How does connecting your HR system work?
Updated 2 weeks ago
You connect your HR or payroll system by opening a secure connection link, signing in to your system or entering the credentials it asks for, and approving access. One admin at your company does this once per system.
What happens when you connect
The company you're connecting with sends you a connection link, or you start the connection from inside its app.
Open the link and select Allow and Continue.
Sign in to your HR system, or enter the values it asks for. Depending on the system, that is a sign-in, an API key or token, a client ID and secret, or a certificate. The setup guide for your system shows where to find each one.
Finish the last step (usually Connect, or approving access on your system's own sign-in page). The connection is live as soon as you finish, and the first data sync starts right away.
Who should connect
Ask an administrator of your HR or payroll system to connect. Most systems only let admins create API credentials, approve third-party apps or set permissions.
If you can, connect with a dedicated service account rather than a personal login, so the connection keeps working when someone changes their password or leaves. See Should I use a service account or my own login?
Connect through the API or by uploading files
Your data reaches the company you're connecting with in one of two ways. The setup guide for your system tells you which one applies.
API connection | File upload (SFTP) | |
|---|---|---|
How data arrives | The connection reads it from your system's API | Your system exports a file that you upload or schedule |
How fresh it is | Synced automatically on a schedule | As fresh as the last file you sent |
What's included | What the API and your permissions allow | Whatever columns your export contains |
How long the connection link is valid
A connection link expires 7 days after it's created. If yours has expired, ask the company that sent you the connection link for a new one.
What happens after you connect
The first sync reads all the data in scope. How long it takes depends on your system and how much data you have.
After that, data syncs automatically, once every 24 hours by default.
If your credentials expire or are rotated, the connection pauses and you're asked to reconnect. Reconnecting updates the existing connection, so nothing you set up is lost.