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How to Import Your Payroll History into Jane Payroll

  1. Payroll
  2. How to Import Your Payroll History into Jane Payroll

    3. 5 min read
Jane Plan: Legacy, Practice, and Thrive
Add-on Required: Yes – Jane Payroll
Geography: Available in: 🇨🇦 Canada only

Getting Started

Before importing your payroll history, make sure the following are set up in your Jane Payroll account. The import can't be mapped correctly without these in place first.

  • Staff members added to Jane Payroll — all staff who have been paid this calendar year, including anyone terminated mid-year. See our guide on Jane Payroll: Staff Member Onboarding Steps.
  • Pay Types created — use the same pay types you used in your previous software so your data maps correctly. See our guide on Pay Types in Jane Payroll.
  • Time off policies created — including vacation pay, sick pay, and any other time off policies, with vacation pay dollar balances and time balances that will carry over. See our guide on Jane Payroll: Managing Vacation Pay and Vacation Time.
  • Benefits created — any benefits you offer staff, such as health, dental, long-term disability, short-term disability, pension plan, and life insurance. See our guide on How to Set Up Benefits in Jane Payroll.

📣 Heads up: Before uploading your import file, reach out to the Jane Payroll support team at [email protected] to confirm your pay types, vacation policies, and benefits are set up correctly. This helps avoid mapping errors and delays before your first payroll run.

Instructions

To import your payroll history into Jane Payroll, you'll need to gather your year-to-date payroll data, prepare it in the correct format, and upload it to your Jane Payroll account for the Jane Payroll team to review.

Gathering your payroll data

Your import file should include all staff members paid during the current calendar year, including anyone terminated mid-year, organized by contractors and employees.

For independent contractors, include:

  • YTD gross wages
  • YTD collected GST/HST (if applicable, in a separate column)

For employees, include:

  • YTD gross wages
  • YTD employee and employer tax contributions
  • Benefits and voluntary deductions
  • Vacation balances
  • Sick time balances

[Screenshot: The employee vs. contractor data requirements chart]

For a detailed breakdown of all required fields, refer to the sample spreadsheet.

If you're exporting this data from a previous payroll provider, see our guide on How to Export Your Payroll History from Your Previous Software for step-by-step instructions.

Uploading your payroll history

Once your file is ready, upload it to your Jane Payroll account.

  1. Go to Billing > Payroll > Dashboard.
  2. Click Start next to Provide Payroll History.
  3. Upload your file.

[Screenshot: The Dashboard showing the Provide Payroll History step with the Start button]

📣 Heads up: Always upload payroll history through the Provide Payroll History step on the Dashboard rather than sending files by email. This keeps your information secure and notifies the Jane Payroll team that your file is ready for review.

Accepted file formats: CSV, JPG, PDF, PNG, TSV, TXT, XLS, and XLSX. If your file isn't in one of these formats, convert it before uploading.

What to Expect

Once your file is uploaded, the Jane Payroll team will review it before your first payroll run. The team will be in touch if anything needs to be corrected or clarified. You won't be able to run your first payroll until the import has been reviewed and confirmed.

Important Notes

  • Include all staff terminated during the current calendar year in your import file. This is required to generate T4s and T4As for them at year-end. Once added, you can mark them as terminated in their staff profile.
  • GST/HST amounts collected by contractors must be recorded in a separate column in your import file. If they're combined with gross pay, it can lead to inaccurate T4A filings.
  • Importing your year-to-date payroll data ensures Jane can calculate deductions accurately for subsequent payrolls, include correct YTD totals on pay stubs, and generate complete year-end tax slips.
  • If this step is missed, it can result in incorrect deductions, incomplete year-end reporting, and complications if you ever need to respond to a CRA audit or record-keeping request.
  • Once your previous payroll provider is closed, you may lose access to historical payroll data, making corrections more difficult. Gather and upload all required information before closing your previous account.

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