a comprehensive guide to all types of payroll integrations offered, integration levels, and what to expect with each type
To get started, watch our Introduction to Payroll Integrations video
What types of payroll integrations are offered?
We offer two different types of integrations. In both cases, they allow for a mostly hands-off experience for the plan sponsor.
The main differences are in how we access your payroll system:
Automated Integration
We have established file or API based connectivity to your payroll system to retrieve information and/or make any necessary updates.
Payroll Concierge
Our team of payroll experts will access your payroll system to retrieve the necessary information and make any necessary updates.
What different levels of integration are offered?
We provide two levels of integrations:
180° -> Contribution Processing
This is a one-way integration, where we have the ability to retrieve information from your payroll system. For example, the integration will process employee and employer contributions and/or loan repayments once your payroll is run through your system each pay period.
360° -> Deferral Updates + Contribution Processing
This is a two-way integration, so in addition to retrieving information from your payroll system, we also have the ability to make updates to reflect deferral changes made through Participant Web. For example, if your employee changes their deferral from 2% to 3% on the Voya Participant Web portal, we will implement these changes in your payroll system.
What am I still responsible for updating?
180° Integrations
- Initializing each employees deferral rate in your payroll system.
- Updating any 401(k) deferral changes made by your employee.
- Making updates in your payroll system when employees are hired, terminated, or re-hired.
- Setting up loan repayments.
- Setting up and maintaining any company matching features, including specific employee match rates, if required by the payroll provider.
- Setting up and maintaining company-wide retirement deduction types for 401(k) Pretax, Roth, Safe Harbor and others, as applicable based on your plan features.
- Setting up & maintaining Payroll Groups so that they are the same in your Payroll system & in ProgramPay
- With Payroll Concierge setup, please notify Vestwell for any off-cycle contributions that need processing.
- Monitor communications from us for important messages or instructions about questions or issues that may arise from time to time.
360° Integrations
- Initializing each employees deferral rate in your payroll system.
- Updating 401(k) deferral changes that your employees make outside of ParticipantWeb.
- Making updates in your payroll system when employees are hired, terminated, or re-hired.
- Setting up loan repayments.
- Setting up and maintaining any company matching features, including specific employee match rates, if required by the payroll provider.
- Setting up and maintaining company-wide retirement deductions types for 401(k) Pretax, Roth, Safe Harbor and others, as applicable based on your plan features.
- Setting up & maintaining Payroll Groups so that they are the same in your Payroll system & in ProgramPay
- With Payroll Concierge setup, please notify Vestwell for any off-cycle contributions that need processing.
- Monitor communications from us for important messages or instructions about questions or issues that may arise from time to time.
Why do I have to grant such a high level of access to my payroll system?
In order to provide Payroll Concierge services, we need the ability to view and download information and make updates to your employees' deduction information. In order to complete those tasks, we often need Admin or Accountant level permissions to your payroll system.
We realize that by granting us this level of access you are trusting us with some of your most sensitive employee information. We take data security and privacy very seriously and have detailed internal processes and controls to ensure its safety.
Why aren't different levels of integration available for my payroll provider?
We are often updating our integrations, and working with more and more payroll companies to support integrations. At this time, only certain integration types and levels are supported on certain payroll systems.
Check out our list of integrated payroll providers.
Are there any reasons why my plan may not be eligible for integration?
Depending on the payroll provider, there may be factors that would limit our ability to setup your plan for Payroll Integration or Payroll Concierge. Some common reasons why integration may not be available include:
- Multiple Pay Groups
- Multiple Payroll Logins
- Multiple EIN's
- Per Pay Period Discretionary Match
- Excluded Class of Employees, Compensation Types and Types of Hours Worked
Limitations are based on the payroll provider, so please consult the setup instructions for your payroll company fore details.
How do I know if Payroll Integration/Payroll Concierge is turned on for my plan?
Once payroll integration has been setup for your plan, you will be notified by the ProgramPay team via email. (VoyaABA@Vestwell.com) Be sure to review that email to see the first integrated pay date as well as a review of your ongoing roles & responsibilities. Additionally, you will see the message that "AutoPay is ON" via your payroll provider on your Contributions Dashboard
Why can't I process a regular scheduled pay date contribution?
Once payroll integration is setup for your plan, ProgramPay will no longer allow you to initiate a regular pay date contribution. Since Vestwell will process the contribution through the integration or our Payroll Concierge team, we don't want to risk a duplicate contribution being created by your team. You will still be able to process off-cycle contributions at anytime. If you have a question on the status of a contribution, please reach out for assistance before processing an off-cycle.
What else do I need to know?
From time to time, we may receive data from your payroll company that triggers a validation error in ProgramPay and we are unable to process one or more contributions or loan payments. When that happens, you will be alerted by email about the issue with instructions on next steps to resolve the issue. These alerts will be sent from "ProgramPay@notices.vestwell.com". Please adjust spam or other filters in your email system to allow you to receive these important communications. You can learn more about the contribution validations and the types of errors that can occur here.