More information about error messages

If you have received an error message indicating that your .csv file is invalid, the message should state the cell which is not accepted. Please ensure that you have provided all data in columns A-F of your file, and that the file does not include any of the following:

• Extra blank columns beyond column K
• Titles/Headers 
• Commas in any of the fields - for example, the value 4400 within the salary field is acceptable, rather than 4,400.
• If you have added additional information to any cells and then removed it (for example a total at the end of the row for internal purposes), please ensure you delete the entire row before uploading the file.
• Blank space after the data in any cells

File Format

If you have received the error message “This is not a .csv file” your file is in the incorrect file format.

You should re-save the file as the following type:
CSV (Comma Delimited).

National Insurance Number

If the National Insurance Number in the upload file is not recognised, an error message will be shown. You will either need to correct the National Insurance number or add the employee if they have not already been added to your account.

If an employee has been marked as leaving you can still upload contributions for dates prior to their leaving date but you may not be able to view and edit their record.

Contribution dates

If the contribution dates do not match the payment frequency for the employee, you will need to decide between these options:

• Update payment frequency for employee using the Edit option at the end of each row on the data grid
• Tick Use PRP if this is an unusual period for the employee e.g. extra weeks paid for holiday periods
• Tick Use normal payment frequency if the PRP is unusual but the normal payment period rules should be applied
• Amend PRP dates

Contribution dates relate to a previous month – this will result in a warning message so you can confirm that this was intentional

Format of date is incorrect – format should be dd/mm/yyyy

Overlap in contribution dates – contributions cannot overlap, so any overlap must be corrected

Contributions already uploaded for this date – see section on How do I amend contributions?

Contribution value

The validation for the contribution value is based on:

• Payment frequency
• Contribution level
• Calculation method – First Pound or Qualifying Earnings

If any of these are recorded incorrectly, they can be updated by selecting the Edit option at the end of each row on the data grid.

The system will confirm if the contribution value is higher or lower than expected.

If you are sure that the contribution value is correct, even though an error is given and all these variables are recorded correctly, you can confirm that the contribution values are correct by selecting the dropdown Reason for Difference for that contribution. This may be due to SMP, SPP, SAP, SSP or leaver calculations.

Group Life Assurance

If a member is registered for Group Life Assurance then a premium value must be uploaded with each contribution. The value of this must be a multiple of the value set up for this employee.

If the member is not registered for Group Life Assurance then a value must not be entered in this field.