The Sage Payroll File
How TempClock builds the Sage payroll file: one line per worker per pay element, from approved hours only, with your own payment references, ready to import into Sage 50 Payroll.
Overview
Payroll goes to Sage by file.
TempClock prices every shift with one rules engine and writes the Sage file from those figures: one line per worker for each pay element (Basic, Overtime, Weekend, Sunday, Bank holiday, Night and Guarantee), with hours, rate and amount. Only approved shifts are ever included.
The usual way to produce it is step 4 of Closing the Pay Week, which exports from the frozen figures of a locked week. The Sage export page produces the same file for any period and keeps a history of every export.
Sage does not offer an API for UK payroll, so payroll always goes by file. Client invoices are different: they can be sent to Sage Accounting through its API. See Sending Invoices to Sage Accounting.
Set Up Once
Match the file to your Sage company.
Open the Sage settings
In the agency console go to Setup > Settings and scroll to Sage payroll export.
Choose the layout and references
Set the Sage product, the Employee reference (the worker's badge or payroll number, or the TempClock worker number: it must match the employee reference in Sage), the Name format and the Date format.
Choose department and cost centre
Pick where Department and Cost centre come from: the site's Sage department, the cost code, the client or the site. They are taken from the site each shift was worked at, not the worker's home client.
Enter the payment reference for each element
Under Payment reference for each pay element, type the payment reference (Sage 50) or pay element name (Sage cloud) exactly as it is set up in Sage. Leave Sunday blank to pay Sundays under Weekend, and Guarantee blank to pay guaranteed-hours top-ups under Basic.
Export the File
From Close week, or from the Sage export page.
Open Sage export
Agency console: Reports > Sage export. Client dashboard: Time & Pay > Sage export (tenant admins).
Pick the period, client and layout
Set From, To, Client and Layout, then click Preview. The preview shows exactly the columns and lines the file will hold, and how many shifts were left out and why (for example not approved).
Export and download
Click Export and download. The file is recorded as an export batch and kept.
Tick Draft run to include unapproved shifts in the preview while you check figures. A final export never includes them.
Layouts
Pick the one that matches your payroll.
| Layout | What it contains |
|---|---|
| Sage 50 Payroll | Employee Reference, Surname, Forename, Payment Reference, Payment Name, Hours, Rate, Amount, Department, Cost Centre, Period Start, Period End. One line per pay element. |
| Sage Payroll (cloud) | Employee ID, Employee Name, Pay Element, Units, Rate, Amount, Cost Centre, Department, Period Start, Period End. One line per pay element. |
| Generic payroll CSV | The same lines with the element name and payment reference, plus a shift count, for other payroll systems. |
| Detailed | One row per shift with clock times, pay and charge, for checking. |
| Legacy Sage 50 / Legacy Sage cloud | The older one-line-per-worker files, kept for customers already importing them. |
The Amount on each line is the figure the pricing engine worked out. Where a line joins several shifts, Hours x Rate can differ from it by a penny.
Import into Sage
Using Sage's own import.
Sage 50 Payroll: import the file as timesheet payments through Sage's data import. The column headings must match what Sage expects, which is why the layout and payment references are set in TempClock to match your company.
Sage Payroll (cloud): Sage does not document a pay-values import for its UK cloud payroll, so we test this layout with your payroll team in your own Sage Payroll before you rely on it.
Export History
Every file is kept.
The Export history table on the Sage export page lists every file exported for the period: batch number, when, the period, the layout, how many shifts and the pay total, with the reason if it was an export again. Download any batch to get exactly what was sent.
Test Import First
Before the first live payroll.
Neither Sage layout has been test-imported into your company yet when you start. During setup we export a synthetic week, import it into a Sage test company with your payroll person, and fix any differences before the first live run.
Know who turned up, and pay every hour right.
Face-verified clock-ins, live geofencing and payroll-ready timesheets in one system. Tell us how your shifts run and we will show you how it fits.
App hosted in the UK · Onboarding led by a pilot site · No app needed to clock in