MYOB timesheet imports: a hospitality bookkeeper's pre-payroll checklist
A timesheet file can import successfully and still require payroll review. The employee might be matched incorrectly, the hours may use a category you did not intend, or the same period may already have been processed. Treat the first import as a reconciliation exercise.
ShiftRova provides a tab-delimited MYOB timesheet export of approved time. Validate the output against the import process and payroll categories in your exact MYOB product before processing a live pay run.
Identify the destination first
Record the MYOB product, country edition, company file and pay period. “We use MYOB” is not a complete import specification. Read the instructions that apply to the actual product and use its current sample format as the reference. MYOB publishes timesheet importing guidance and a sample file.
Give the bookkeeper a sample before the first live handover. Agree which employee matching field to use, how dates and units are represented, and which existing payroll categories should receive the hours. Do not assume similarly named categories have the same setup.
Inspect these fields before import
| Field or decision | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Employee name or identifier | Matches the intended employee; no ambiguous duplicate names |
| Payroll category | Exists in the destination and represents the intended payment treatment |
| Date | Falls within the period being processed and uses the expected date format |
| Units | Represents the intended hours after review of breaks and corrections |
| Location or job allocation | Preserved where the payroll workflow needs it |
| Approval | The manager has resolved missing punches and reviewed the period |
ShiftRova's export can include generated penalty labels. Those labels still need to match the categories and rules in your destination. An export is not a substitute for confirming the employee's applicable rates and entitlements.
Test one ordinary shift and one exception
Start with a fictional employee and a 6-hour approved shift. Compare the source timesheet, exported row and imported units. Then test a shift with more than one rate band, an overnight shift and an employee with a similar name. Keep a copy of the reconciliation so the next reviewer can repeat it.
For an illustrative period, three approved shifts of 6, 7 and 5 hours should total 18 hours across all imported categories. If those hours split into separate lines, add the lines before comparing. Matching the total is necessary, but also check each category and date; 18 hours in the wrong category is still an error.
Review the import result before running payroll
Look for rejected rows, unmatched employees, missing categories and unexpected duplicate lines. Reconcile employee totals and the period total back to the approved source. Keep unresolved records out of final processing until the manager and bookkeeper agree the correction.
Avoid re-importing the full file automatically after an error. First establish which rows, if any, were accepted and how your MYOB workflow handles replacements. Record the file version, import outcome and person who completed the review.
Close the loop with the venue
Set a regular approval cutoff and a separate path for late corrections. Send the manager a short exception list containing only what they need to resolve. After payroll, compare the final wage outcome with the roster's budget assumptions.
The objective is a handover the bookkeeper can trust and the venue manager can complete consistently. For a Xero workflow, use the reference-export handover guide instead; the transfer method is different.
Try the Live Hospitality Demo to see how the roster and time-review steps fit together.