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titleImporting Employees
Import Employees

MCS TIme Keeper allows you to import batches of employees into the system–for instance, if you have employees in another piece of MCS software that you wish to import in to Timekeeper.  There is a bit of work up front, but it is easily accomplished.  The formatting may look daunting, but is quickly mastered. 

Warning

If you are at all uncomfortable with the import process, contact Contact your IT department for assistance.

Before the Import

Before you import any employees, you need to place the required data in a format that the program can understand and use.  Below is a sample Employee Record.  Again, it may look daunting, but we will explain each section in detail, as well as provide you with a template at the end of this section that you may cut and paste to create your own employee files.

Each employee record found in the file will be created in the MCS Time Keeper database. 

 

Warning

If an employee record already exists, it will be updated with the information provided in the import file.  Make sure that you aren't overwriting data or information on the employee that you wish to keep


A sample file is shown below followed by specific details about each field. All XML tags–the text enclosed in brackets–are required unless specifically noted as optional. The fields must appear in the specified order.

SAMPLE CODE

The code below shows two employees.  One, Bob Smith, has much more information associated with the file.  The second, John Doe contains just the minimum.  Notice, too, the two different ways of formatting the name.  John Doe's information will be marked as INACTIVE due to the empty XML code–<Inactive />

<EmployeeUpdate>
  <Employee>
     <EmployeeNumber>123</EmployeeNumber>
     <FirstName>Bob</FirstName>
     <Middle>E</Middle>
     <LastName>Smith</LastName>
     <Suffix>Jr</Suffix>
     <PrimaryJobCode>449A</PrimaryJobCode>
     <ExtraJobCodes>
         <JobCode>449B</JobCode>
         <JobCode>449C</JobCode>
     </ExtraJobCodes>
     <PhoneNumber>555-555-5555</PhoneNumber>
     <SSN>123456789</SSN>
     <PayrollCode>1111111</PayrollCode>
     <CostCenterCode>2222222</CostCenterCode>
  </Employee>
  <Employee>
     <EmployeeNumber>456</EmployeeNumber>
     <FullName>Doe, John F Jr.</FullName>
     <Inactive />
     <PrimaryJobCode>668</PrimaryJobCode>
  </Employee>
</EmployeeUpdate>

Employee Update

This XML tag should start and end the whole import file.  All employee records should be between <EmployeeUpdate></EmployeeUpdate> tags.  It is not necessary to surround each employee with this tag.

Employee

There should be one Employee tag for each employee to be imported. It should surround all of that employee's data.

Employee Number

32 alphanumeric characters

This is the primary identifier for employees. Duplicate employee numbers are not allowed and will cause the program to overwrite one file with another, leading to the loss of employee data. 

 

Warning

If an employee number in the import file matches an employee number already in the MCS TimeKeeper database, the employee record in MCS TimeKeeper will be updated with the information in the import file.


Inactive

XML Empty Tag - Optional

This tag contains no data. If this tag is present, the employee will be marked as inactive in the TimeKeeper database. If the employee currently exists in the TimeKeeper database, the record will be updated and activated/inactivated based on the existence of the Inactive tag.  In other words, if the employee is active, remove this tag.

FullName
  • FirstName – 64 alphanumeric characters
  • Middle – 1 alphanumeric character – Optional
  • LastName – 64 alphanumeric characters
  • Suffix – 3 alphanumeric characters – Optional

 

Info

A FullName tag may be used in place of the individual name tags and vice versa. Each part of the name is limited to the size listed below. The FullName may be listed as “Last, First Middle Suffix” or “First Middle Last Suffix” with only the first and last names being required.  However, each time the employee's name is used, the complete name, including suffix, will be displayed.


PrimaryJobCode

32 alphanumeric characters

This code must match an Export Code in the MCS Time Keeper Job Code Maintenance screen. Job code descriptions are not allowed, just the number.  The image below shows the codes in a red oval.

ExtraJobCodes - Optional

This optional tag is used to assign additional job codes to an employee. All additional job codes must be listed within this tag using JobCode tags described below. 

JobCode - Optional

32 alphanumeric characters –

This optional tag is formatted exactly like that of the PrimaryJobCode tag. The code must match an Export Code in the TimeKeeper Job Code Maintenance screen. If no match is found, the additional Job Code is not imported. Job code descriptions are not allowed.  If the employee needs no extra job codes, you may leave these fields blank.

PhoneNumber

32 alphanumeric characters

This is another optional tag.  There are no formatting requirements on the phone number. It is stored and displayed as it is found in the import file. For example, (555)-555-5555 will appear as (555)-555-5555 and 5551234567 will appear as 5551234567.

 

Info

It is strongly suggested to pick one format for phone numbers.

 

SSN

9 numeric characters - Optional

This optional field will be visible only on the TimeKeeper Employee Maintenance screen. It is not used within TimeKeeper and exists strictly for the benefit of payroll systems that require it.  If your payroll system does not require it, we suggest leaving this field blank.

PayrollCode - Optional

64 alphanumeric characters

This optional field is not used within TimeKeeper, but exists as an alternative way to identify employees in 3rd-party payroll systems.

CostCenterCode - Optional

64 alphanumeric characters

This optional field is not used within TimeKeeper, but exists as an alternative way to associate an employee with a cost center in 3rd-party payroll systems.

Below, you will find the XML code stripped of employee info.  Feel free to copy this snippet of code for your own imports.

 

Info
<EmployeeUpdate>
  <Employee>
     <EmployeeNumber></EmployeeNumber>
     <FirstName></FirstName>
     <Middle></Middle>
     <LastName></LastName>
     <Suffix></Suffix>
     <PrimaryJobCode></PrimaryJobCode>
     <ExtraJobCodes>
         <JobCode></JobCode>
         <JobCode></JobCode>
     </ExtraJobCodes>
     <PhoneNumber></PhoneNumber>
     <SSN></SSN>
     <PayrollCode></PayrollCode>
     <CostCenterCode></CostCenterCode>
  </Employee>
  <Employee>
     <EmployeeNumber></EmployeeNumber>
     <FullName></FullName>
     <Inactive />
     <PrimaryJobCode></PrimaryJobCode>
  </Employee>
</EmployeeUpdate>

 

 Importing Employee Data

Once you have correctly formatted the XML text, the actual import of employee data can begin.

  1. Click the Import Employees button under Utilities.

  2. Once you click that button, the following screen will appear.


    Simply type the location of the XML file to import and press OK. 

     

    Info

    If you receive an error message during the import process, double check the location of the import file.  It is very easy to mistype such a long string of characters.

  3. The program will import the data from your XML file.

That's it!  Your newly imported employees should be in your database.