Maxwell's 360° bi-directional API integration with ADP Workforce Now gives you a simple way to connect important benefits-related data in real-time. With this integration, it’s easy to manage your payroll changes while keeping your systems in sync!

Need more information on getting started? Check out this article to review the steps to set up the integration.

In this article, we’ll cover:

• How the Integration Works
• Syncing Demographic Data
• Syncing Benefit Deductions and Earnings
• What to be Mindful of Ongoing
• Troubleshooting Tips

How the Integration Works

When you activate the integration, employees that exist in both portals will be matched based on one of the following:

1. First, the ADP Associate ID field will be used to match your employees in Maxwell with your employees in ADP Workforce Now.
2. If no ADP Employee ID exists in Maxwell, an employee will be matched based on Social Security Number (SSN).
3. If neither Employee ID nor SSN exist in Maxwell, First Name, Last Name, and Date of Birth will be used to match employees.

Once employees are matched between portals:

1.  Demographic information changes, sync bi-directionally (both ways) between Maxwell and ADP Workforce Now.  A change in one system will automatically update the other system.
   • Please note: Maxwell will always be the source for Eligibility Group changes.
2. Benefit deduction changes sync one way - from Maxwell to ADP. 

You can receive notifications in Maxwell for ongoing sync activity between Maxwell and ADP once the integration is active. Note that notifications will only be sent if they have been enabled for your account.

We strongly recommend that you enable notifications in your portal before you activate the integration. Read more about integration notifications.

Syncing Demographic Data

With this integration, employee demographic data automatically syncs bi-directionally between Maxwell and ADP. That means that you have the flexibility to update employee demographic information in either Maxwell or ADP, and the most up to date data will sync over to appear in both systems.

• One-time Individual Employee Sync: If you need to do a manual real-time sync for just an individual employee who is included in your active API integration, you can use the Sync option available on the employee's profile. View the steps and learn more about the individual sync option here >> 

Important note: While demographic updates will sync between systems, you may have steps to take in Maxwell to complete event and benefit updates for:

• Employee Adds and New hires
• Qualifying Events
• Terminations
• Rehires

Employee Adds and New Hires

When adding an employee, you should always add them into your ADP Workforce Now system first. When you add a new employee into ADP, the integration will automatically create them in Maxwell and sync the information from ADP. Any new employees with recent hire dates (within 123 days) will automatically be added with an open New Hire event and configured shopping window in Maxwell.

Next Steps: Once the new hire is synced into Maxwell, you will need to send a welcome email to the employee to let them know they can now shop for benefits as a new hire.

Qualifying Life Events

When you make a change to certain employee demographic information in Maxwell, that information will automatically sync to update ADP.

If you make a change to employee demographic information in ADP first, the integration will also automatically sync that information into Maxwell. However, if that demographic change would also require you to track any benefit changes due to those updates, you may need to complete a change event in Maxwell.

Next Steps: Once the demographic information has synced into Maxwell, you may need to initiate a Change Event on the employee’s profile to update benefits.

Terminations

When you terminate an employee in Maxwell, you will walk through the standard termination event workflow. Then the termination date, termination reason and benefit end dates will sync to ADP.

If you terminate the employee in ADP first, the integration will set the termination information for the employee in Maxwell, but you will still need to mark any COBRA-eligible benefits if applicable.

Next Steps: Once the termination is synced into Maxwell, follow the link from the notification to mark the COBRA event.

Rehires

The integration will automatically update rehire dates in Maxwell or ADP. Additionally, it will automatically open the Rehire event and shopping window in Maxwell if the rehire originates in ADP.

Next Steps: Once the rehire is synced into Maxwell, you will need to send a welcome email to the employee to let them know they can now shop for benefits as a new hire.

Syncing Benefit Deductions

With this integration, benefit deductions sync one way - from Maxwell to ADP. The deductions and earnings will be created, updated, ended, or deleted in ADP based on the enrollment information in Maxwell compared to the information in ADP.

• Starting a Deduction
• Changing an existing Deduction
• Stopping a Deduction
• Deleting a Deduction

Once a benefit change happens in Maxwell, if it changes a current or future benefit cost, it will sync over to ADP Workforce Now in near real time.

• Please note for past effective dates: If a benefit cost change is made that is effective in a prior pay-period, Maxwell will end the deduction and/or earning effective immediately, but will not be able to end the deduction and/or earning in the past. You will need to contact ADP to have any type of retro-application of a deduction or earning to prior payroll runs.

Starting a Deduction

An employee’s benefit deduction amount is started in ADP when there is an active enrollment for a benefit with a payroll code in Maxwell, but no matching deduction in ADP exists.

• Example: An employee is added into ADP with a new hire date of 02/03/21 and syncs to Maxwell on 02/03/21. The employee completes enrollment for benefits in Maxwell on 2/14/21 and the Administrator approves and ends the enrollment event for the employee on 2/17/21. The deductions for the enrolled benefits with payroll codes will be sent to ADP on 2/17/21 (at the time they are processed by approving the event).

Changing an existing Deduction

An employee’s benefit deduction amount is changed in ADP when the deduction amount in Maxwell does not match the amount in ADP.

• Example: An employee adds a new dependent onto their medical plan during a life event in Maxwell and their deduction amount changes. When the Administrator approves and ends the life event for the employee, the new deduction, effective date, and begin check date (first pay-date after the effective date) will be sent to ADP.

Stopping a Deduction

An employee’s benefit deduction in ADP is given an End Check Date (last check for deduction/earning) if the employee is terminated, the benefit reaches its End Date, or the benefit is deleted after it has already been in-effect through a pay-period.

• Example: If an employee is terminated on 01/05/21 and their benefit plan is effective until 01/31/21, then Maxwell will send the End Check Date for the employee’s deductions on 01/05/21. The End Check Date will be the subsequent paycheck date relative to the termination date.

Here are some other examples as to why a deduction may be stopped:

• Individual benefit was terminated
• Employee waived a benefit they were previously enrolled in during a qualifying life event
• Employee changes a coverage level and now has zero cost when there was previously a cost
• Employee changed eligibility group (for example, because they moved to another state) and is now no longer eligible for the benefit
• Employee decides not to enroll in the benefit again at renewal, or the employer stops offering the benefit

Deleting a Deduction

An existing benefit deduction is deleted in ADP when an enrollment that is effective in a current or future pay-period is deleted in Maxwell.

• Example: If an employee has an enrollment effective on 02/01/21 and a Maxwell Administrator deletes the future enrollment on 01/25/21, the future deduction will immediately be deleted on 01/25/21.

What to be mindful of ongoing

• You should always add new hires into ADP first, and have the information sync to Maxwell.
• The integration only sends deduction information for enrollments that have been approved by the benefits administrator. If your employees have any pending elections, deductions and costs will not be included in this file until those elections have been approved.
• When you terminate an employee in Maxwell, a stop deduction will be sent over to ADP the day after the last effective date of their benefits.
• If you need to edit deduction codes, please pause the integration and activate the sync again when you’re done.
• If you start offering a new product in Maxwell, you'll need to map its deduction code to the product in ADP. Payroll codes will also need to be updated at renewal. You do not need to pause the sync when you add a deduction code to a new product.

Troubleshooting Tips

If a Sync Errors

In the unexpected event that there is an error when syncing information:

• If Maxwell tries to update an employee, or an employee's associated earnings or deductions in ADP, and that request fails, an Integration Failure notification can be triggered.
• If ADP tries to update or create an employee in Maxwell, and that request fails, an Integration Failure notification can be triggered.

The notification in Maxwell will detail all available information provided by ADP on why the sync error has occurred. (Make sure you are set to receive integration notifications).

If the employee still does not sync, contact Maxwell Customer Support at support@maxwellhealth.com or (866) 629-7445.

Pausing the sync

If you’d like to pause the sync for any reason, navigate to the active ADP integration by selecting Settings > EDI and Integrations. When viewing the details of the active integration, you can click the "Pause Sync and Make Changes" button.

This will only temporarily disable the sync, and you can turn it back on at any time. If you pause the sync for a long time, it’s best practice to generate another Sync Preview Report to identify any differences that will now be synced when you turn it back on. Any enrollments or terminations (with current benefit dates) that occurred while the integration was paused will be picked up and synced over to ADP.

Canceling the integration

If you’d like to stop the integration from syncing information, you can pause the integration in Maxwell. However, you will need to notify ADP if you would like to cancel.

If you’d like to cancel the integration, log into ADP Workforce Now and go the Maxwell Health App to cancel. This action will notify the Maxwell system and the ADP integration will be disabled and removed from your Maxwell account.

Should you wish to turn on the Maxwell-ADP integration in the future, follow the steps as if you were setting up the integration for the first time.

If you weren’t satisfied with the integration, we’d love to know if there’s anything we can do to improve it! Email us at feedback@maxwellhealth.com.

Support

If you have a question about the API Integration functionality, setup, or your sync, please contact Maxwell Customer Support at support@maxwellhealth.com. You can also learn more about the integration in this article.

If you have a question about ADP functionality or product offering, contact your ADP representative or visit their site.