Overview

SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) is a secure and private service for sending files over the internet. Generic SFTP lets customers whose HRIS is not natively supported by Merge share employee data via scheduled CSV exports or a one-time manual CSV upload. Merge resyncs the entire file on each transfer and deletes rows that are not present in the latest export.

What can I share via Generic SFTP?

• A recurring CSV export from your HRIS, delivered to Merge on a schedule (daily, weekly, etc.).

• A one-time CSV upload through the Merge Link modal, useful for a single sync or occasional updates.

For the full list of supported fields, file naming requirements, and schema constraints, see the SFTP standards and requirements spreadsheet.

Note: Merge treats each report as the full set of employees. If an employee that previously appeared in the report is missing from the next sync, Merge will mark that employee as deleted. Merge does not assume deleted employees are terminated employees — include a worker-status column if you need that distinction.

How do I build the report in my source system?

1. Log in to your HRIS.

2. Navigate to the reporting or data export module.

3. Create a custom report (or modify an existing one).

4. Add the fields that you want to share as columns in the report.

5. Confirm your HRIS supports the file format and column requirements defined in the SFTP standards and requirements spreadsheet.

6. Include a column called employee_id containing the value that uniquely identifies an employee in your HRIS.

7. If you wish to share Employment, Group, Location, or Time Off data, include the corresponding id columns (e.g., employment_id).

8. Name the output file HRIS.csv, run the report, and export to CSV.

How do I send the export to Merge?

Option A: Manual (one-time) upload

Download the report as a CSV, then upload it inside the Merge Link modal. Use this when you only need a single sync or occasional updates.

Option B: Recurring / automated transfer via SFTP

1. Configure your system to schedule periodic CSV exports.

2. Provide the SFTP connection details to the receiver: Username, Host, Port, Path, and Public Key (Merge generates the public key for you to install on your SFTP server).

How do I go live and validate the connection?

1. Once setup is complete, run a test file transfer.

2. Confirm the CSV is valid — schema, required fields, and no formatting errors.

3. Confirm successful ingestion and sync inside the Merge Dashboard.

4. Monitor the first few runs to catch issues such as field mismatches or missing rows.

Troubleshooting

• The file must be .csv.

• employee_id must be a column in your CSV.

• Remove any extraneous summary or footer rows (e.g., "Totals").

• Verify required identifier columns are present.