WHEN TO USE THIS ARTICLE
Use this article when:
you are uploading employee data into PayGap for the first time
you are uploading a refreshed version of your standard dataset
your file does not include any new custom fields outside PayGap’s standard data model
Important: If your file includes additional fields that are not part of the standard specification, set those up first in Organization Settings → Custom Fields before uploading. For step-by-step instructions, see the article “Set up custom fields in PayGap”
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE
1. Go to the upload area
In PayGap, open Data Management → Upload. Then drag and drop your file into the upload area to start the process.
2. Review the suggested column mapping
PayGap suggests mappings based on your column names. In many cases, mandatory and optional fields are mapped automatically, but you should still review them before continuing.
If a field is not mapped automatically, it usually means:
the field is not included in the file, or
the column header in the file does not match what PayGap expects closely enough for automatic mapping.
3. Keep the default date format setting
During mapping, PayGap shows a date format at the top. Do not change it.
If Excel has recognized the date correctly, the upload will always be formatted to year-month-date.
4. Continue to legal entity mapping
After reviewing the mapping, click Continue.
On the first upload, PayGap asks you to map legal entities to countries. The same step will appear again later if a future upload contains a new legal entity that has not been mapped before. In that case, an additional Step 3 will appear so you can assign the new legal entity to the correct country.
5. Create a new legal entity or map to an existing one
For each legal entity in the file:
· Choose the country it belongs to
· Use Create new if it is a new legal entity and map it to the appropriate country
Map it to an existing legal entity if it has already been imported before under a different identifier and should be merged with that existing entity. This is useful when the identifier in the upload file changed, but the legal entity is still the same one in PayGap.
6. Preview and submit the upload
After legal entity mapping, review the preview and click Submit. PayGap then starts the processing tasks for the file. If an error message is available at that stage, it will be shown in the upload flow.
7. Validate the uploaded data
After the upload is complete, review the data in PayGap.
Recommended checks:
go to Organization → Employees to review employee counts
use a global view if you want a broader overview
use Descriptive Analysis and generate box plots to spot outliers. Look for very low data points as an indicator for salary errors, typically related to a wrong pay period (e.g., Month instead of Year). Look for high outliers to identify employees that might have been double standardized if you imported FTE.
Go to Case Management and filter on index to look for unusually high or low values, and verify that they match the values expected from the import file
Important: Before proceeding with the analysis, review the data in Descriptive Analysis and Case Management to identify any unusually low or high values. These may appear as visible outliers in the charts or as atypical averages and medians within groups. You can also review individual employee records to identify potential data issues, such as incorrect pay standardization in the import file or cases where hourly workers have been uploaded with 0 working hours.
8. Correct issues by re-uploading a fixed file
If you find a problem, prepare a corrected file and upload it again.
Examples:
If one employee should be excluded, remove that row and re-upload the file
If salary or other values were uploaded incorrectly, upload a corrected version to override the data used in analysis
KEY INFORMATION
This article assumes you are using only PayGap’s standard fields and no custom fields.
Automatic mapping is based on column names, so you should always review the suggestions before proceeding.
On first upload, legal entities must be mapped to countries. The same will happen again if a later file introduces a new legal entity.
If a legal entity identifier changed, you can map it to an existing legal entity instead of creating a duplicate.
There is currently no undo option for data imports. The practical workaround is to upload a corrected file. An undo option is on the roadmap.
Example 1: A column was not mapped automatically
This can happen when the file uses a different column header than PayGap expected. Review the mapping and correct it manually if needed.
Example 2: A legal entity name changed in the file
If the legal entity already exists in PayGap, map the new identifier to the existing legal entity instead of creating a new one.
Example 3: One employee should no longer be included
Remove that employee from the source file and upload the corrected file again. The employee will no longer be active in the analysis.
COMMON QUESTIONS / TROUBLESHOOTING
A field was not mapped automatically. What should I do?
Check whether the field exists in the file and whether the column name differs from what PayGap expects. If needed, adjust the mapping manually.
Do I need to change the date format during upload?
No. Leave the default date format as shown in the upload flow.
Why am I being asked to map legal entities to countries?
This happens on the first upload and whenever a later file contains a new legal entity.
How can I check whether the upload looks correct?
Review employee counts, then check for outliers in Case Management or with box plots in Descriptive Analysis.
Can I delete or undo a bad upload?
Not currently. The supported workaround is to upload a corrected file.