How to set up your HRIS Integration Guide(Step-by-step guide)

Part 1: Connecting your HR platform

From the Workpay left-hand navigation, go to Settings and select Integrations.

On the Integrations page, locate the HR Systems section. You will see available connectors listed as cards. Find your HR platform and click Connect.

A connection modal will appear. Enter your company domain. This is the subdomain you use to log into your HR platform (for example, if your BambooHR URL is acme.bamboohr.com, your domain is acme)

Log in to your HR platform in a separate browser tab and navigate to the API settings section. Generate a new API key. Copy the key.

Return to Workpay and paste the API key into the API key field in the connection modal. Click Connect.

The connection status will briefly show as Unauthorised while the system validates the credentials. Once the key is accepted, the status changes to Connected.

Once connected, Workpay immediately begins fetching employee records from your HR platform. You will see a Sync in progress status indicator on the integration card.

When the sync completes, fetched employees will appear in the Pending tab on the employee page. They will be listed as inactive employees until you review and activate them.

Review each employee record. You can check job details, compensation, and effective dates before activating. If any required fields are missing — such as Tax PIN, NSSF number, or bank details — you will need to complete these before running payroll.

Once you have reviewed and completed any missing data, activate the employee by clicking Activate on their profile. They will move from the Pending tab to your active employee list and will be available for payroll.

After the initial setup, employee data changes made on your HR platform (such as salary updates, department changes, or new hires) will sync to Workpay automatically, except for Bamboo HR, where the user must perform a manual sync. Workpay supports three sync methods:
- Automatic sync triggered by webhooks when changes are made on the HR platform (primary method)
- Manual sync triggered from the integration management screen (rate-limited — available approximately three times per day)
To trigger a manual sync, go to Settings → Integrations, open your connected HR integration, and click Sync now.

The employee must exist on the HR platform before they can be synced into Workpay. You cannot create a new employee in Workpay and push them to the HR platform; data flows one way, from the HR platform into Workpay.
Email address is the only field that will block an employee from being imported entirely. All other missing fields can be completed after import.
If an employee's data is edited on the HR platform after the initial sync, those changes will be pulled into Workpay on the next sync cycle. However, if you have manually edited the same field in Workpay, a conflict warning will appear, and you will need to choose which version to keep.
Leave balances are synced as part of the employee record. If the HR platform cannot return a leave balance for an employee, their final pay calculation will be blocked until the balance is retrieved or manually entered.
The sync history tab on the integration management screen shows a full log of all sync events, including date, type, duration, records processed, and status. Use this to audit or troubleshoot any discrepancies.

Action	What happens
Disconnecting the integration	The connection is severed. Previously synced employee records remain in Workpay. Future changes on the HR platform will not be reflected until reconnected. Your sync history is retained.
Deleting an employee on the HR platform	On the next sync, Workpay will flag the employee as no longer active on the HR platform. Workpay will not automatically delete or deactivate the employee; you will need to action this manually.
Changing an employee's department on the HR platform	The updated department will sync to Workpay on the next cycle and will apply to all future payroll runs and accounting journal entries that use department-based variations.
Triggering a manual sync when the limit is reached	The Sync now button will be disabled with a message indicating when the limit resets. Nightly automatic sync will still run.
Leaving required employee fields blank after import	The employee will remain in the Pending tab and will not be available for payroll until all required fields are completed.