Verify the Payroll Basis and Create Payroll File

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Modul: Lön

Tillvalsmodul: Lönekoppling

För löneansvariga administratörer

Uppdaterad 2026-11-06 08:37

Brief answer

First, verify the period's hours, absences and balances are correct. Then open the Payroll Periods page, run the check for the correct company and investigate any remaining remarks. When the Lock period option is available for the current period, lock the company before creating the regular payroll file. For a future period with SD Worx or Hogia Lön Plus, there is instead an option for a preliminary file.

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Before you start

Decide which payroll period and companies the file should cover. Have access to the reports you use for reconciliation and check who will import the file into the payroll system. Do not create a new period if the correct dates already exist; use the actual period From and To.

This guide applies to payroll systems that receive files. If you have a direct API connection, use the specific transfer path for that connection instead of attempting to create a file that the recipient does not use.

Read events before locking and export

Timeplan may show a check status with errors even when it is possible to proceed. Therefore, a created file is not proof that all payroll amounts are correct. Review events and reports and decide what needs to be corrected before export. If you receive a confirmation of rows in the server queue before Lock period, wait with locking until the calculations are completed and check the balances again. Continuing while rows are waiting may cause the payroll basis to contain balances that have not yet been calculated correctly.

Check the correction procedure before unlocking

If a correction relates to a period before 1 April 2026 where employees are subject to period reconciliation with reference period, unlocking and new calculations may affect accumulated balances. Generate the Summary report on the Account Reports page before unlocking and coordinate with the payroll manager on how the correction should be made and reconciled afterwards. In the current version, this special warning may only appear after the period has already been unlocked and checked again. It cannot then be used to abort unlocking, so perform the reconciliation before selecting Unlock period.

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Verify the basis

Reconcile hours and balancesGo through the period's Time stamps and balances and time reports awaiting approval. Then generate account reports for the accounts and employees the payroll basis should cover, using the same dates as the payroll period. #### Details - Begin with employees and days where worked hours, absences, deviation codes or balances appear different than expected. A time and account report makes it easier to see the pattern, but corrections should be made where the original data exists and then verified again in the report. - Also review the Action list and reports awaiting approval. A remaining action may indicate someone has not yet decided which time or compensation should form the basis for payroll. - Reports and payroll files do not necessarily use the same selection criteria. Check report type, account template, approval selection and job assignments when comparing them. A balance visible in one report may fall outside the export profile’s selection or lack the code required by the recipient. - The report Preliminary payroll report (hours) on the Account Reports page helps you review the payroll basis. It is not the Error report that opens from the incomplete payroll period status. The option for only transferred employees applies the contract’s setting for payroll export and is not a confirmation of previous import into the payroll system. The current preliminary report path does not use a selectable account template; choose an account report with a template when a specific account selection is required. - If an employee has changed contract or job assignment during the period, you should check that both parts of the period have been assigned correctly. A reasonable total sum may conceal hours distributed to the wrong account or salary type. - If an employee is missing from the export, also review Export to payroll on the Contracts page and the contracts from which the data derives. This choice does not apply to the employee as a whole. Which contract must allow export depends on whether the profile handles employment details, balances or work shifts. - After each correction, generate the same report selection again and compare the result. This ensures the check is based on the saved and recalculated day, not on an earlier report extraction.

Open or create the payroll periodGo to Payroll → Payroll Periods and open the correct period. If it is missing, choose New, enter a Name and the period dates, then select Save. Then check the company’s line before marking it. #### Details - The period name is a convenience to find the right line, but it is the From and To dates that determine which basis is included. Pay special attention to broken payroll periods or manually created periods. - When creating a period, Timeplan suggests dates based on the end of the latest period. Verify the suggestion matches the payroll run you intend before saving; the date range must not overlap another payroll period. If there are no previous periods, today’s date will be suggested as the start. - Companies in the same payroll period can have different statuses. One line may be Not checked while another is already locked. Select only the companies you actually want to check and export in this run. - If a company is not available for the period, check the period chain and the company’s previous end dates. Do not select a different company as a shortcut; this risks the file referring to the wrong payroll basis. - Also confirm you have permissions for the correct company. An empty or limited list may be due to your access rights and does not necessarily mean the payroll period or company is missing.

Run the check and review eventsSelect Check period or Check again on the company’s line. Read the check result and open the error report link in the status if the check contains errors. Correct base data if needed and run the check again. #### Details - Checked indicates the check has been performed with no remaining errors in the status. Checked, contains errors means remarks remain. Open the error report link in the status and read what needs investigation; it is not enough to only read the status text. Events is the column for actions and should not be confused with a link to the error report. - The error report helps you find, for example, missing person or contract data, a time report not approved, or a period reconciliation to be handled. Correct contract information on the Employment Contracts page, entries on the Time stamps and balances page, and approval issues in Time Report Approval. Follow the error message’s references if it relates to something else, then run the check again. The period check does not make these decisions for you. - Confirmation about the server queue is not shown at every locking. It is displayed only when a warning threshold for the server queue is set above zero and the number of waiting rows for the selected companies reaches the threshold. If it appears, you may postpone locking and let the calculations complete. However, absence of such confirmation is not a reconciliation of balances; always compare the period basis before locking. - Document why a warning may be left if you decide to proceed after a check. The next person must be able to distinguish a known and assessed deviation from an unresolved error.

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Create the file

Lock the company and retrieve the payroll fileOnce the check has been evaluated, choose Lock period for the company if that action is offered. Then verify the locked status and select Create payroll file for the company to be included. If using SD Worx or Hogia Lön Plus and the period’s To date is after today’s date, options Create schedule file or Create personal data file are offered instead as a preliminary export. That file is not the same as a regular payroll file from a locked period. #### Details - Lock older periods before later periods for the same company. If the company obtains the status Locked, contains errors, you still need to know what remarks remain and why you choose to proceed or correct them. - For SD Worx and Hogia Lön Plus, the preliminary file can be created when the period’s To date lies after today and the company’s status is Not checked, Checked, or Checked, contains errors. Then choose the file option specific to your payroll system; do not treat the file as proof the period is locked or that the final payroll basis is ready. - For Svensk Lön, Timeplan asks for Payroll code?, for Visma HRM for Payroll period code?, and for Personec S for Payroll period? before requesting the export. Enter the identifier agreed with the recipient. If you choose Cancel or leave it blank, Timeplan will not request any export. - When the export result is a single file, it is downloaded directly. When multiple files are created, they are compiled into a zip file. A profile may produce several files even for a single company. Check filenames and quantity before handing over to the person importing the files into the payroll system. - If values are missing or reported with incorrect payroll type, follow up the linkage according to Configure and troubleshoot payroll connections. The account’s payroll type ID, absence code and job cost centre have different functions. Do not adjust a balance to compensate for an incorrect code at the recipient. - The company must have a payroll system and valid export settings. If no file is created, verify the company’s status and settings. The import itself and the order between different files are determined by the external payroll system. - When a new file is created after a correction, it should be marked and handled to prevent the older file from being imported by mistake. Therefore, verify period, company, filename and creation time together with the recipient. - Creating the file does not alter approvals, recalculate balances or provide confirmation from the payroll system. A successful download shows the basis has been created, not that the recipient has processed it correctly. - If the period has already been imported, the recipient’s correction procedure must be defined before the next import. A new export contains the entire chosen basis, not only the changes. A new filename does not therefore protect from duplicate payroll entries.

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Verify the result

For a regular payroll file, check that the correct company is locked in the correct period and that the downloaded file or zip contains the expected components. For a preliminary schedule or personal data file, instead verify the correct company, period and file type without assuming locked status. Confirm with the payroll manager that the file can be imported and that the outcome matches the information you reviewed in Timeplan.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why can’t I create a payroll file?First verify the correct company and which file type you are trying to create. A regular payroll file requires the period to be locked, while SD Worx and Hogia Lön Plus offer their preliminary file options when the period’s To date is after today. If the correct option is still missing, the company’s payroll system, status and export settings need to be reviewed. Read the check result and the company’s error report when the status shows remaining errors.

Can I correct an error after the file has been created?Consult with the payroll manager first. If the period must be reopened in Timeplan, later locked periods for the same company may need to be reopened before the older one. Correct the basis, check it again and lock periods from older to newer. The file that has already been downloaded or imported is not automatically replaced, so the recipient must confirm how the earlier import should be corrected.