How to correct errors in your file

When you upload a file to enrol employees or process pension contributions, we scan it right away. If any errors are found, we’ll provide a list for you to correct before proceeding.

Fixing these errors ensures timely, accurate, and compliant contribution processing. Read this article to learn how to correct errors in your file.

Check if you're using the correct headings

If you receive errors for all rows, a column may be missing or the headings could be incorrect. Make sure all required information is included, and verify that the headings are correct.

💡 Tip: Make sure your file uses the accepted headings. Incorrect names will cause errors.

Understand what's wrong with your file

Use the error list to find out what’s wrong by filtering by error type.

Here are the most common errors you might see:

EmployerID	This is the unique ID for an employer. Every file must include one EmployerID, which you can find in the top right of the Employer dashboard*.
Pay Period	This is the time frame you’re processing contributions for. Common types are monthly, weekly, biweekly, or 4-weekly. Pay period errors happen when you forget to include start or end dates, or use the wrong duration*.
National Insurance Number (NINO)	For new employees: If you're enrolling a new employee and see a NINO error, check that all required details to enrol are included in the file. The error will disappear when all the enrolment details are provided. For existing employees: If there's a NINO error for an existing employee, we may not recognise the number. Correct your file or get in touch if an employee was enrolled with the wrong number.
New joiner	If you see this error, it means you're either missing information for a new enrolment or using an unrecogised NINO for an existing employee, which makes us think they are a new joiner. See more on NINO errors above.
Contribution amount	Double-check that you're not confusing employer and employee contributions. Don't use special characters. If the employee has contributions, the Employer column can't be blank or show £0. If you add an Additional Voluntary Contributions %, make sure to include a matching £ amount in the corresponding column. Otherwise, leave both columns blank

💡Tip: *You can only include one EmployerID and one Pay Period per file. If they're missing or incorrect, you can fix them directly on our platform during the upload.

Correct errors in your file

You can fix errors either in the exported file or directly in your payroll software. After correcting them, export the file and upload it again.