Enrolling workers using file upload – video transcript

In this video, we’ll show you how to enrol your workers by uploading a file to NEST.

Enrolling a large number of workers by file upload will often be quicker than doing the same thing manually through your online account. It can also reduce the possibility of keying in errors, even for smaller numbers of enrolments.

Files need to be provided in the comma separated value, or CSV, format, and be no bigger than 2 megabytes. You can use our downloadable CSV templates to make sure you get your information in the right order and the fields are all correctly formatted. You’ll find the templates in the Files, formats and systems  area of our online employer help centre along with the Employer payroll guide , which has more detail about providing information in the right format.

After you’ve enrolled your workers using file upload, you’ll be able to amend records and add workers directly online.

To enrol your workers by uploading a file, log into your online account and click on the ‘Workers’ option in the top menu. You can also click on ‘Manage workers’ on your NEST homepage, but the top menu is a quick way to jump between tasks.

In the ‘Upload a file to enrol workers’ column, you can download our templates. We suggest watching our video Introduction to enrolling workers where we explain the different enrolment processes.

For this demo, we’ll assume you’ve prepared the file already, so click ‘Upload a file’.

Click on the ‘Browse’ button to find your file. Find your previously saved and correctly formatted CSV file, double-click to select it. Now, let’s upload it – click ‘Upload file’.

Click on ‘Process this file’. If the file contains no errors, NEST will confirm that your workers have been enrolled and tell you when you can start providing contribution details.

If there are any errors in your file, they’ll appear in the ‘upload history’. When you upload a file, we’ll give it an initial check and provide you with a report. If we detect any errors, you’ll have a few options about what to do next.

Your first option is to cancel the upload, fix the CSV file on your computer and try to upload it again.

Alternatively, you can click ‘make an online correction now’.

If there’s a mix of successful enrolments and errors, it may be easy to edit them clicking on ‘View upload history’ in the Your workers screen, and then by clicking on the arrow to show the error details.

Here you can see a table, list of names and number of errors. In this example, we’ll correct the information for the worker named ‘Rance’. Click on the arrow icon. There are some errors – let’s correct them.

[screen shows an error message describing four errors: the entry for date of birth isn’t valid, the start date is not in the correct format, the group name isn’t recognised and the employer payment source isn’t valid.]

Let’s change the date format. To finish editing, let’s scroll down the page to find the ‘Save’ button. Let’s save this record. You’ll notice that the information for the worker named Rance is no longer in the table and the worker has now been enrolled.

Once you’ve corrected all the errors, you can click ‘Done’.

The onscreen message will tell you how many members you’ve successfully enrolled.

Thanks for watching. You’ll find more useful guides and resources in our help centre.