What is the Employee Roster master file and where do I find it?
Learn which fields to include, where to find the export, and how to request extraction help.
The Employee Roster, sometimes called an Employee Master or master file, is the employee list used to begin the data collection process. Upload one file, or several files if the export is split.
What should the file contain?
The file should contain one unique row per employee. The field names in your export do not need to match a specific naming convention because the fields can be mapped during processing.
Required fields
- Employee SSN
- Employee ID
- Employee First Name
- Employee Last Name
Recommended optional fields
- Employee Middle Initial
- Preferred or Chosen Name
- Birth Date
- Marital Status
- Gender
- Ethnicity or Race
- Employee Address
- Personal Email
- Work Email
- Home Phone
- Mobile Phone
- Hire Date
- Employment Status
- Status Effective Date
- Home Department
- Job Title
- Company Code
- Work State
Should terminated employees be included?
Yes. Include terminated employees when they are available in the export.
Where do I find this?
Select Open the export guide on the upload page. The guide identifies the required and optional fields and, when available, provides additional direction for your HR or payroll provider. Look for a report that contains a general employee roster with one row per employee.
What file formats can I upload?
The upload page accepts CSV, TSV, or XLSX files. If the export is split, add each file to the same upload step.
What if I do not want to extract the data myself?
Select Have us do it on the upload page to request assisted data extraction.
Before selecting Next: check my file
- Confirm there is one row per employee.
- Confirm all required fields are present.
- Include as many recommended fields as are available.
- Include terminated employees when available.
- If the export is split, confirm every file has been added.
Need additional help?
If the guide does not answer your question, open a support ticket and provide the name of your HR or payroll provider, the report name, the column headers, and a screenshot with sensitive information removed. Do not send employee data in a support question unless you are using the approved secure upload process.