How to Integrate Paycom with SFTP

Paycom is a leading payroll and HR management platform used by thousands of businesses. It handles everything from payroll processing and tax filing to time tracking and benefits administration. But most organizations need to move data out of Paycom and into other systems — accounting software, ERPs, data warehouses, compliance platforms, and more.

The most reliable way to automate this is SFTP. Paycom supports SFTP as a delivery method for scheduled reports and data exports. You point Paycom at an SFTP server, configure a schedule, and files land automatically — no manual downloads from the web portal, no missed exports.

This guide covers why you would integrate Paycom with SFTP, what data flows are most common, how to set it up step by step, and how SFTPHub can serve as your SFTP endpoint.

Why Use SFTP with Paycom?

Most Paycom users start by manually downloading reports from the Paycom portal. That works for the first few months, but it breaks down as the organization grows. Here is why teams move to SFTP:

• Automated exports on a schedule — Payroll registers, GL journal entries, and tax filings are delivered automatically after each pay run. No one has to remember to log in and download them.
• System-to-system integration — Feed payroll data directly into your accounting system, ERP, or data warehouse without human intervention. Your GL entries can flow from Paycom to QuickBooks, NetSuite, or Sage automatically.
• Compliance and audit trails — SFTP provides encrypted transfer and server-side logging, giving you a clear record of what was delivered and when. This matters for SOX compliance, audits, and internal controls.
• Reduced errors — Manual downloads introduce risk: wrong file versions, missed exports, files saved to the wrong folder. Automated SFTP delivery eliminates these failure modes.
• Timeliness — Files are delivered within minutes of being generated. No delays from waiting for someone to log in during business hours.

Common Paycom Data Flows over SFTP

Paycom generates a wide range of reports and data exports that benefit from automated SFTP delivery:

How to Set Up Paycom SFTP Integration

The setup involves two sides: provisioning your SFTP server and configuring Paycom to deliver files to it.

Step 1: Provision Your SFTP Server

You need an SFTP server that is always available and reachable from Paycom's cloud. With SFTPHub, setup takes under two minutes:

1. Create an account at SFTPHub and choose a plan based on your storage needs.
2. Create an SFTP instance from your dashboard. This gives you a hostname and port.
3. Create an SFTP user for Paycom with either password or SSH key authentication. SSH keys are recommended for production use.
4. Create directories for your export types (e.g., /payroll/registers, /payroll/gl-entries, /tax/filings).

Note the hostname, port, username, and password (or SSH key) — you will need these when configuring Paycom.

Step 2: Configure SFTP Delivery in Paycom

Inside Paycom, navigate to the report or data export you want to automate. The exact path varies by report type, but the SFTP configuration follows the same pattern:

1. Open the report settings — Go to the specific report (e.g., Payroll Register, GL Export) and find the delivery or scheduling options.
2. Select SFTP as the delivery method — Choose SFTP from the available delivery options.
3. Enter your SFTP connection details:
   • Hostname — your SFTPHub server address
   • Port — the port shown on your SFTPHub instance detail page
   • Username — the SFTP user you created for Paycom
   • Password or SSH key — depending on your chosen authentication method
   • Remote directory — the path where files should be placed (e.g., /payroll/registers)
4. Set the file format — CSV is the most common for payroll data and GL entries. Fixed-width may be required for certain downstream systems.
5. Set the schedule — Align with your pay cycle. Most teams configure delivery to run automatically after each payroll is processed.
6. Test the connection — Use Paycom's test feature to verify that a file can be delivered to your SFTP server before going live.

Step 3: Choose Your Authentication Method

Paycom supports both password and SSH key authentication for SFTP connections:

SFTPHub supports both authentication methods. You can configure the method per SFTP user — use passwords for testing and SSH keys for production, or use both simultaneously for maximum security.

Step 4: Verify the First Export

After your next payroll run (or after triggering a manual export), verify:

• The file arrived on the SFTP server in the correct directory
• The file name follows the expected naming convention (ideally date-stamped)
• The contents are correct — spot check a few rows against the Paycom portal
• File size and row count look reasonable for your organization

Step 5: Build Your Downstream Pipeline

Once files are landing reliably on the SFTP server, connect the rest of your workflow:

• Accounting/ERP import — Many systems (QuickBooks, NetSuite, Sage, Xero) can poll an SFTP directory and auto-import GL entries or journal files.
• Data warehouse loading — Use a script or ETL tool to pick up new files and load them into your database for reporting and analytics.
• Compliance archival — Automatically archive tax filings and payroll records to long-term storage for audit readiness.
• Alerting — Set up a simple monitor that alerts you if an expected file does not arrive on schedule. A missing payroll file is much easier to fix the same day than the following week.

Security Considerations

Payroll data is sensitive. It contains names, Social Security numbers, compensation details, bank account information, and tax data. Security is not optional.

Encryption in Transit

SFTP encrypts all data in transit over SSH. Unlike plain FTP, credentials and file contents are never sent in cleartext. This is the baseline — every SFTP connection provides this automatically.

IP Allowlisting

For an additional layer of security, restrict your SFTP server to only accept connections from Paycom's outbound IP ranges. Contact Paycom support for their current IP addresses, and keep your allowlist updated as they may change over time.

Credential Isolation

Create a dedicated SFTP user for Paycom — do not share credentials across systems. If you also use SFTP for other integrations (benefits carriers, banking, Google Ads), each system should have its own user account. This limits the blast radius if any single set of credentials is compromised and makes audit trails cleaner.

File Retention

Do not let payroll files accumulate indefinitely on the SFTP server. Implement a retention policy: archive files to secure long-term storage after processing, and delete them from the SFTP server after a defined period (e.g., 90 days). This reduces exposure if the server is ever compromised.

Why Use Managed SFTP for Paycom?

You could run your own SFTP server for Paycom exports. But for most organizations, the operational overhead is not worth it:

Payroll runs on a strict schedule. If your SFTP server is down when Paycom tries to deliver files at 3 AM after a payroll run, you miss the export and have to scramble to fix it before your accounting team needs the data. With a managed SFTP service, uptime and availability are handled for you.

Organizing Your Paycom Exports

As you add more automated exports from Paycom, a clear organizational structure prevents confusion:

• Use descriptive directories — Organize by data type: /payroll/registers, /payroll/gl-entries, /tax/filings, /benefits/census.
• Use date-stamped file names — Configure Paycom to include dates in file names (e.g., payroll_register_20260408.csv). This prevents overwriting and makes it easy to identify which pay period a file belongs to.
• Separate inbound and outbound — If you also send files to Paycom (e.g., timesheet imports), use separate directories for each direction.
• Document your setup — Keep a simple record of which Paycom reports deliver to which directories, on what schedule, and in what format. When someone new joins the team, they will thank you.

Choosing the Right SFTPHub Plan

Paycom exports are typically small files — kilobytes to low megabytes per export. Storage needs are driven more by how many exports you retain than by individual file sizes.

Most organizations using Paycom with SFTP start on the Micro or Growth plan and scale up as they add more automated exports and extend retention periods.

Frequently Asked Questions

Key Takeaways

• Paycom supports SFTP for automated delivery of payroll registers, GL entries, tax filings, and HR data exports.
• Automating exports via SFTP eliminates manual downloads, reduces errors, and ensures timely delivery to downstream systems.
• SSH key authentication is recommended for production Paycom integrations — stronger security, no passwords to rotate.
• Organize exports with clear directory structures and date-stamped file names to prevent confusion as you add more integrations.
• SFTPHub provides managed, always-on SFTP that eliminates the operational burden of self-hosted servers — starting at $19/month.