams use a date-style number so batches are easy to tell apart.
- File numbers. Every crew member's ADP file number (employee ID). This is how ADP knows who the hours belong to. Never guess one from a handwritten name.
- Hours and earnings codes. The codes your account uses for double time, holiday, reimbursements and any premiums. Your ADP administrator can find them under the validation tables for hours and earnings codes. Menu names vary by role and version.
The column order that matters
ADP's paydata import expects the identifying columns first, in this order:
| Position | Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Co Code | Your company code, the same on every row |
| 2 | Batch ID | The same batch number on every row of this file |
| 3 | File # | The crew member's ADP file number |
| then | Reg Hours | Straight-time hours for the period |
| then | O/T Hours | Overtime hours for the period |
| then | Hours 3 Code / Hours 3 Amount | A coded hours type, such as your double-time code, and its hours |
| then | Earnings 3 Code / Earnings 3 Amount | A coded dollar amount, such as a parking reimbursement |
Your account may also use extra columns such as a temporary department, a temporary rate or a cost number. That's useful when the same men work different shows or classifications in one pay period. Leave out any column you don't use; extra or empty columns are a common cause of errors.
Some ADP setups expect a specific file name, often "EPI" plus the company code plus two digits (for example, EPIABC01.csv). Ask your ADP representative whether yours does.
A worked example
Here are three fictional crew members for one pay week, with daily overtime after 8 hours, double time under your agreement, and a parking reimbursement. The code values below are placeholders; use your own account's codes.
| Co Code | Batch ID | File # | Reg Hours | O/T Hours | Hours 3 Code | Hours 3 Amount | Earnings 3 Code | Earnings 3 Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 110426 | 000101 | 40.00 | 6.00 | DT | 2.00 | PKG | 45.00 |
| ABC | 110426 | 000102 | 32.00 | 0.00 | PKG | 30.00 | ||
| ABC | 110426 | 000103 | 24.00 | 4.50 |
Notice what's not in the file: names. The file number does the matching. Names are for your own review copy, not the import.
Step by step
- Approve the hours first. Every line on every sheet should be checked against its in, lunch and out times, the overtime rules and the foreman's page total, and then approved.
- Match every name to a file number. Hold back any line you can't match. A wrong file number pays the wrong man.
- Total by person and code. One row per crew member, with straight time, overtime, double time and reimbursements summed across every day in the pay period.
- Build the CSV in your column order. Company code, batch ID and file number first, then your hours and earnings columns.
- Import it in ADP. Depending on your role, the import is usually under a utilities or import menu, where you choose paydata and upload the file.
- Balance before you process. Compare ADP's paydata totals against your approved totals for straight time, overtime, double time and reimbursement dollars. If they don't match to the hundredth, stop and find out why.
Why imports fail
- A code that doesn't exist in the account. "DT" in your file but "DBL" in ADP will fail or land in the wrong place.
- A file number typo, or a name in the file number column. ADP can't match the row.
- Extra or out-of-order columns. Company code, batch ID and file number belong first.
- Hours entered twice. Importing a file into a batch that already has hand-keyed hours can double up a pay period.
- Totals that were never checked. The import can succeed and still be wrong if the hours behind it weren't approved.
Where myCrewIQ fits
myCrewIQ builds this file from paper sign-in sheets. The crew signs in as usual, the sheets are photographed or uploaded, each line is read beside its scan, and a person approves the batch. The approved hours become a payroll import file laid out for your ADP account, with your codes, and the same approved hours feed your benefit fund reports and labor budget. Crew members are matched by payroll ID; Social Security numbers never go into the payroll console.
myCrewIQ prepares the file and you import it yourself. It never connects to or submits to ADP, so test-import one file before relying on a new layout.
Frequently asked questions
- Does the ADP paydata file need employee names?
- No. ADP matches rows by file number. Keep names on your own review copy so you can check the file, and leave them out of the import unless your ADP setup asks for them.
- How do I put double time into an ADP import?
- Most accounts handle double time as a coded hours type: a double-time code in an hours code column with the hours beside it. Use the exact code your account has set up.
- Can I import parking and other reimbursements?
- Usually yes, as a coded earnings amount. Ask your ADP administrator which earnings code your company uses for each reimbursement type.
- Does myCrewIQ upload the file into ADP for me?
- No. myCrewIQ prepares the import file and you import it yourself.