🔄 Backfill Guide: Logging Year-to-Date Payroll Data
The Backfill feature is used to capture year-to-date (YTD) payroll data for plans that were onboarded after their first payroll of the year. It is particularly important for recordkeepers requiring YTD hours and compensation in their payroll file specs, or for any plan needing a compliance report for year-end testing.
⚠️ Important: Backfill does not generate output files for delivery via SFTP or download.
Its purpose is to log historical payroll data for internal tracking and reporting purposes only.
🛠 When to Use Backfill
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The integration went live mid-year, and YTD data needs to be captured.
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The recordkeeper requires YTD hours and compensation in the integration file format.
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The plan needs to generate a compliance test or year-end report with complete YTD data.
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There were code mapping issues in earlier runs that now need to be corrected and re-logged.
▶️ How to Run a Backfill
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Access the Plan
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From the Payroll Integrations dashboard, search for the plan by name or Plan ID in the top-right corner.
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Click on the plan name to open it.
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Initiate Backfill
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Click the “Run Backfill” button on the right-hand side of the screen.
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Select the Year
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Choose the calendar year for which the backfill should be applied.
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Click “Next.”
💡 Note: Recordkeeper Admins will only have access to backfill recent years by default.
If an older year is required that is not available in the interface, a Payroll Integrations Super-Admin can initiate the request.
Please submit a support ticket through our system as outlined in the “Need Help?” section below. -
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Choose Backfill Method
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Select one of the following options:
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Fill in Gaps (Recommended): Only logs payrolls that haven’t yet been captured.
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Overwrite All: Re-logs all data for the selected year. Use only if deduction/earnings codes were incorrectly mapped in prior payroll runs.
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Click “Next.”
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Confirm & Submit
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Review your selections and click “Submit.”
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⏱ Monitoring Backfill Progress
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Backfill processing time may vary based on the volume of payroll data involved.
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To monitor progress:
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Go to the plan’s “Payroll Activity” tab.
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Status updates will indicate whether the process is still running or complete.
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⏰ Time-Sensitive Considerations
For ADP Workforce Now and ADP TotalSource:
Backfill jobs that include payroll data older than 60 days must be run after 7:00 PM local time, based on the plan’s time zone.
For all other payroll providers:
Backfill can be run at any time without restriction.
🛠 Need Help?
For further assistance, please submit a help desk ticket here and our team will get back to you as soon as possible.