Maxwell's 360° bi-directional API integration with Paylocity 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 Paylocity Employee ID field will be used to match your employees in Maxwell with your employees in Paylocity.
2. If no 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 Paylocity.  A change in one system will automatically update the other system.
   • Please note a few exceptions:
     • Social Security Number (SSN): Paylocity requires SSN changes to be made in Paylocity, and will not allow Maxwell to modify this field. The SSN in Paylocity will always replace the SSN field in Maxwell.
     • Eligibility Group: Maxwell will always be the source for Eligibility Group changes and will overwrite the Benefit Class (eligibility group) field in Paylocity if the employee is synced between Paylocity and Maxwell.
2. Benefit deductions and earnings changes sync one way - from Maxwell to Paylocity. 

You can receive notifications in Maxwell for ongoing sync activity between Maxwell and Paylocity 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 Paylocity. That means that you have the flexibility to update employee demographic information in either Maxwell or Paylocity, 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 Paylocity system first. When you add a new employee into Paylocity, the integration will automatically create them in Maxwell and sync the information from Paylocity. 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 Paylocity.

If you make a change to employee demographic information in Paylocity 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 Paylocity.

If you terminate the employee in Paylocity 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 Paylocity. Additionally, it will automatically open the Rehire event and shopping window in Maxwell if the rehire originates in Paylocity.

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 and Earnings

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

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

Once a benefit change happens in Maxwell, if it changes a current or future benefit cost, it will sync over to Paylocity 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 Paylocity to have any type of retro-application of a deduction or earning to prior payroll runs.

Starting a Deduction or Earning

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

• Example: An employee is added into Paylocity with a new hire date of 02/03/20 and syncs to Maxwell on 02/03/20. The employee completes enrollment for benefits in Maxwell on 2/14/20 and the Administrator approves and ends the enrollment event for the employee on 2/17/20. The deductions for the enrolled benefits with payroll codes will be sent to Paylocity on 2/17/20 (at the time they are processed by approving the event).

Changing an existing Deduction or Earning

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

• 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 Paylocity.

Stopping a Deduction or Earning

An employee’s benefit deduction/earning in Paylocity 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 01/05/20 and their benefit plan is effective until 01/31/20, then Maxwell will send the End Check Date for the employee’s deductions & earnings on 01/05/20. The End Check Date will be the subsequent paycheck date relative to the termination date as defined on the Maxwell Payroll Calendar.

Here are some other examples as to why a deduction and/or earning 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 or Earning

An existing benefit deduction/earning is deleted in Paylocity 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 02/01/20 and a Maxwell Administrator deletes the future enrollment on 01/25/20, the future deduction/earning will immediately be deleted on 01/25/20.

What to be mindful of ongoing

• You should always add new hires into Paylocity 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 Paylocity the day after the last effective date of their benefits.
• If you need to edit deduction or earning 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 or earning code to the product in Paylocity. Payroll codes will also need to be updated at renewal. You do not need to pause the sync when you add a deduction or earning 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 Paylocity, and that request fails, an Integration Failure notification can be triggered.
• If Paylocity 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 Paylocity 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 Paylocity integration by selecting Settings > 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 Paylocity.

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 Paylocity if you would like to cancel, as Paylocity invoices employers directly for the ongoing integration.

If you’d like to cancel the integration, pause the integration in Maxwell, then notify Paylocity by contacting your Paylocity Account Manager or emailing service@paylocity.com. Paylocity will then remove the ability to transmit data between Paylocity and Maxwell. You can then delete the integration from the Maxwell portal.

Should you wish to turn on the Maxwell-Paylocity 360° API 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, billing, 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 Paylocity functionality or product offering, contact your Paylocity representative or visit their site.