How to Get Roster Hours Into Payroll: A CSV Export Checklist
30 October 2026 · The Rosterly team · 4 min read
To export timesheets to payroll as CSV without retyping, approve every shift first, then export one file per pay period with the employee, the start and end of each shift, paid hours and a pay estimate. Check the totals against the roster, confirm the time zone, and import or hand it to your payroll provider. Your payroll software then applies award rates, overtime and tax.
Most small businesses don't want to change payroll provider when they change rostering tools. A clean CSV export is the bridge. This post covers what it should contain, the traps (time zones, unapproved shifts, names that don't match) and a checklist for each pay run.
Why CSV is often enough
Built-in payroll integrations are useful, but they depend on your payroll software being supported, and they can break when either side changes. A CSV export:
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works with almost any payroll system or bookkeeper
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is easy to check in a spreadsheet before it's used
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gives you a copy of what was sent, for your records
If you'd otherwise retype hours every week, either option saves time. Integrations save more if your provider is supported and you trust the sync; our Rosterly vs When I Work and Rosterly vs Deputy comparisons cover where built-in payroll matters.
What the export should contain
At minimum, one row per approved shift:
Column
Why it matters
Employee name or ID
Why it matters: Matches the person in payroll
Start date and time
Why it matters: Payroll needs the day to apply weekend or night rates
End date and time
Why it matters: Same, especially for overnight shifts
Paid hours
Why it matters: Hours after unpaid breaks
Location
Why it matters: For businesses with several sites or cost centres
Currency and base pay estimate
Why it matters: A cross-check against what payroll calculates
Rosterly's export, for example, includes the employee, start and end in UTC, paid hours, currency and a base pay estimate for each approved shift at a location.
Trap 1: unapproved shifts
Export only approved timesheets. An unapproved shift may have a missing clock-out or a time that hasn't been checked. Our weekly timesheet approval routine keeps approvals current so the export is ready on payday.
Trap 2: time zones
If your export uses UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), a 9am start in Sydney appears as the previous evening. That's correct and unambiguous, but your payroll provider needs to know. Either convert to local time in the spreadsheet, or confirm that the import handles UTC. Get this wrong and weekend penalty rates can land on the wrong day.
Trap 3: names that don't match
"Sam Lee" in the roster and "Samuel Lee" in payroll will cause an import error or, worse, a new employee. Use one spelling everywhere, or include an employee ID that both systems share.
Trap 4: rounding and decimals
Paid hours should be decimal (7.75, not 7:45). Check that your payroll software expects decimal hours and the same rounding. Our guide to calculating hours worked with unpaid breaks explains decimal hours.
Trap 5: shifts that cross the pay period
A Sunday night shift ending at 2am Monday may span two pay periods. Agree with your payroll provider which period it belongs to, usually the one in which it started, and stick to it.
A pay-run checklist
1.
All shifts in the period are approved. No missing clock-outs.
2.
Corrections have reasons. Anything changed shows why.
3.
Export the period for each location.
4.
Open the file and check the row count roughly matches the shifts worked.
5.
Total the paid hours and compare with the roster's total. A big gap needs explaining.
6.
Check time zones and names.
7.
Send or import into payroll.
8.
Spot-check three people's pay against their hours after payroll runs.
9.
Keep the file with the pay run records.
Approved hours to CSV in one click
Rosterly exports approved hours per location with paid hours and a base pay estimate. 14-day free trial, no card needed.
The export, the approved timesheets and any corrections are part of your time and wages records:
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Australia: the Fair Work Ombudsman says time and wages records must be kept for seven years.
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United States: the Department of Labor's FLSA guidance says payroll records should be kept for at least three years, and time cards and schedules for two.
Store each pay period's export with the pay run, named by period, for example `2027-01-04_to_2027-01-17.csv`.
What the export doesn't do
A CSV of hours is an input to payroll, not payroll itself. Your payroll software or provider still:
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applies award rates, penalty rates and overtime
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calculates tax, superannuation, pension or retirement contributions
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produces payslips and lodges reports
Rosterly's base pay estimate is base rate × paid hours, a cross-check rather than final pay.
How Rosterly fits
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Clocking in: staff clock in and out on server time, and unpaid breaks come off paid time automatically.
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Approvals: managers correct timesheets with a reason and approve them; nobody approves their own hours when another manager exists.
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Export: approved hours export to CSV per location.