How do I import employees?¶

Instead of adding employees one by one, you can bring them in from a spreadsheet or straight from Deputy, Tanda or Xero. Go to Payroll → Employees and click Import — the menu offers Import from Excel, Import from Deputy, Import from Tanda and Import from Xero.

Importing from Excel¶

Step 1. Click Import → Import from Excel to open the Import Employees from Excel panel.

Step 2. Click Template to download the blank Excel template. Mandatory columns are marked with *. Fill in one employee per row — name, contact details, date of birth, address, start date, job title, hours per week, salary or rate, payment method, pay frequency, residency, TFN and study loan flag.

Step 3. Under Choose Excel file, select your filled-in copy. Files must be .xlsx, at most 5 MB, and at most 1000 rows per import.

Step 4. Click Preview. Nothing is imported yet — you'll see a Valid rows and Errors count, the parsed rows (invalid ones highlighted in red), and an Error details table listing the row, field and message for anything that needs fixing. Common errors are a missing first name or start date, or an email address that already belongs to an existing employee.

Step 5. Click Import N valid rows. Only valid rows are imported — rows with errors are skipped, and the result screen shows what was Imported and Skipped. Use Back first if you'd rather fix the file and preview again, and Import another afterwards to run a second file.

If accepting the whole file would take you past your plan's employee limit, the import is rejected as a whole rather than partially imported.

What gets created¶

Each valid row becomes an employee with the details from your file, plus sensible defaults for anything the template doesn't cover — 38 hours per week if left blank, per-pay leave accrual with the standard annual and personal leave entitlements, and a tax setup based on the residency column. The template doesn't include super fund or bank account details, so review each imported employee's Superannuation and Bank tabs before their first pay run.

Importing from Deputy, Tanda or Xero¶

Step 1. Connect the platform first under Settings → Integrations.

Step 2. Click Import → Import from Deputy (or Tanda / Xero). The import runs in the background — you'll see progress messages, then a summary like "3 imported, 1 skipped" when it finishes.

Employees already in myaccountant are skipped rather than duplicated. If the import would exceed your plan's employee limit, it stops and tells you.

As with Excel, imported employees may need their super fund, tax and bank details completed before payday.

Related guides¶

• How do I add an employee?
• How do I add super fund details for an employee?
• How do I create a pay run?