How to Import a Timesheet into ADP RUN (CSV)
ADP RUN imports time through a timesheet CSV, and one field decides whether your import takes a minute or an afternoon: the employee's payroll ID. ADP matches rows to people by ID, not by name, so the setup task is a one-time mapping and the weekly task is nearly nothing.
JULY 30, 2026 · BY THE CLOX TEAM
ADP RUN imports time through a timesheet CSV, and one field decides whether your import takes a minute or an afternoon: the employee's payroll ID. ADP matches rows to people by ID, not by name, so the setup task is a one-time mapping and the weekly task is nearly nothing.
01
The file ADP RUN expects
A Time Sheet Import CSV: one row per employee per earnings code with the payroll ID and that code's hours for the period, in decimal hours, so regular and overtime arrive on separate rows keyed REG and OVT. Clox exports this format from Reports, Export, then ADP RUN (CSV), reading each person's payroll ID from their profile. If the export isn't in your Reports menu yet, enable the provider first in Settings under Integrations; each enabled provider adds its export format to the menu.
- One-time setup: put every employee's ADP payroll ID into your tracker. In Clox that's the Payroll ID field on the employee profile, and a profile without one exports with the ID cell left blank, which ADP's import then rejects or mismatches.
- Approve the period, then export the ADP RUN CSV.
- In ADP RUN, open the payroll run and use the timesheet import option in the entry flow as of July 2026.
- Upload, review the import summary, and resolve any unmatched IDs before finalizing.
- Confirm one known-OT employee's split on the entry screen before submitting payroll.
02
Why IDs beat names
Names change and vary: nicknames, middle names, marriages, typos. IDs stay the same. Every recurring import failure we hear about traces to name matching somewhere in the chain, ADP's ID matching takes a few extra minutes to set up on day one and then keeps working.
03
The Workforce Now variant
Running ADP Workforce Now instead of RUN? The concept is identical but the format is WFN's paydata grid: batch-oriented, with pay data columns keyed to your company's setup. Clox exports a separate ADP Workforce Now (CSV) shaped for the paydata import, so pick the export that names your ADP product and the rest of this guide applies unchanged.
04
FAQ
Where do I find each person's payroll ID?
Regular and overtime in one row?
RUN or Workforce Now, which do I have?
Map the payroll IDs once and the weekly export is routine after that. Free for 14 days.