ADP Flat File Integration Overview

Last updated: August 28, 2026

ADP offers both an API and a flat-file feed, and Onboarded connects through either one. When a customer's account isn't set up for API access, the flat-file feed is still a real path in: Onboarded gets new-hire data where it needs to go, no manual export or upload, and no custom engineering needed.

At a glance

  • Sync direction: Onboarded to ADP, delivered by SFTP

  • Setup: field mapping and SFTP credentials, no custom engineering

  • Coverage: any field ADP's flat-file import accepts, defined per customer

Why connect it through Onboarded

Without an API, the fallback used to be a person manually exporting and uploading a file every pay cycle, or no real integration at all. Onboarded closes that gap with a mapped, automatically delivered file instead.

  • Configuration is yours to control. Field mappings, code translations, and output formatting are configured by your admin, not gated behind a custom build.

  • Delivery is automatic. Once configured, files are generated and delivered by SFTP on schedule.

Integration features

Onboarded's mapping engine takes new-hire onboarding data and builds it into a file formatted exactly the way ADP's import expects, then delivers it automatically.

  • No-code field mapping. Every output field, its source, and its format are configured within the platform.

  • Value translation built in. Onboarding values map to the codes ADP expects, with a defined fallback for anything unmapped.

  • Versioned mappings. A mapping can be updated without breaking the file format already in production.