Staff Rostering to Payroll: The Right Way to Do It

Getting shifts to payroll should be simple. The data should flow seamlessly between systems. But in practice, outdated and inefficient processes mixed with complexity prevent this from being a streamlined and error free system for most organizations - particularly hospitals.

The challenge of getting staff rosters to payroll

As pressure on teams increases and technology moves forward, those who resist change risk failure and an increase of errors. “It’s how we’ve always done it” will no longer hold up.

From missed hours and double payments to late pay and frustrated staff, payroll errors usually start upstream: in the rostering process.

The biggest culprit? A messy, manual handover between roster and payroll.

Here’s a list of the most common (and genuinely bad) ways people try to solve this problem, followed by a smarter way to get it right:

6 terrible ways to send rosters to payroll (and why they break)

1) Emailing PDFs or screenshots of the rosters

This might seem quick, but it’s fragile. No way to track changes, no structured data, and no guarantee someone’s not working from the wrong version.

Why it fails:

• Easy to miss late changes or shift swaps
• No validation or error checks
• Can’t automate anything downstream

2) Exporting spreadsheets and hoping for the best

A classic move: download a CSV from your rostering system, email it to payroll, and pray no one overwrites a cell.

Why it fails:

• Manual edits break data integrity
• No audit trail
• Version control chaos (“final_FINAL_schedule_v6.xlsx”)

3) Relying on someone to key hours into payroll manually

Sometimes the staff roster is only used as a reference, and someone retypes everything into the payroll system.

Why it fails:

• Extremely time-consuming
• High risk of data entry errors
• Staff lose confidence when their pay is wrong

4) Asking staff to double-enter their own timesheets

You’ve got a live roster already, but still ask staff to submit their hours separately, “just in case”.

Why it fails:

• Duplicates effort
• Confusing for staff: which record is correct?
• Disputes become harder to resolve

5) Using calendar invites as a pseudo-timesheet

Some teams try to make calendar entries or Outlook invites do the job of proper schedule/pay data.

Why it fails:

• No link to payroll
• No way to record actuals or changes
• Easily overwritten, misunderstood or ignored

6) Email notifications for every shift change

This one comes from a good place - trying to keep payroll in the loop - but quickly overwhelms inboxes.

Why it fails:

• Too many messages, no context
• Shift changes happen constantly
• Easy to miss or forget which change is final
• Redundant work - payroll only needs to know the final state of the roster not every single change history that occurs

The best methods of connecting staff rostering to payroll

The most reliable, low-effort solution is to sync your live roster directly with payroll - ideally using automation.

That means:

• One system of truth for who worked what and when
• Updates happen in real-time, not at the end
• Changes are tracked and auditable
• No more screenshots, email threads, or crossed fingers
• Less administration and human-error

It also removes the guesswork for payroll teams. They get structured, validated data - not someone’s best effort to remember who swapped shifts two Thursdays ago.

Below are 5 recommended methods:

Method 1: RPA (robotic process automation)

RPA lets you automate repetitive tasks by training a bot to replicate the mouse clicks and keyboard actions a human would normally do. It’s a practical workaround when your systems don’t integrate well.

Imagine a digital assistant that mimics what a human would do - the bots log into your rostering system, extract shift data, validate it, and enter it into your payroll software - just like a human, but faster and with fewer errors. Every action is logged, and issues are flagged for review.

It’s not the ideal solution - but if your current software doesn’t integrate, RPA can bridge the gap and save your team hours.

Method 2: Do a direct upload of your roster at the end of the pay period

Instead of manually re-entering shift data, you can export your roster at the end of the pay period and upload it directly into your payroll system - provided it supports data imports (e.g. CSV or Excel).

This method reduces manual effort and improves accuracy, but it still relies on point-in-time data. If there have been last-minute shift swaps or changes not reflected in the export, payroll could be out of sync.

Using a live schedule solves this problem by continuously syncing updates in real time -so payroll always sees the latest version of who worked and when. But if that’s not possible, direct uploads offer a cleaner alternative to copy-paste or rekeying shifts.

It’s a good step up from manual entry, but it still leaves room for human error and timing mismatches if schedules aren’t locked down before export.

Method 3: Use a live roster link and share it with payroll

Instead of exporting and uploading data at the end of the pay period, this method gives payroll teams real-time access to a live roster link. That means they’re always working from the most up-to-date version of the roster - no exports, no uploads, no surprises.

Unlike method 2, which relies on static files that can quickly go out of date, a live schedule reflects changes as they happen: shift swaps, sick calls, and overtime - all automatically visible.

It’s the most seamless, low-maintenance option - keeping payroll aligned without extra admin.

Method 4: Fully sync your rostering system with payroll through an API integration

The most powerful and scalable option is a direct API integration between your staff rostering and payroll systems. This creates a two-way sync, where shift data flows automatically and securely between platforms - no manual uploads, no bots, and no version control issues.

With a fully synced API connection:

• Roster changes are reflected in payroll in real time
• Data is structured, validated, and secure
• Rules like overtime, allowances, and breaks can be auto-applied
• Payroll runs are faster, more accurate, and audit-ready

It’s the cleanest solution - but it does require both systems to support open APIs and some upfront setup to get the sync right.

Remember you can’t band-aid a bad process

If your current method relies on someone remembering to send something, track something, or forward an email... it’s probably not fit for purpose (or scaleable). The less manual the link between your roster and your payroll, the fewer headaches you’ll face on payday.

RosterLab supports all four methods for connecting staff rostering to payroll - whether it’s a live schedule feed, rules-based pay logic, structured exports, or full API sync. No mess, no missed shifts - just clean, reliable payroll data.

Because people deserve to be paid properly. And your time’s too valuable to fix it later.