Introduction
A SIF can be uploaded at any time.
If the user experiences errors, and cannot understand what they mean they need to contact the Digital Support Team for assistance, please email the team [email protected]
To view the errors, on the Employer platform select Menu > Contributions and Payroll > Upload your Standard Interface File you are greeted with the below screen
Down the bottom of the page you can view your SIF uploads, click 'View' located on the right side of the screen to see what errors have occurred.
Once you clicked view the screen brings you to a page displaying the error giving you a sentence/paragraph explaining the error along with the employee who encountered the error. If you cannot amend this yourself please reach out to the Digital Support Team.
Common Errors that may occur
Is the file in csv format?
- Are all 48 headings included?
- Have headings been amended from the prescribed format?
Are there any fadas/ other special characters in the file
Check that there are no additional spaces in the following columns
- DateofBirth
- ContributionDueDate
- EmployementStartDate
- NationalID Number
If there is a space before and/or after the detail in these fields, the upload will fail.
If the above solutions do not work, continue to save the file as follows.
There are two ways you can save a CSV file with UTF-8 encoding:
Save in Excel:
Click "File" > "Save as" from the menu.
In the "Save as type" dropdown > select "Text (Tab delimited) (*.txt)"
Select "Web Options" in the "Tools..." dropdown at the bottom of the dialog box.
Select the "Encoding" tab.
In the "Save this document as:" dropdown, select "Unicode (UTF-8)"
Save in Notepad:
Open the file in Notepad by right-clicking on the file where it's saved on the computer, and select "open with" then "Notepad".
With the file open in Notepad, click "save as", and you should see an encoding option to ensure it's saved with UTF-8 encoding. I've provided a screenshot of this below.
Check the percentage figures added for the member(s) and ensure they match what was defined for the benefit group.
Check that the % symbol has not been included in the file.
Check that member contributions have been classified correctly
If a plan is ER only, any member contributions should be recorded as AVC
To check, look at the Benefit Group
Ensure the correct benefit group has been entered in the BenefitGroupID column.
If the member is part of a tiered benefit group, ensure the percentage corresponds to the current benefit group level.
Error: ContributionDueDate does not match the date in the payroll schedule. (x)
Affected Cell: ContributionDueDate
Check the date is in the correct format – DD/MM/YYYY.
Check the date matches that outlined in Data Capture Form on initial sign up. The date will not change unless requested e.g. 25th of each month or last Friday of each month. For fortnightly contributing schemes this can be the same day every second week.
If you can not locate the contribution due date on your data capture form, please email [email protected] for assistance.
The name of each affected member will show.
Complete the missing details.
The SIF Guide illustrates the mandatory fields.
In the above example, as the Earnings1 field was not completed, the system checked if the Earnings2 field had been completed.
While Earnings2 is not a compulsory field, it is conditional so if Earnings1 is not completed, the system expects a figure.
Error: Mandatory value for Earnings1 is missing (x)
Affected Cell: Earnings1
Earnings1 is the gross salary for the contribution period in question. This must be completed when uploading contribution information.
The name of each affected member will show if the Earnings1 figure is invalid.
Ensure the following points are followed when inputting the Earnings1 figure:
Ensure there are no commas in the field.
Ensure there is no symbols including €.
Ensure there are no more than 3 decimal places in this field.
Invalid format in any date field
· Ensure date are in ROI format and not US
DD/MM/YYYY and not MM/DD/YYYY
Invalid Format in any of the following fields; Address1, Address2, City, County
· Ensure there are no full stops and/or commas
· Ensure there are no special characters/ diacritics.
Multiple Errors when uploading contributions for an existing member.
This can occur when the member already exists but attempts are being made to amend the member name, EmployeeID etc.
· Ensure the member name matches the name on the platform.
· Ensure the EmployeeID matches the ‘External(ID)’ noted for the Employee.
- This cannot be amended through the SIF so must match the reference originally provided. If the user had included 0’s ahead of the number, these must always be included. To include these on the file, format the cell as ‘Text’ and enter the reference in the cell again.
· Ensure the PPS/ NationalID matches what was originally provided.
NationalIDNumber must be Unique
This can occur when the Employee ID on the file is different to what was originally uploaded for a member. The member ID must match both the system and the SIF file. If the employer is looking to make a change to a member ID , they must email Digital Support.
NationalIDNumber has the wrong format.
Affected cell: NationalIDNumber
This error occurs when an invalid National ID Number (PPSN) is entered for an employee. The portal has a validation system in place to confirm if a National ID Number is valid. If you receive this error:
Double check that the National ID Number is valid
Ensure that there is no space before or after the National ID Number.
EffectiveDate format is wrong (x)
Affected Cells: EffectiveDate
This field must be in the specific format of DD-MM-YYYY HH:MM:SS e.g. 16-06-2022 09:12:06
SIF templates come with the field pre-formatted. For this reason you must make any changes in excel and save as a separate CSV file when uploading. Refer back to your original excel Masterfile when making changes so as to not lose any of the formatting by going back to a CSV file.
If the formatting of the EffectiveDate field is lost the steps below can be followed to format the field correctly:
Right click on the cell with the date you wish to amend.
Select Format Cells
This will open the window below
In the text box above input the following: DD/MM/YYYY HH/MM/SS
This will format any date entered to the correct format.
Optionally, you can also enter the function =now() within the cell which will automatically enter the current date and time.