Payroll Export

Payroll Export is where admins create the provider profiles used to download payroll-ready files from Payroll Summary.

A profile does three things: it chooses the file format, chooses how Clockspot should identify employees in that provider, and maps Clockspot pay categories to the provider's pay codes. The profile is setup only. The actual file is downloaded from Payroll Summary for the pay period you are closing.

What a profile controls

• Provider format - the file layout Clockspot will generate. Available formats are Generic CSV, ADP RUN, Gusto (Smart Import), Paychex Flex (SPI), SurePayroll, and QuickBooks Desktop (IIF).
• Identify employees by - the value Clockspot writes into the employee identifier column. Use Employee email or Employee name only when that is what the provider import expects. Use Custom field when the provider uses employee numbers, file numbers, badge IDs, or another payroll-system ID.
• Custom field key - the custom field Clockspot reads when Identify employees by is Custom field. Each exported employee needs that field filled in before their rows can be included.
• Pay codes - the provider's codes for regular hours, overtime tiers, and paid time off types. These are usually earning codes, pay component codes, payroll items, or import column names in the payroll provider.

Clockspot allows you to save a profile before every pay code is mapped. That makes setup easier, but the export will warn and skip rows whose pay category has no mapped code or whose employee identifier is blank.

Setting up a profile

1. Open Settings > Payroll Export.
2. Press Add Profile in the page header, or Add profile in the empty state.
3. Enter a clear Name. Use names that separate provider, company, and schedule when needed, such as "ADP weekly hourly" or "Gusto salaried".
4. Choose the Provider format.
5. Choose Identify employees by. If you choose Custom field, enter the exact Custom field key that stores the payroll provider's employee ID.
6. Fill in the provider-specific fields.
7. Fill in the Pay codes section for regular hours, overtime tiers, and each paid time off type that should be exported.
8. Press Add profile.

To change a profile later, use Edit profile from the profile table. The table shows Name, Provider, and Updated so admins can see which format each profile uses and when it was last changed.

Downloading a payroll file

Payroll files are downloaded from Payroll Summary, not from the setup page.

1. Open Reports > Payroll Summary.
2. Choose the workweek-aligned period and employee filters you want to export.
3. Review the report totals, approval coverage, and any Needs review rows before creating a file.
4. Select a Payroll profile in the report toolbar.
5. Press Download for payroll.

Clockspot downloads the file in the selected provider format. If the download says setup issues were found, the file still contains the rows Clockspot could export, but some rows were left out. Open Settings > Payroll Export, edit the selected profile, and fix missing pay-code mappings or employee identifiers before relying on the file for payroll.

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.

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 ADP company code, Pay frequency, Rate code, and Employee id column. The employee identifier can be written to Employee ID (File #) or Employee Time Clock ID.

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 QuickBooks company name and Company create time because QuickBooks timer files include a company header. You can get those values from a timer list export or your QuickBooks Desktop setup.

Each exported row uses the employee identifier 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

Clockspot does not submit payroll directly to any provider. It only creates a downloadable file that an admin uploads or imports into the payroll provider.

Clockspot also does not create provider employees, pay codes, payroll items, earning codes, departments, tax settings, or wage rules. Those must already be correct in the payroll provider, and the profile mappings in Clockspot must match them exactly.

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.

External provider references

• Gusto: Run payroll with Smart Import
• ADP RUN: Time Sheet Import guide
• QuickBooks Desktop: IIF overview and sample files
• QuickBooks Desktop: Export, import, and edit IIF files
• SurePayroll: Time clock file format