Payroll Files
Create reusable files that carry reviewed Clockspot hours into supported payroll providers.
No login required. Opens in one click.
Open Settings, then choose Payroll Files to create a reusable file setup for your payroll provider.
Payroll Files are for providers that accept imported files. They are separate from the QuickBooks Online connection, which sends approved worked time directly to a QuickBooks company.
Creating payroll-file profiles
A profile chooses the payroll service, how Clockspot identifies each employee in the file, and the provider's pay code for each Clockspot pay category. Choose the service first: the rest of the form asks only for what that service needs, and a preview at the bottom shows the file it will produce. The profile is setup only. The actual file is downloaded from Payroll Summary for the pay period you are closing.
What a profile controls
- Payroll service - the file layout Clockspot will generate. Available services are Generic CSV, ADP RUN, Gusto (Smart Import), Paychex Flex (SPI), SurePayroll, and QuickBooks Desktop (IIF).
- Match employees by - the value Clockspot writes into the employee identifier column. ADP RUN, Paychex Flex, and SurePayroll match on their own employee number, so those profiles use each employee's Payroll ID. QuickBooks Desktop matches the employee name in the company file. Generic CSV and Gusto let you choose Employee email, Employee name, or Payroll ID.
- Pay codes - the provider's codes for regular hours, each overtime tier, and each paid time off type. These are usually earning codes, pay component codes, payroll items, or import column names in the payroll provider. The overtime tiers come from your Payroll rules and the time off types from your paid time off types, so there is nothing to invent inside the profile.
You can save a profile before every pay code is mapped. Creating a file requires a code for every payable category in that period and a unique, usable identifier for every included employee. Missing setup blocks the file instead of leaving rows out. A profile that matches by Payroll ID shows, before you save, which employees still need one.
Setting up a profile
- Open Settings, then choose Payroll Files.
- Press Add profile.
- Choose the Payroll service. Clockspot fills in the profile name and any codes the service publishes; you can change them.
- Adjust the Profile name if you keep more than one, such as "ADP weekly hourly" or "Gusto salaried".
- Fill in the service's own details, such as the ADP company code or the QuickBooks company create time. Each field explains where to find the value.
- Fill in the Pay codes for regular hours, each overtime tier, and each paid time off type that should be exported.
- Check Match employees by. When the service matches on a payroll number, make sure every employee has a Payroll ID under Employees, the employee, then Employment details.
- Compare the preview with what your provider expects, then press Add profile.
To change a profile later, use Edit profile from its menu. The profile list shows the provider format and employee-matching method for each setup.
Creating and downloading a payroll file
- Open Reports > Payroll Summary.
- Choose a workweek-aligned period and, if needed, an employee filter.
- Press Download payroll file and choose a Payroll profile. Clockspot chooses it when there is only one.
- Press Review file. Check the period, employees, identifiers, pay codes, hours, and amounts when included.
- Resolve every blocking issue. Time entries and time off need current approval evidence; open entries must be closed. Missing identifiers, duplicate identifiers, unmapped pay categories, and unsupported file contents also prevent creation.
- Press Create and download.
Clockspot saves the reviewed payroll facts, profile settings, creator, and exact file before downloading it. If those facts change after your review, refresh the preview and review it again. Creating a file does not submit payroll to your provider.
Finding or correcting a saved file
Open Download payroll file and use Export history. View details shows the saved profile settings, creator, period, and payroll rows. Download original returns the exact saved file, even if payroll data or the profile changed later.
To correct a file, choose Create corrected export, enter a Reason for correction, and review the new preview. The correction keeps the original period and employee scope. Both files and the reason remain available; the original is never overwritten. If the original profile was deleted, choose an available profile for the correction.
If a download fails after creation, use Download original in history. If creation could not be confirmed, Retry creation recovers the same request without creating a duplicate.
Provider formats
Generic CSV
Generic CSV creates a simple tall file with one row per employee and pay code. The file includes Employee, Pay Code, and Hours. If Include pay amounts column is enabled, it also includes Amount. Regular, overtime, and paid time off rows each carry their full pay. If pay cannot be calculated for an included row, such as for an employee without compensation for the period, file creation is blocked.
Use this format when your provider accepts a flexible CSV, when you need a spreadsheet handoff, or when you are testing mappings before using a provider-specific import.
ADP RUN
ADP RUN creates a Time Sheet Import CSV. The profile asks for Company code, Pay frequency, Employee ID column, and Rate code. Each employee's Payroll ID is written to the Employee ID (File #) or Employee Time Clock ID column, whichever the profile chooses, so every employee in the file needs the number ADP knows them by.
ADP's import guide describes the time sheet columns as company code, pay frequency, period start date, period end date, employee identifier, earnings code, pay hours, dollars, separate check, worked-in department, and rate code. Clockspot writes hours and earning codes; ADP calculates payroll from the codes and setup in ADP.
Keep employee IDs as text. Do not open and resave the CSV in a spreadsheet app when IDs can have leading zeroes.
Gusto (Smart Import)
Gusto Smart Import creates a wide CSV with one row per employee and one column for each mapped pay code. Clockspot leaves cells blank when an employee has no hours for that pay code.
That blank-cell behavior is intentional. Gusto documents that zero values can override existing values during Smart Import, while blank cells have no impact.
Paychex Flex (SPI)
Paychex Flex (SPI) creates a tall CSV with Employee ID, Pay Component, and Hours. Each row represents one employee, one pay component, and the hours for that component.
Paychex SPI imports are often configured per account. The exact header labels and enabled import settings can depend on the SPI spec sheet for your Paychex Flex account. Treat the Clockspot file as the standard structure, then confirm the headers and SPI enablement with Paychex or your account's SPI setup before running live payroll.
SurePayroll
SurePayroll creates a tall CSV with Year, Month, Day, Employee Number, Earning Code, and Hours. Clockspot uses the Payroll Summary period end date for the date columns.
SurePayroll's public help identifies the date fields, employee number, earning code, and hours as the required time clock file fields. It does not publish a complete account-independent header contract. Confirm the exact header expectations for your SurePayroll account before relying on the file in production.
QuickBooks Desktop (IIF)
QuickBooks Desktop creates an IIF timer file for QuickBooks Desktop, not QuickBooks Online. The profile asks for Company name and Company create time because QuickBooks timer files include a company header. The form's How to find your company create time steps walk through exporting a Timer List from QuickBooks Desktop and copying the value.
Each exported row uses the employee's name as the QuickBooks employee name and the mapped pay code as the QuickBooks payroll item. Those values must already exist in QuickBooks. Durations are written as hours and minutes.
QuickBooks IIF imports are exact-format files. Intuit recommends using the sample files and exact format, and it warns that support for third-party IIF files is limited. Back up QuickBooks Desktop and test with a small file before using this export for live payroll.
What Clockspot does not do
Payroll-file profiles do not submit anything to a provider. They create a downloadable file that an Administrator reviews and imports.
Clockspot does not create provider employees, pay codes, earning codes, departments, or wage rules. Those records must already exist in the destination, and the Clockspot mappings must point to the intended records.
Payroll providers can change import requirements or configure imports differently per account. When a provider gives you an account-specific template or spec sheet, use that as the final source of truth.
Common questions
- Does Clockspot send payroll directly to my provider?
No. Payroll-file profiles create downloadable files that an Administrator still reviews and imports.
- Why is file creation blocked?
The preview names what needs attention: approval evidence, open time entries, employee identifiers, pay-code mappings, or contents the chosen format cannot represent. Resolve the issue and review a fresh preview. Clockspot does not create a partial payroll file.
- Which employee identifier should I use?
The profile chooses it for services with one right answer: ADP RUN, Paychex Flex, and SurePayroll use each employee's Payroll ID, and QuickBooks Desktop uses the employee name. Add each employee's payroll number under Employees, the employee, then Employment details. For Generic CSV and Gusto, choose the value your importer matches on.
- Can one profile cover multiple pay schedules?
Use separate profiles when provider settings differ by schedule, company, or pay-code set. ADP RUN profiles include a specific Pay frequency, so weekly and biweekly ADP imports should be separate profiles.
Clockspot keeps clock-ins, corrections, approvals, and payroll-ready hours connected so owners and managers can review the workweek before payroll.
Want to simplify how your employees track time? See how Clockspot works.