PrevailHQ Knowledge Base

Send HRIS Data through SFTP

Updated October 1, 2024

Send HRIS Data through SFTP

This guide covers how you can send your HRIS data as a CSV to PrevailHQ through an SFTP connection. Documentation on our CSV format can be found here: Bulk Importing Users

Overview

You can save time and effort by configuring your HRIS to automatically extract and send your employee data to PrevailHQ via Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP).

Setting up an SFTP integration probably requires assistance from your IT Team. We've provided detailed technical instructions that you can provide to them during the set up process.

You can re-run imports as many times as you need. The import will create users that don't exist, update ones that do, and deactivate any that are marked as "Removed". Importing the same CSV file multiple times will not hurt anything.

Step 1: Create a Custom Report in Your HRIS

Create a report that contains all the employees you want to import into PrevailHQ. We recommend that you start with our template file and instructions found here: Bulk Importing Users. If you have existing data in the platform, you can head to Workforce > Employees > CSV and use the headings that are included in the export to create your template.

At a minimum, for every employee you want to update, you must include:

  • Name
  • Employee email (email) OR Employee cell phone (cell_phone) OR Employee ID (employee_id). You can include all 3 pieces of information if you have this available.
  • Location (location)
  • Group (group). This is mapped from Department.

If you are using features that depend on managers/team leads, then you'll want to include Manager Email (manager_email) as well.

This report should be set to automatically run, typically, once a day. The file should be named with the word "employee" in it and end with the extension .csv.

Step 2: Test Your Export

  1. Export your report from your HRIS in CSV format
  2. Head to Workforce > Employees > Import and upload the custom report.
  3. Review any errors and make adjustments to the report, if any are required
  4. At any time, you can click on your name in the upper right corner to ask the user menu and then click "Import Status". This will show all of your recent imports and their status.

Step 3: Connect Your SFTP Client

Most SFTP clients will require the following information to set a connection. This information will be given to you by PrevailHQ support. Make sure the hostname and username you use to set up your SFTP client are copied directly. Both are case-sensitive. Password will be sent via 1-time use encrypted link.

  • Protocol: SFTP
  • Logon Type: Password
  • Host/Hostname
  • Username
  • Password

If you're having problems with your SFTP connection, we suggest testing it by first running a manual import of your data. This will ensure you have a valid data set, and allow you to focus specifically on the SFTP connection.

Step 4: Test Your SFTP connection

  1. Export your report from your HRIS in CSV format
  2. Test your SFTP connection by uploading your report via SFTP

If the transfer fails, you now know the issue is with your SFTP connection and not your data file.

Getting Help

If you are unable to resolve your problem, open at ticket with support: support@prevailhq.com