Paychex Merge sync setup

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Scott Seipold

Paychex

If you currently use Paychex to manage HR data, you can fully automate the management of your recognition program data using Merge synchronization (recommended).

Merge synchronization eliminates the need to maintain employee data in multiple places.  Any changes to Paychex data (employee adds, removes, edits, etc) automatically update in the recognition program within 24 hours.

 

Good to know

  • Data is automatically synced every 24 hours
  • Data errors reported by the Merge process are clearly noted for you to resolve in the Paychex system that you're already using
  • All data fields listed in the table below are mandatory
  • Each employee must have access to their email inbox
  • Inactivated/Terminated employee accounts will automatically be deleted from the recognition platform
  • You will need Full Admin Access in Paychex to enable this automated sync

 

Prerequisites

BEFORE enabling Paychex automated Merge synchronization, please ensure you have done the following:

  • Existing/live programs will first need to setup the sync process on a test platform to ensure data integrity - contact your Account Manager for assistance
  • Existing/live programs currently using REST API or Console App sync will need to disable that process before enabling Merge synchronization - see instructions below
  • You will need Full Admin Access in Paychex to enable this automated sync
  • Do a one-time export of your Paychex employee data and confirm that all mandatory fields are complete for every employee, and that the 'reports to' hierarchy is complete without any missing/vacant managers; i.e. every employee must have an active manager, and every manager must have a manager, up to a single CEO with no manager
  • From the Admin system, create your Reporting Groups and map your Departments (these need to be an exact match to the Departments stored in Paychex)
  • Check the following Required Data Fields for every employee:
    Note: The data will not sync if even one field is missing or incorrect

Paychex Data Requirements

Required Data Fields  Notes

Employee ID

Paychex field: Employee #

  • Must be unique
  • Max 30 characters
  • Must be alphanumeric
  • We will automatically flatten the ID (all lower-case)

First Name

Paychex field: Name > First

  • Must be alphanumeric
  • Max 50 characters
  • Won't include preferred names
Last Name

Paychex field: Name > Last

  • Must be alphanumeric
  • Max 50 characters
  • Won't include preferred names
Email Address 

Paychex field: Work Email

  • Max 50 characters
  • Must be a valid email address
  • The domain must be functional (we will check its DNS MX record)
  • We will automatically flatten the address (all lower-case)
  • If you are configured for offline invites (some employees don’t have a company email and you are going to send them their login details manually), email can be blank
Department

Paychex field: Department

Job Title

Paychex field: Job Title

  • Max 100 characters
Start Date

Paychex field: Start Date
Manager ID

Paychex field: Reports To

  • This can only be blank for the one employee at the top of your hierarchy (i.e. MD, CEO, etc.)
  • Manager's Personal Basic Status must be Active and Job Employment Status must not be Terminated
Country

Paychex field: Personal > Address > Country

  • If your program operates in a single country, we will assume all employees are located in that country
  • If you are running a multi country program, you will need to ensure that a home country is defined for each employee, and that those countries have been enabled in your program
Employment Type

Paychex field: Job Employment Status

During sync setup you will choose how to treat each Job Employment Status:

  • The Merge process will attempt to categorize any Employee Status you have created in Paychex to one of the following types: FULL_TIME, PART_TIME, INTERN, CONTRACTOR or FREELANCER
  • If it can’t map to one of these types, then it will pass through the original value from Paychex
  • Prior to syncing all your employees, you will be shown which types have been pulled through and the total number of employees in each type (see screen shot below)
  • You can determine which types you want to sync into Workstars, and which you don’t
  • You can also define if each type is going to be classed as an Employee or a Contractor, which gives you additional functionality to restrict rewards for contractors, if necessary
  • Terminated will not be synced

 

Note:

Employment Status

Paychex field: Personal Basic Status

This sync will analyze all of your employees with Personal Basic Status = Active

It will not sync employees with Personal Basic Status = Inactive

  • If Job Employment Status is set to Terminated with an effective date in the past, we will exclude this employee from the sync (regardless of Personal Basic Status)
  • If Job Employment Status is set to Terminated with an effective date in the future, we will include this employee in the sync until the Terminated effective date is reached (regardless of Personal Basic Status)
  • Note: Never Delete an employee from Paychex; Inactivate them instead

 

Existing programs currently using REST API sync or Console APP sync only: Disable current automated HR data sync before enabling Merge synchronization

  1. Login to your Administrator account
  2. Click the Add-ons tab, select HR Data Sync
  3. Confirm that the blue information box states that "You upload your HR data using our REST API or Console App"
  4. Click the Settings & Configuration cog
  5. Click the 3 dot ellipsis and select Disable HR Data Sync
  6. Click Confirm
  7. Follow the steps below to enable Paychex automated Merge synchronization

 

AFTER you have confirmed that your Paychex data is complete and any current automated HR data sync has been disabled:

How to enable Paychex automated Merge synchronization

  1. Login to your Administrator account
  2. Click the Add-ons tab, select HR Data Sync
  3. Click Learn More
  4. Click Sync via Merge (Recommended)
  5. Click the Paychex button
  6. Click Continue
  7. Click Continue again
  8. Enter your Paychex Client ID (API Key) and Client Secret (API Secret), then click Submit
  9. The first part of the sync between Merge and your Paychex instance will be initiated
    NOTE: This can take several hours depending on your employee numbers
  10. Once complete you can review and decide which Employee Types to sync (see Employment Type notes above)

    • Sync as Employee

    • Sync as Contractor

    • Don’t Sync

  11. Click Confirm

  12. This will initiate the sync between Merge and Workstars.  You should now see the HR Data Sync Dashboard showing your sync logs and status

  13. Wait 20-30 minutes for the initial automated sync to happen, then check for any errors and resolve in Paychex

  14. The data will re-sync overnight, then you can re-check for errors and resolve them in Paychex

See How check status of Merge HR data sync and troubleshoot any issues for more information.

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