How to migrate from Excel to VetanBandhu

Many small businesses run payroll in Excel before moving to software. VetanBandhu imports your existing data directly so you do not have to retype everything. This guide explains how to prepare your spreadsheet, which column names work best, what carries across, what does not, and how to handle the switch month and YTD.

How to get the export from Excel

Excel has no built-in export path. You are moving the files you already have. Gather these sheets before you start:

1. Employee master — one row per employee with personal, bank and statutory details.
2. Monthly payroll sheet — one row per employee per month for the current financial year.
3. YTD summary — one row per employee with cumulative earnings, deductions and net pay.
4. Leave and attendance — opening leave balances and loss-of-pay days.
5. Statutory challans — PF, ESI, PT and TDS payment records for cross-checking.

Typical Excel column names that work

| Group | Suggested column names | |---|---| | Employee ID | Employee ID, Employee Code, Emp Code | | Name | Employee Name, Name, Full Name | | Date of joining | Date of Joining, DOJ | | Date of birth | Date of Birth, DOB | | Gender | Gender | | PAN | PAN | | UAN | UAN | | ESI number | ESI Number, ESIC IP Number | | Aadhaar | Aadhaar, Aadhar | | Bank account | Bank Account Number, Account Number | | Bank IFSC | IFSC Code, IFSC, Bank IFSC | | Bank name | Bank Name | | Work state | State, Work State, Location | | Department | Department, Dept | | Designation | Designation, Title, Role | | Earnings | Basic, HRA, Special Allowance, Conveyance, Other Allowance | | Deductions | Employee PF, Employee ESI, Professional Tax, TDS, Loan Recovery | | Employer contributions | Employer PF, Employer ESI, LWF | | Net pay | Net Pay, Take Home, Net Salary |

What carries across to VetanBandhu

• Employee master — employee ID, name, date of joining, date of birth, gender, PAN, UAN, ESI number, Aadhaar, bank account, IFSC, bank name, work state, department and designation.
• Salary structure — Basic, HRA, Special Allowance, Conveyance and other recurring earnings. Avoid combining allowances into a single "Other Allowance" column if you want PF and TDS to be accurate.
• Deductions and employer contributions — employee PF, ESI, professional tax, TDS and employer PF/ESI/LWF.
• YTD data — one row per employee per month from April to the cutover month, with gross, each earning, each deduction, employer contributions and net pay.
• Leave balances — opening balance and leave taken during the year.

What does not carry across

• Old Excel formulas — VetanBandhu applies its own statutory formulas. Paste values only.
• Historical payslip files — old Excel or PDF payslips are not imported as documents.
• Manual rounding rules — decide whether to round at row level or component level and apply the same rule in VetanBandhu.
• Attendance beyond payroll impact — full biometric logs are not needed; only loss-of-pay days and unpaid leave.
• Loan/advance history — only the current outstanding balance matters.
• Custom macros and formatting — these do not migrate. Clean the data before upload.

YTD implications of the switch month

Build a YTD worksheet with one row per employee per month from the financial-year start to the cutover month. Include gross, each earning, each deduction, employer contributions and net pay.

• Backfill every month. Validate the totals manually: the sum of net pay should match bank transfers, TDS should match your challan totals, and PF should match your ECR.
• TDS continuity. If your Excel has manual rounding, decide whether to round at row level or component level and apply the same rule in VetanBandhu.
• Partial-year TDS. For employees who joined mid-year, include only the months from the date of joining. Collect Form 12B if they had previous employment.
• PF and ESI. Import cumulative PF wages and ESI wages so ECR and ESI returns after the switch tie up with the year-to-date.
• PT and LWF. Per-month state deductions must be imported so the next state return is correct.

Cutover and go-live steps

1. Choose a month boundary as cutover.
2. Finalise the last Excel payroll, save all files and stop editing them.
3. Create your organisation in VetanBandhu and configure PF, ESI, PT and TDS rules.
4. Import the employee master and salary structures.
5. Upload the YTD worksheet and leave balances.
6. Run the first payroll and check every payslip against your Excel.
7. Fix any differences, then pay salaries and remit statutory dues.
8. Keep the old Excel files as a backup.

Ready to move?

Most teams with under 20 employees can migrate in a day. Start the import at Dashboard > Employees > Import.