QAD and UKG integration

What moves between them

The main flow runs from UKG into QAD. After each payroll run, ml-connector reads UKG Pro pay distributions and the configured GL export file and posts the labor cost journals into QAD's general ledger, mapped to the matching QAD GL accounts and cost centers. Employee records flow the same direction so QAD headcount reflects UKG hires, terminations, and rehires, read through the changed-employees delta endpoint. Reference data such as cost centers, departments, and pay groups is aligned in both directions so payroll allocations land on valid QAD dimensions. GL output in UKG is read-only, so ml-connector never writes financial entries back to payroll.

How ml-connector handles it

ml-connector stores both credential sets encrypted. On the UKG side it sends HTTP Basic auth together with the customer API key and user API key headers on every call, since the core REST API returns a silent 401 if either key is missing and there is no bearer token to manage. On the QAD side it accepts the full tenant URL per customer, since QAD publishes no shared base URL, and validates entity paths against that instance. Because QAD cloud is pull-only, it polls UKG pay distributions, the GL export file, and the changed-employees endpoint on a schedule tied to your payroll calendar rather than waiting for a push, and it can subscribe to UKG webhook employee events where they are enabled, falling back to delta polling because UKG retains events for only 14 days. Cost centers and departments are mapped first, so every payroll journal line references a GL account and cost center that already exists in QAD. Employee loads use a two-pass fetch, since the UKG IDs endpoint returns UUIDs only and full profiles need a follow-up call. UKG rate limits return HTTP 429 per tenant, so ml-connector serializes bulk reads and backs off with jittered retries. Every record carries a full audit trail and can be replayed if a downstream call fails.

A real-world example

A mid-sized discrete manufacturer runs QAD Adaptive ERP for production, procurement, and finance, and uses UKG Pro for payroll and HR across two plants and a head office. Before the integration, the finance team pulled payroll registers and the GL export from UKG every pay period and re-entered the labor totals into QAD by hand, then spent the first days of month-end close chasing differences between HR headcount and the labor accounts in the ledger. With QAD and UKG connected, each payroll run's GL distribution flows into QAD automatically, allocated to the cost center for each plant, and employee changes keep the two systems aligned. Month-end close starts with the labor accounts already reconciled, and the manual re-keying step is gone.

What you can do

• •Post UKG Pro payroll GL distributions into QAD's general ledger after every pay run, allocated to the correct cost centers.
• •Keep QAD headcount aligned with UKG hires, terminations, and rehires through the changed-employees delta endpoint.
• •Map UKG cost centers, departments, and pay groups to QAD GL dimensions so payroll lands on valid accounts.
• •Authenticate UKG with Basic auth plus its customer and user API keys, and QAD with its tenant-specific token.
• •Poll on a schedule tied to your payroll calendar, with retries and a full audit trail on every record.

Questions

Which direction does data move between QAD and UKG?

The main flow is UKG into QAD. Payroll GL distributions and employee records move from UKG into QAD, while cost centers and departments are aligned in both directions. UKG GL output is read-only, so ml-connector does not write financial entries back into payroll.

How does the integration get GL data out of UKG when there is no GL REST endpoint?

UKG Pro does not expose journal entries over REST. ml-connector reads the third-party pay endpoint, which carries debit and credit amounts by GL account and cost center, and can also pick up the configured flat-file GL export from the Integrations Dashboard. It then maps those distributions to QAD GL accounts before posting.

How does the integration handle QAD's tenant-specific URL and UKG's two API keys?

ml-connector accepts the full QAD instance URL per customer, since QAD publishes no shared base address, and polls QAD and UKG on a schedule tied to your payroll calendar because QAD cloud is pull-only. On the UKG side it sends Basic auth together with both the customer API key and user API key on every request, since omitting either returns a silent 401.