If your plan is transferring to Guideline from another 401(k) service provider, you will receive several notifications and tasks within your administrator dashboard that will need to be completed to successfully migrate your plan. One crucial task to address is sharing your plan participant census.
A census provides us with each of your participants’ personal and 401(k) information, so we can complete important plan-related tasks, such as properly importing their data, sending participants required notices, and filing your plan’s Form 5500.
Here are commonly asked questions regarding completing and uploading your census successfully.
What information is needed to complete the census?
The plan participant census shares relevant information about your participants, which includes all active and dismissed employees with a balance in your plan. The information needed can vary depending on your plan type and whether you’re part of a legally related group (LRG).
Once you begin the participant census task, you’ll see a list of the specific information needed for your plan based on the specific type of provisions your plan includes, but here’s an idea of what you can expect:
Company name: If uploading information for multiple 401(k) plans under an LRG, please indicate at which company each employee works so we can differentiate accordingly
Full name
Email address
Birth date
Hire date
Termination date (if the participant is dismissed)
Full address
For qualified automatic contribution arrangement (QACA) plans, you will also need to include:
Wage type: W-2 or self-employed income
Current pre-tax deferral rate
Current Roth deferral rate
Election type: Self-elected or auto-enrolled
First year of auto-escalation: The first plan year that the participant deferral rate was automatically increased (only required for participants who were auto-enrolled)
Learn more about uploading your census for a QACA plans converting to Guideline.
How do I gather the required participant information?
We recommend contacting your prior provider or recordkeeper for a report of the participant information outlined above. We’ll need all the requested information for both current and former employees that have a balance in your 401(k) plan.
If any former employee contact info is missing, try reaching out to them directly to gather what’s needed using any available information you have, like emergency contact info, other benefit information such as COBRA, or social media accounts.
If you still can’t find the information, a professional search service can help.
How do I upload my plan participant census?
When you’re ready to share your plan participant census with us, complete the following steps using a desktop computer.
Format your data
The participant census must be uploaded into our system as a spreadsheet. Whether you received the data in a spreadsheet from your prior provider or you need to format the information yourself, follow the steps below to ensure the file will upload properly. You can also use the sample template linked within the task to help you format the spreadsheet.
Here’s how to ensure your spreadsheet is formatted correctly:
If the information is currently listed in multiple tabs or files, compile it into a single spreadsheet.
Use the first row of the file as column headers to identify the information below. You should have a column header for each of the categories of data requested for your participants.
Save the file in a CSV format. This is the only format that can be accepted into our system.
Upload your file
To upload the spreadsheet into the task workflow, drag and drop the file or click the Add file button to search for it within your computer documents. Once your file is processed, you’ll automatically be taken to the next step.
Confirm column labels
To ensure each column is categorized correctly in our system, confirm each incoming field matches the correct destination field in our system. Based on the column headers added in your spreadsheet, we take our best guess but you’ll want to adjust them as needed.
If any fields are not mapped appropriately, click on the drop down menu next to that specific column label and select the correct field from the list. If you choose a field already selected, the duplicate will turn blank and a new mapping will be required. You can review a preview of the data each category will be applied to by hovering over any row.
Note: The fields may vary, depending on your plan type.
Once all the labels are properly mapped, click the Continue button.
Update missing or incorrect details
The next screen will show the imported data. You’ll want to scroll through the chart to review any flagged errors.
Orange - Warning: Information marked with a warning means that Guideline needs to review it to ensure it is what we need to properly administer your plan. You will still be able to submit your participant census with warnings.
Red - Invalid: Information marked as invalid must be resolved before you can move forward. You can quickly see all invalid entries by clicking on the Invalid button above the census chart. Note that you may have to scroll to the right to see the flagged cells.
To see a description of the error, hover over the highlighted cell. Then, double click to edit or enter the requested information manually. Alternatively, you can go back and upload a new file if necessary for bulk issues. The Invalid button should show 0 before you can submit the census.
Submit your plan participant census
Once all errors are corrected, click the Submit button. Your plan participant census will then be uploaded within several moments.
You’ll get a confirmation notice that you’re good to go once the upload is complete.
We’ll review your census within 2-3 business days and contact you if we need additional details.
How do I delete an existing file and upload a new one?
If you need to delete the uploaded data and start over for any reason, here’s how to do so:
Check the open box in the top left corner of the data list to select all rows. Once clicked, you should see all rows checked and highlighted.
Click the trash can icon.
Select the Delete records button in the pop-up notification to confirm.
Once your data is cleared, you can upload a new file by following the instructions listed above.
How do I add new records to an existing census upload?
If you need to add additional participants to your census, you can upload a new spreadsheet to an existing census list.
To add the new records, complete the following steps:
Go to Files in the left side bar.
Click the Add file button.
Click Import.
Select the button next to Census to import the sheet. Then, click the Continue button.
Map the fields as outlined above and click Continue.
Your new data should be imported into your existing Census. Please note that uploading new information for an existing participant will create a duplicate record, which will be flagged. You’ll need to delete the outdated duplicate listing before you can save your new records.