A step-by-step tutorial for Belgian construction companies running payroll through SD Worx, Partena, or Acerta.
Payroll day should be boring. If every export from your time registration system triggers a flurry of corrections, phone calls, and last-minute fixes, something is wrong, and almost always it is the handshake between your time data and your payroll provider. Suivo integrates out of the box with the three big Belgian payroll providers (SD Worx, Partena, Acerta) plus several smaller ones. This tutorial walks you through the export process, the checks you should run before you click send, and the most common error patterns we see. Follow it and you will close payroll in hours instead of days.
Quick Navigation
- Before you export: three things to check
- Step-by-step: export from Suivo to SD Worx
- Step-by-step: export to Partena
- Step-by-step: export to Acerta
- Common errors and how to fix them
- Monitoring the monthly handshake
- FAQ
Before you export: three things to check
A clean export starts before you click “Export”. Run through this 3-minute checklist every period:
- Employee mapping is complete. Every active worker must have a payroll ID linked in Suivo. New hires are the usual culprits.
- Project and wage codes are mapped. Each project or cost code in Suivo must map to a payroll wage code (regular hours, overtime, travel, etc.).
- Exceptions are resolved. Check the dashboard for missing clock-outs, overlaps, and open approvals. Fix them before exporting, not after.
⚠️ Belgian regulations (2027 mandate) require an objective, reliable record of daily working hours. Exporting incomplete or incorrect data into payroll creates a compliance gap, not just a payroll error.
Step-by-step: export from Suivo to SD Worx
- In Suivo, go to Reports → Payroll Export.
- Select SD Worx as the provider and pick the payroll period.
- Review the summary: total hours, number of employees, and number of exceptions. If exceptions > 0, cancel and resolve them first.
- Click Generate. Suivo produces an eBlox-compatible file.
- Either download the file and upload it in eBlox, or, if you enabled the direct connector, click Send. The handshake is logged with a timestamp and a confirmation number from SD Worx.
- Open the export log and confirm “Status: Accepted”. If it says “Accepted with warnings”, click through to see which records need attention.
Step-by-step: export to Partena
- Reports → Payroll Export → Provider: Partena Professional.
- Select the period and confirm the company number matches the Partena file.
- Generate the export. Suivo produces a Partena-formatted file including the appropriate wage code mapping.
- Upload in Partena Online, or use the API connector for direct transfer.
- Validate the Partena preview: gross hours, wage codes, and employees should match the Suivo summary exactly.
Step-by-step: export to Acerta
- Reports → Payroll Export → Provider: Acerta.
- Select the period and check the pay group mapping.
- Generate. The file format is Acerta-compatible and includes CIAW-related codes where relevant.
- Upload in Acerta Connect or transfer via the API link.
- Reconcile employee counts and total hours between Suivo and Acerta before approving the payroll run.
Common errors and how to fix them
| Error | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown employee ID | New hire not mapped | Add payroll ID in the employee profile in Suivo |
| Wage code missing | New project or activity code | Map it in Admin → Wage code mapping |
| Hours mismatch | Open exceptions or unapproved absences | Resolve in dashboard and re-export |
| Rejected file | Period already closed in payroll | Use a correction run or move to next period |
| Duplicate export | Previous export already sent | Delete the duplicate in Suivo export log |
❌ vs ✅ payroll export
- ❌ Exporting at 16:00 on payroll Friday with unresolved exceptions
- ✅ Exporting on Thursday morning with a clean exception dashboard
- ❌ Mapping wage codes only once, then ignoring new project codes
- ✅ Reviewing wage code mapping at the start of every month
- ❌ Trusting that “Accepted with warnings” is fine
- ✅ Opening every warning and resolving it before closing payroll
Monitoring the monthly handshake
Most payroll errors are not spectacular, they are silent. A new employee is hired, the payroll ID is not filled in, and their hours quietly disappear from the export. Suivo keeps a full export log with status, record count, and differences from the previous period. Check it every month. If the record count drops unexpectedly, something broke; if it grows, you may be double-counting. Either way, you want to catch it before the next run.
“We stopped running payroll blind. The five-minute review of the Suivo export log every month has saved us from at least three painful corrections this year.” , HR manager, Belgian installation company
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I export mid-period?
Yes. Interim exports are useful for checking progress or catching mapping errors early. The official export for payroll is typically run once per period.
What if I use a provider that is not listed?
Suivo supports generic CSV and XML exports and can map to most providers. For a comparison of Belgian time registration tools and their payroll integrations, see Best Digital Time Registration Tools in Belgium (2026).
Can I automate the export?
Yes. For SD Worx, Partena, and Acerta a scheduled, API-based export can run automatically at the end of each period. You still review the log, but no one has to click “Generate” by hand.
How do I handle corrections after the period is closed?
Run a correction export for the relevant employees only. Suivo produces a delta file that your payroll provider applies as an adjustment in the next run, with a full audit trail.
Does the export include CIAW-related information?
Yes, where the wage code mapping requires it. See the CIAW FAQ for the regulatory detail.
Related reading
Time Tracking · Construction industry · Check-in at Work
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