CharlieHR integration

Integrate with CharlieHR to reduce time spent entering employee details for payroll.

Before you begin

Before you integrate with CharlieHR, you need to prepare your employees and generate an API key in CharlieHR.

1. Prepare your employees in CharlieHR.
   1. Log into CharlieHR.
   2. Enter each employee’s Employee page and select the Pay tab.
   3. Set a unique Payroll ID value. This should match the Employee ID in UK Payroll, if one already exists.

      Note: This field must always remain the same for each synced employee as it is used to identify an employee to HMRC.

   4. Save changes.
   5. Repeat with any employees that will be synced to UK Payroll.
2. Create an API key in CharlieHR.
   1. Log into CharlieHR.
   2. From the left side bar, select Company > Settings.
   3. Select the Integrations tab.
   4. In the API Access > Your API Keys section, mark I am ready to save my keys.
   5. Click Generate Keys.
   6. Make a note of the Client ID and Client Secret.

How to connect with CharlieHR

1. From the left side bar, navigate to Settings.
2. Under the Integrations heading, select Overview.
3. Click Integrate in the CharlieHR tile.
4. Enter your access token into the API key field.
5. Click Integrate.
6. Enter the Client ID and the Client Secret.
7. Click Integrate.

How to configure your CharlieHR integration

1. Map your UK Payroll fields (shown on the left) to your CharlieHR fields (shown on the right). You can map any field, including custom fields.

   Note: Select Do not map for the optional fields you do not wish to sync from CharlieHR, or if any UK Payroll fields are unavailable in CharlieHR. Additionally, multi-list fields can’t be mapped and won’t appear for selection as each UK Payroll field can only accept one value.

2. Toggle on Pause syncing to update data directly in UK Payroll. If you unpause the sync, the data in CharlieHR will overwrite the data in UK Payroll.

   Note: If you pause syncing, it won’t affect sending payslips to CharlieHR on payday.

3. Toggle on Include holiday pay in pension calculations if you want termination holiday pay included in pension calculations by default. Don’t toggle this on if holiday pay varies by employee.
4. Toggle on Exclude employees to exclude employees from the CharlieHR to UK Payroll sync. To learn more, see Exclude employees from an HRIS sync.

   Note: You must set up the filters for excluded employees before saving any initial settings. Otherwise, UK Payroll imports all employees once connected.

FAQs

What does ⚡️ mean?
⚡️ is UK Payroll’s sync indicator. The lightning symbol highlights the fields that are lined to other systems, such as CharlieHR or HMRC. It’s there to remind you that if you change one of those fields in UK Payroll, it will be overwritten by information from the linked systems when next synced.

If a field doesn’t have an integration option or it’s set to Do not map, there won’t be a sync indicator next to it.

How can I change my CharlieHR integration settings?
To amend your UK Payroll/CharlieHR integration settings, navigate to Settings > Integrations > CharlieHR from the left side bar.

How is employee data synced?
Syncing begins when UK Payroll is first connected to CharlieHR, and then updated every hour, when UK Payroll checks for changes to the mapped fields.

Employee data is synced using the Employee ID, which must be the same in UK Payroll and CharlieHR. UK Payroll is then populated with the employee data from CharlieHR for the defined fields in Mapping. Any fields defined as Do not map won’t be synced.

Note: CharlieHR is the source of truth for employee data. Mapped fields in UK Payroll will be overwritten with the CharlieHR value, even if the field in CharlieHR is null or empty. Multi-list fields can’t be mapped and won’t appear for selection as UK Payroll fields can only accept one value.

How do I add a new starter?
New employees should be added to CharlieHR using a unique and previously unused Employee ID. Once you have added them in CharlieHR, a new employee record will be created for them in UK Payroll as long as the Employee ID is not present on any record in UK Payroll. For more information, see Add a new hire.

What if an employee’s data is not syncing?
If you’ve just updated your employee’s data in CharlieHR, you may need to wait a short period for it to update. However, if after some time, the data is still not syncing, or if you have paused CharlieHR syncing, you can pull through an update by syncing individual employees.

1. Navigate to Employees from the left side bar and select the relevant employee.
2. Click Actions > Sync now.

If that still doesn’t work, the information may have been entered incorrectly in CharlieHR. For more information on ensuring flawless syncs, see Ready your employees for payroll.

Finally, if you are still having trouble syncing employee data, pause syncing and update UK Payroll directly. However, once the sync does work, the information on UK Payroll will be overwritten with CharlieHR data. Make sure any changes made in UK Payroll are also updated in CharlieHR.

I need to finalize payroll, but some employee data is yet to sync. What should I do?
If you can’t wait for a sync to execute and syncing individual employees isn’t working, you can update UK Payroll directly. However, once the sync is executed, UK Payroll data will be overwritten with CharlieHR data. If the data is invalid, the UK Payroll fields will update to blank.

Does data still sync from CharlieHR once payroll is confirmed?
No changes can be made if payroll is awaiting approval or confirmation. This means any changes affecting payslip calculations aren’t synced, e.g. salaries. Once payroll has been processed and paid, the sync will be re-enabled and salaries will be backdated as appropriate.

Data that does not affect payslip values will sync regardless of payroll status.

If an employee changes their bank details in CharlieHR after payroll has been confirmed, will the net pay go to the new bank account?
Payment details are locked in for the transfer one day before your scheduled payday. If the employee’s new bank details sync to UK Payroll before this day, they will get their salary paid into their new bank account.