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Importing 1099 Contractors in Payroll

Background:

A  contractor is an individual that you pay for providing their services to you. The service may be a specific task that you have hired, or contracted, them to do. A vendor may be a business or a person that is a supplier for goods or services for your business.  In other words, they sell you something. Contractors are also different than an employee for your company. An employee will receive a W2 at the end of the year, and a 1099 independent contractor will receive a 1099. For more information about the differences, please read our blog article, “Independent Contractor vs. Employee Classification.”

You can pay 1099 contractors in the payroll software by entering them with a bulk import or manually one at a time. Please read our help article, “Adding and Editing Contractors in Patriot Software,” to enter contractors manually, and Importing 1099 Contractors in Payroll to use a bulk import.

If you have the accounting software, you can also add and manage your vendors and contractors in the accounting software as a payable.  See “Adding and Editing Vendors.”

You can easily create a spreadsheet with your 1099 contractors’ basic information. If you have utilized accounting software or payroll software in the past, you may be able to export your 1099 contractor list and information.

FAQs about importing 1099 contractor files

What 1099 contractor information or fields can I import?

  • Contractor Name (required)
  • Address 1 (required) Address 2 (not required)
  • City (required)
  • Zip (required)
  • Phone (not required)
  • Cell phone (not required)
  • Email (not required)
  • EIN or SSN (not required on import, but will be required before you can run payroll.)
    • Your contractors should fill out Form W-9 so your records are complete.
  • Contractor Legal Name
  • Notes

I don’t need a 1099 at the end of the year for my contractor. Can I still pay them in the payroll software, and include them in my import?

To pay a 1099 contractor in the software, you must select the contractor is required to receive a 1099 at year-end. If you do not want to create a 1099 at the end of the year, please consider using our accounting software to pay your vendors.

What are the minimum fields needed to import contractors?

Your import file needs to include at least:

  • Contractor Name
  • Address 1
  • City
  • State
  • Zip

What file types can I use?

You can use the following file types: .xls, .xlsx, .csv

How should the file be formatted?

Each contractor record should be on a single row in your file, with a column for each field you want to import. The first row of your file should include headers that label each column. Your first contractor should start on row 2.

Do the order of the fields matter?

No, the fields (columns) can be in any order from your former software. The software will automatically match the fields to our fields. If there were any columns that could not be matched, you’ll manually match them on the next page.

It’s easy!

Spreadsheet Tips for a Smooth Import Process

  • Address: Create separate columns for your contractor street address, city, state, and zip code.
  • Email: Your contractor email address should only contain one email and no other text and no spaces. The email is not required, but if you do have something in the email field, make sure it is a valid email address.
  • Phone: Your contractor phone number cannot contain extensions.

Importing Contractors

  • To import contractors in payroll, go to Payroll> 1099 Contractors> Contractor List.
  • Click the “Import Contractors” link.
  • Choose the file you want to import. You can also drag and drop the file from your computer. 
  • Click Continue.
  • Match your data from your spreadsheet to Patriot fields.
    • Most, if not all, of your columns should be automatically matched. You may need to select the Patriot field or select “Do Not Map Column” if the information from your sheet does not need to be imported. The minimum you need to import is the contractor’s name and address, but you can import each column of data you have as long as you select each matching Patriot field. 
  • Review your imported 1099 contractors.
    • If there are any errors in the file or missing information, you will need to correct and edit here. You can also edit all fields on the contractor record after your import.
  • Continue to match your contractors with the “1099 Contractor Info.”
    • 1099 Type –  Select the type of 1099 contractor you have from the dropdown of 1099 options.  If all of your contractors are the same, you can select the type to apply to all contractors at the top of the list. See the help article “Which 1099 Type Do I Choose?” for more information on selecting the correct 1099 type.
  • Click “Continue.”
  • You will be able to view all of your 1099 contractors in the file on the Contractor list.  Payroll > 1099 Contractors> Contractor List.

If you have the accounting software you will be able to change the “Create 1099?” field. If you select “No” to “Create 1099?” your contractor will not be added to the “Contractor List” in payroll. It will be added to your “Vendors” in accounting. You will be able to pay your vendors from there. Please read, “Paying Vendor Bills “ for more information.

Troubleshooting

The software says I must add contractors when I click “Pay contractors”, but I already have imported them and see them in the Contractor List.

Paying contractors in Patriot's payroll software

To pay a 1099 Contract Worker in payroll, you must have both the EIN (or SSN/ITIN ) and the 1099 type selected filled in. 

  • To add the EIN and 1099 type, go to Contractor List > Select the Contractor Name > W-9 Information > Click Edit.
  • Enter either the EIN or the SSN/ITIN.
  • Enter the 1099 contractor type if not already selected.
  • Click Save.

My contractor has “Pay this 1099 Contractor in Payroll”? set to No. But I don’t see the field to edit it.

The field for Pay this 1099 Contractor in Payroll will be automatically set to “No” if you do not have all of the necessary fields entered for the 1099 contractor to be paid in payroll. Be sure all W-9 information is complete including:

  • Either EIN or SSN/ITIN
  • 1099 Type
  • Type of Business

When all of the required information is entered, the field “Pay this 1099 Contractor in Payroll?” will be changed to “Yes” and you will be able to pay the contractor.

I don’t see all of the contract workers I imported.

Only contract workers that you will be giving a 1099 to at the end of the year are on the Contractors List in payroll. If you selected “No” to the “Create 1099?” field, they will be classified as a “vendor,” and your vendor will appear under your Vendors in the accounting software. To see your vendors, go to Accounting > Your Company > Vendors.

I don’t need a 1099 at the end of the year for my vendor, but I can’t uncheck the field.

You will only be able to pay 1099 contractors in payroll at this time. If you need to pay vendors, please consider using our accounting software, where you can easily pay vendors by checks with three simple steps.

Exporting Contractors

You can export all 1099 contractors that are added to the software by going to Payroll> 1099 Contractors > Contractor List. Click the Download Spreadsheet link to get a CSV of the contractors displayed on your screen.

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