---
title: "Bulk import salary and allowances"
slug: "salary-and-allowances"
updated: 2026-08-21T16:02:19Z
published: 2026-08-21T16:02:19Z
canonical: "help.cintra.co.uk/salary-and-allowances"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.cintra.co.uk/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Bulk import salary and allowances

There are two ways to assign salary or allowances (e.g. a meal allowance or overtime rate) to an existing employee.

- For individual employees, you can edit their employee record. See [Find and edit an employee in HR](/payroll/docs/find-and-edit-an-employee-in-hr#editing-an-employee-profile).
- If you have many employees to update, you can [import them](/payroll/docs/salary-and-allowances#importing-salary-and-allowances) using a template.

- For individual employees, you can edit their employee record. See [Salary & allowances](/payroll/docs/salary-allowances).
- If you have many employees to update, you can [import them](/payroll/docs/salary-and-allowances#importing-salary-and-allowances) using a template.

### Accessing the Salary & Allowances import screen

1. In the **Payroll** tab, open a payroll.
2. Select the **Salary & allowances** tile.
3. A list of existing salaries and allowances assigned to the current payroll are displayed, with the gross total and difference shown in the tile above.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/fc2cda72-4645-4b36-96bf-60439ec11f11/Images/Documentation/image-1779787784581.png)

### Importing salary and allowances

Cintra People Payroll has a new import tool to streamline the import process. For more general information on the tool - including which other areas you can import to - see [Bulk import](/payroll/docs/bulk-import-tool).

1. Click the **Add Salary & Allowances** button.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/fc2cda72-4645-4b36-96bf-60439ec11f11/Images/Documentation/image(706).png)

1. Click **Download template**.
  1. Alternatively, if you already have the import data in a separate spreadsheet, you can upload it directly without completing step 3.
2. [Complete the template](/payroll/docs/salary-and-allowances#completing-the-salary-and-allowance).
3. Upload the completed and saved template in the area below.
4. Cintra People will help you match the columns in your spreadsheet to the correct fields. See [Bulk import - Mapping columns](/payroll/docs/bulk-import-tool#mapping-columns).
5. After mapping columns, you will be shown a list of all the data to be imported, with any errors highlighted in red. These must be fixed before completing the import. See [Bulk import - Fixing errors](/payroll/docs/bulk-import-tool#fixing-errors).

### Completing the salary and allowance template

If you are using the template downloaded from Cintra People:

1. Open the downloaded template in Excel or other spreadsheet program.
  - You may have to select **Enable Editing** to make changes.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/fc2cda72-4645-4b36-96bf-60439ec11f11/Images/Documentation/image(707).png)

1. For each salary or allowance, you must add information for each column into a new row.
  - When you select any cell, a tooltip provides more information about any validation rules:

![](https://cdn.document360.io/fc2cda72-4645-4b36-96bf-60439ec11f11/Images/Documentation/image(710).png)
2. Add information into the following columns:
  1. **Employment ID**, **First Name**, **Surname**.
  2. **From Date** / **To Date**: In the format 17-Oct-2026. **To Date** is not mandatory if the salary / allowance is ongoing.
  3. **Addition Heading**: Select from the drop-down list. This list is maintained in Cintra iQ. The Addition Heading you enter will determine whether you should enter an annual amount or rate, and whether you can **inherit standard amount**.
  4. **Annual Amount**: For / annum addition headings, enter the annual figure in the format 123.45. Leave blank for rate-based headings.
  5. **Rate / Period Amount**: Always required. For rate-based headings (e.g. / hour), enter the rate in the format 123.45. For / annum headings, enter 0 if no rate applies.
  6. **Inherit Standard Amount**: Enter Y to use the default amount configured in Cintra iQ, instead of entering a figure manually. Not available for all addition headings.

### Assigning benefits

For more information on where to assign different types of benefit to an employee, see [Benefits: Where to enter each type of benefit](/payroll/docs/benefits-where-to-enter-each-type-of-benefit-cost).