If you have a self-service plan, Guideline will not have access to your payroll provider. Therefore, as an administrator, you will need to report contributions and employee compensation by uploading payroll reports to the Payroll tab within your Guideline administrator dashboard.
It’s important to upload these reports in a timely manner, as failure to do so may lead to late deposits and missed deferral opportunities.
How to prepare your records before payroll uploads
Before you get started with a payroll report upload, we recommend reviewing your Guideline Roster to ensure it is up to date. Be mindful of the following:
All employee personal information, including first names, last names, and salary details, must be accurate.
New hires should be added on or before their hire date. Additionally, be sure important information, such as email addresses, hire dates, and dates of birth, are included for all new employees. Failure to provide this data may result in delays to participant enrollment.
The employment status for terminated or dismissed individuals must be up to date.
How to upload your payroll reports
Access the Payroll tab through the main menu. Within the Payroll reports section, click the purple “Add regular payroll” button if the report is related to typical payroll processing. If you need to process special payroll for bonuses, commissions, or other non-typical pay, select the “Add off-cycle payroll” button.
Gather payroll and contribution details. This information can typically be found through your payroll provider. We’ll need the following for each employee:
First and last name
Traditional (pre-tax) contribution amount*
Roth contribution amount*
Employer contribution amount*
Pay date
Pay period gross pay
Pay period hours worked
Loan repayment amount (if applicable)*
*Amounts should be calculated as a dollar figure.
Within the instructions that will be displayed, you can find a copy of our payroll report template. You can use this to input the necessary details and then upload your report later. This template can also be found in the Forms & Templates section within your administrator dashboard. When you’re ready to move forward, click the “Got it” button.
Upload or manually enter your payroll data. In the next screen, you’ll be able to upload your payroll report file or manually enter your data.
Manual data entry: If you’d prefer to enter all payroll details manually, select the “Manually enter data” button. Then, type in the requested details for all employees. This option may be preferred if you have just a few employees, otherwise, we recommend uploading a file.
File upload: First, confirm that your file is saved in a .csv format. When ready, click “Upload file” or drag and drop your file into the Payroll report screen, then hit the “Submit” button when you’re ready to import.
Next, match your titles or incoming fields so they correspond to the destination fields within our system. This will let us know how to properly map your data. Hit “Continue” when ready.
On the next screen, you’ll be able to see all the data uploaded from your report. If there are any errors, you’ll see an “Invalid” notification and the field that needs adjustment will be highlighted. You’ll need to fix all errors before you can move forward. Once everything looks good, click the “Submit” button to complete the payroll upload process.
You’ll then be brought back to the Payroll dashboard, where you can review your submitted payroll, as well as all previously uploaded reports.
What happens after payroll is submitted
Any time you upload a new payroll report, you will receive an email confirmation.
Guideline will withdraw the contributions from your bank account on file 1-2 business days of the pay date (or file upload date, if it occurred after your pay date). You will also receive an email notification when this process is complete.
Contributions will then be allocated to participants’ accounts 5-7 business days after the payroll withdrawal. You can find more information on the collection timeline here.
How to troubleshoot upload issues
If you receive an error after attempting to upload your report, it is likely due to a formatting or data issue within the upload. Learn how to fix common errors in payroll reports here.