Who can use this feature?
Available on:
All Culture Amp subscriptions.
You can import employee data directly from Paychex into Culture Amp using a secure, one-way API connection. This ensures your employee list and demographics are always up-to-date.
Data Flow: Employee Data flows from Paychex into Culture Amp (one-way sync). Changes made in Culture Amp will not sync back to your HRIS.
Initial Setup Timeframe: Please note that due to the requirement for specific API credential generation and backend mapping of unique identifiers, the setup process typically takes 1–3 weeks. We recommend involving an account administrator with full system permissions and a member of your IT team to assist with credential generation.
Choosing Your Integration Method
We offer two primary ways to connect your employee data. The table below briefly outlines both and should help with the decision on which is the best approach for your organization:
Method | Type of Import | Best For | Key Difference |
Full Integration (API) | Full Employee Import | Organizations seeking real-time, daily automation of all employee data that the API supports. | Data transfer is handled automatically via a secure API connection. Users with an End Date in the HRIS become former employees instantly upon sync. If a user is simply removed from the sync report without an End Date, they will remain "Active" in Culture Amp until a manual sync is performed by our Culture Amp Support team. Properly terminating employees in your HRIS with an End Date is the only way to guarantee automatic deactivation. |
Partial Employee Import | Organizations that need complete control over file creation, have unique filtering requirements, or need to manage data fields not supported by the API. | You generate a file and securely transfer it to us at scheduled intervals. Users missing from the file are ignored unless you include an end date. |
API Integration Checklist
Access Requirements & Terminology — Prerequisites and system logic.
Step 1: Connect & Authenticate — Locating and entering your API credentials.
Step 2: Field Mapping — Aligning your Paychex demographics with Culture Amp.
Step 3: Activate Integration — Establishing the technical connection.
Step 4: Run Your First Sync — Reviewing and importing employee records.
Troubleshooting & FAQs — Solving errors, duplicates, and sync blocks.
Before You Start: Access Requirements & Terminology
Ensure that you have access to the following accounts when setting up the integration:
Access to your Paychex instance
Access to Culture Amp with Account Administrator or Employee data administrator access.
Important Considerations & Data Limitations
Important Considerations & Data Limitations
Hierarchy Sync: Reporting lines are built using the Supervisor assigned in Paychex. For the hierarchy to build correctly, the supervisor must be an active employee included in the sync and must have a valid work email address in Paychex.
Company ID Requirement: Paychex data is scoped by a Company ID. You will be prompted to enter this during authentication. If your organization uses multiple Company IDs in Paychex, you may need to establish a separate connection for each.
Departments & Organizations: Paychex "Organizations" (Departments/Divisions) are stored as a separate group object. These do not map automatically. If you wish to include them, you must manually map them during the Custom Mapping step.
Terminology Breakdown
Terminology Breakdown
Term | Definition |
Company ID | The unique identifier for your business entity in Paychex (found in the top-right of your Paychex Flex dashboard). |
Supervisor | The person designated as the manager in the Paychex employee profile. This is used to build your Hierarchy. |
Organization | The groupings in Paychex used for Departments, Divisions, or Teams. |
Required Permissions & Rationale
Required Permissions & Rationale
Permission/Role | Needed in Paychex | Rationale |
Admin Access | Company Settings > Integrated Apps | Required to create the "App" and generate the Client ID and Client Secret. |
Worker API (Read-only) | Access Settings | Allows Culture Amp to sync employee names, emails, IDs, and supervisor links. |
Company API (Read-only) | Access Settings | Allows the integration to pull organizational data (Departments/Teams). |
Step 1: Connect & Authenticate Your Paychex Account
Sign in to Culture Amp with an account that has Account Administrator or Employee data administrator access.
Navigate to your Settings > Account > Integrations page in the Culture Amp platform
Select Paychex from the list of integrations
Click Continue setup
Confirm you are an administrator of your Paychex account by clicking I am admin
You will be prompted to confirm whether you are connecting to a Paychex Sandbox or Production Account. Select Production data
You will see CultureAmp’s request to read your Paychex employee data. Click Next
Follow the prompts to generate and enter your Paychex credentials (Client ID and Client Secret)
🔑 How to Locate Your Paychex Credentials
🔑 How to Locate Your Paychex Credentials
Overview:
To authenticate Paychex, you will need to provide the following information:
API key
Client Secret
This guide will walk you through finding or creating those credentials within Paychex.
Note: The steps below are sourced from Merge, our integration partner. We recommend checking their official guide for the most current instructions: Merge Paychex Account Linking Guide
Prerequisites:
Please ensure you have Admin permissions in your company's Paychex instance or someone has shared their access with you.
Instructions:
Step 1: Find your API key and Client Secret
Log in to your Paychex account and go into Company Settings.
Select Integrated apps.
Click Create App.
Enter an Application Name and Description.
Select Read only for the Company and worker APIs
If you also need to sync payroll information, select Read only for the Payroll and check APIs
If you need access to Payroll data and do not see it as a toggle, contact your account manager for help.
Accept the Legal Notice and Paychex Inc, API License Agreement, and Save.
You'll then see the API key and Client Secret, which you'll paste into the linking flow
Step 2: Paste the credentials into the linking flow
Notes:
If you require payroll data but do not have access to the Payroll and check APIs toggle while linking your account, please ask the company providing the application you are integrations with to contact Paychex with the below message:
We are using Merge API as a third party integration provider and are looking to integrate {customer} payroll data to our system. We need access to the Payroll and check APIs toggle in the Access settings for an application. Please advise us what information you need from us and if there is a form for us to fill out.Linking multiple companies - If you want to link multiple companies in Paychex you have to be either a Super admin or a Security admin in the parent account, then follow the steps below:
Make sure you register the app as described in the above guide for the Paychex parent account
After creating the app, open it via Company Settings > Integrated Apps > {Your App Name}
Scroll down to the Company Access section and click on +Add or remove Company
Select all companies you wish to link to this set of credentials, these will now be shown in the Company Access section for review
Save your changes
Switch to each child account using the drop down arrow next to company name in the upper left corner
In each child account open the app via Company Settings > Integrated Apps > {Your App Name}, then toggle on Access and Save the settings settings
Step 2: Setting Up Demographic Field Mapping
Once you have authenticated with Paychex, you will be prompted to map the demographic fields you would like to import into Culture Amp.
Note: Core demographic fields map automatically and should not be manually configured unless instructed by a Culture Amp specialist. Please note that once these fields are set up, they cannot be edited or deleted. If you need to make changes, reply with "ask a person" in a support conversation to speak with a specialist.
Core Demographics: Automatic Mapping
Core Demographics: Automatic Mapping
This table is intended for your technical Paychex administrator. The following fields will sync automatically from Paychex to Culture Amp.
Note: While the "Typical Paychex UI Label" shows the common reference field in Paychex, exact UI labels and underlying field names may vary by tenant and configuration.
Typical Paychex Source Field (UI Label) | Paychex Endpoint (Data Location) | Culture Amp Field (The Destination) |
Work Email |
| Email (Unique Identifier) |
Worker ID |
| Employee ID (Unique Identifier) |
Legal Name |
| Name |
Preferred Name |
| Preferred Name |
Birth Date |
| Date of Birth |
Hire Date |
| Start Date |
Termination Date |
| End Date |
Supervisor (Work Email of the referenced Manager) |
| Manager Email (Hierarchy Demographic) |
Custom Demographics: Manual Mapping
Custom Demographics: Manual Mapping
If you track additional employee data in Paychex that you want to use as demographics in Culture Amp, follow these steps to set up custom mapping.
Select Map fields
2. Select Employee from the target field drop down
3. Set the details for the field you would like to target. For this example, we will use Date of birth.
4. Select the matching field from Paychex and click Save
5. You can Save mappings or click the + Field mapping icon to add more.
Tip:Your HRIS may limit access to specific custom fields. If you cannot find a required demographic field during mapping, you may need to:
Map an alternate custom field that contains similar data.
Manage the demographic outside of Paychex directly in Culture Amp via manual imports or SFTP.
Exclude Employees (Optional)
Exclude Employees (Optional)
To exclude specific employees, you must first specify them in your Paychex system (e.g., by creating a custom field or using an existing one) and set the value of this field to "Yes" for the employees you want to exclude.
Step 1. Start Mapping
Click on Map fields to begin the workflow.
Step 2. Select the Exclusion Field
You will see a field mapping for Exclude from Culture Amp in the workflow.
Search for the corresponding field from your HRIS under the Exclude from Culture Amp field.
Ensure that employees you want to exclude are marked as "Yes" in your HRIS.
Step 3. Save Mappings
Click Save mappings
Note: Only demographics that use "Yes" values can be attached to the Exclude from Culture Amp mapping in your integration settings. It is not possible to map an existing demographic like Job Title and tell the system to exclude all participants whose Job Title is 'Contractor'.
Step 3: Activate Integration
After mapping your fields, click Sync and the system will run an initial sync to connect your Paychex account details and mappings.
Note: This sync does not import employee data yet.
You will see a "Syncing data" message. This initial sync can take up to 12 hours to complete, depending on the size and complexity of your Paychex configuration.
Feel free to navigate away from the page. The process runs in the background.
The "Syncing data" message confirms the connection and mapping setup. Once this first sync completes, you can proceed to import your employee data through another sync.
Note: As part of our commitment to data security, only data relevant to your import and field mappings will be stored.
Step 4: Run Your First Employee Data Sync
Once the initial setup sync is complete, the Integrations page in Culture Amp will update. Follow these steps to run your first employee data import:
Click the Finalise sync button.
Click Get Started.
On the review page, ensure Sync is selected in the "Sync with merge" section (ignore the other options).
Culture Amp will validate the data. If there are no concerns, click Next.
Review the data: Carefully examine the review screen, which shows the number of new employees to be created, existing employees to be updated, and employees to be deactivated. If there are any issues, check the troubleshooting section below or ask our Culture Amp Product Support team for help.
Hit Import Data to pull the employees into Culture Amp.
After the import is complete, click Go to Users to review the new users.
Important: If you see any unexpected numbers (e.g., too many employees being deactivated or created), do not proceed with the import. Check the Troubleshooting section or reply with "Ask a Person" in a Support Conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist.
Once these steps are completed, you will see the green "Syncing data" notification appear on the Integrations page.
After syncing is complete, you will see the latest sync information, including the date and time of the last sync, and confirmation that your integration is Connected on the Integrations page.
Set Up Automated Daily Syncs
Set Up Automated Daily Syncs
By default, auto-syncs are off. We recommend enabling daily syncing to ensure your employee demographics are kept up-to-date.
To enable: Go to Integrations, click on the Off button and toggle Auto-sync On.
To disable: Go to Integrations, click on the On button, then click Turn off auto sync.
Note: Auto-sync won’t run if the Finalise sync step is still displayed. Click Finalise sync to finish setup.
Troubleshooting/FAQs
If the fixes below don't resolve your issue, please remember that the complexity of Paychex means complex mapping or sync problems often require a specialist. Please reply with "Ask a Person" in a Support Conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist.
General Data Integrity & Import Management
The first step when investigating any data issue is to check the Import Summary Screen for your most recent import.
Go to Settings > Employee Data > Import History.
Select your most recent import to view details.
This screen provides information on the state of your integration, any specific errors, or will prompt you to run a manual sync to identify problems.
Paychex: Integration Specific Errors
Paychex: Integration Specific Errors
Issue | Cause | Suggested Fix |
Terminated Employees Still Showing as "Active" | The employee was removed from the Paychex sync report or deactivated without a populated End Date. | Immediate Fix: Re-add the user to the Paychex report with a valid End Date and sync again. Secondary Fix: If they cannot be re-added to the report, reach out to our Culture Amp Support team (via "Ask a Person") to request a manual sync to process the deactivation. |
Need to Edit/Delete Mappings | Mappings are locked in the Culture Amp platform once set up. Adding or editing custom mappings often requires a full back-end sync to be triggered by our Culture Amp support team for the changes to be reflected in the platform. | Contact Culture Amp Support:
|
Missing Manager/Hierarchy | The Supervisor's email is missing or they are excluded from the sync. | Ensure the Supervisor has a Work Email populated in Paychex and is included in the sync. |
"Invalid Company ID" Error | Mismatched credentials. | Verify your Company ID in the top-right corner of Paychex Flex and ensure the API App was created within that specific company. |
Missing Department Names | Organizations were not manually mapped. | Departments do not sync automatically. Navigate to Step 2: Custom Mapping and map the Paychex "Organization" field to the Culture Amp "Department" demographic. |
Duplicate Profiles | ID Mismatch. | Ensure the IDs in Culture Amp match the IDs sent by Paychex. Review your Import History to identify which IDs are being rejected or created as "New." |
Switching from CSV or other Imports
Switching from CSV or other Imports
If you are moving from CSV uploads or a different integration, keep the following in mind:
Demographic Consistency: When mapping fields, you must map the data to the exact same demographic field you used historically (e.g., mapping to "TEAM" is different from mapping to "TEAM NAME"). Using an incorrect or slightly different title risks discontinuity in your trended survey results.
Recommended Action: To avoid confusion, we recommend navigating to Settings > Employee Data Demographics and deleting the old, unused demographics after your first successful sync. (This won't impact any previous survey results.)
Handling Duplicate Employees
Handling Duplicate Employees
Culture Amp uses two fields as unique identifiers for user profiles: Email and Employee ID.
As long as at least one of these remains consistent between Paychex and Culture Amp, the sync will successfully update the existing profile rather than creating a new one.
Duplicate Risk: If you change both the Email and the Employee ID simultaneously in Paychex, the sync will not find a match and will create a duplicate profile.
If you see a duplicate profile error flag during your import, take the following steps:
Scenario | Action to Take |
A. Before Changes Are Applied | During the first sync review screen, stop the sync. Update the employee emails in Culture Amp to match those in Paychex.
|
B. After Changes Are Applied | To clean up the duplicated profiles:
|
Sync Blocked to Protect Employee Privacy
Sync Blocked to Protect Employee Privacy
Your automated daily sync might be blocked if Culture Amp detects a high-risk change for an employee. You will receive an email notification if this occurs.
When It Happens: The sync is blocked if a combination of an employee's Name, Date of Birth, or Email is changed simultaneously.
Purpose: This prevents one employee from accidentally getting access to another employee's private information (like performance reviews).
Fix: If you've intentionally changed the employee's details, you can run a manual sync to push the change through. Go to Settings > Employee Data > Users, click Import data, and select Sync. Culture Amp will guide you through the rest.
Redaction of Sensitive Data
Redaction of Sensitive Data
As part of this integration, Culture Amp has the ability to redact sensitive data at your request. If you need any fields to be disabled/redacted for your account, please reply with "Ask a Person" in a Support Conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist.
💬 Need help? Just reply with "Ask a Person" in a Support Conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist.