Sage 50 and Paylocity integration

What moves between them

The main flow runs from Paylocity into Sage 50. After each payroll run, ml-connector reads Paylocity's employee records and payroll statements and posts corresponding GL entries into Sage 50's General Journal, mapped to Sage 50 GL accounts by earnings type and deduction category. Employee hire, termination, and salary change events from Paylocity sync into Sage 50's employee records so headcount and pay allocations stay aligned. GL account and earnings type mappings are configured per customer so payroll lines post to the correct Sage 50 accounts without re-keying. Reference data such as cost centers and business units, if present in Paylocity, are aligned on both sides.

How ml-connector handles it

ml-connector runs a Windows agent that holds Sage 50 SDK credentials (username, password, and company file path) and Paylocity OAuth2 credentials (client ID and secret). The agent polls Sage 50 for modified employee records and payroll-related GL accounts on a schedule you define, typically daily after payroll processing. When Paylocity sends a webhook event (Payroll Processed, Employee Change, Termination), the agent fetches the full record data from Paylocity via REST, translates earnings and deduction line items into GL entries with the configured GL account mappings, and writes them to Sage 50's General Journal using the SDK. Paylocity tokens are refreshed automatically when they expire; Sage 50 SDK sessions are held open only during polling intervals to avoid exclusive-access conflicts if the accounting user logs in. Each transaction carries an audit ID so failed GL posts can be retried or replayed without duplication.

A real-world example

A mid-sized accounting and staffing firm runs Sage 50 for client billing and accounts payable and uses Paylocity for payroll processing for their own employees across three locations. Before the integration, the accounting department received a payroll report from the HR manager each pay period and manually entered labor cost lines into Sage 50's General Journal, allocating them by location and employee type. Month-end close was delayed by having to chase and reconcile payroll totals against employee records. With Sage 50 and Paylocity connected, payroll GL entries flow into Sage 50 automatically on the day payroll processes, allocated to the correct location cost center. Employee terminations in Paylocity immediately flag the employee as inactive in Sage 50, reducing the risk of paying a separated employee by accident. The monthly reconciliation is now automatic.

What you can do

• •Post Paylocity payroll GL entries into Sage 50's General Journal automatically after each pay run, allocated to the correct GL accounts and locations.
• •Sync employee hire, termination, and salary changes from Paylocity into Sage 50 so workforce records stay aligned.
• •Map Paylocity earnings types and deduction categories to Sage 50 GL accounts so payroll posts without manual chart-of-accounts configuration.
• •Authenticate Sage 50 via the local .NET SDK or COM layer and Paylocity via OAuth2 bearer token, with automatic token refresh.
• •Poll Sage 50 on a configurable schedule and receive Paylocity webhook events for payroll and employee changes, with audit trails on every posted entry.

Questions

Does Sage 50 support webhooks or only polling?

Sage 50 is a desktop application with no webhook or event stream interface. ml-connector must poll Sage 50 for modified employee and GL records on a schedule you define, typically once or twice daily. Paylocity, on the other hand, can push webhook events for payroll completion and employee changes, which ml-connector subscribes to and uses to trigger immediate syncs.

How does ml-connector handle the Sage 50 SDK's exclusive-access requirement?

Sage 50's SDK locks the data files while in use, preventing interactive login by the accounting user at the same time. ml-connector holds the SDK session only during polling windows and releases it immediately after, typically scheduled during off-hours or right after payroll processing completes, so there is minimal conflict with daily accounting work.

What GL accounts do the payroll entries post to?

ml-connector uses a customer-configured mapping table that translates each Paylocity earnings type and deduction category to a specific Sage 50 GL account. For example, regular wages might map to GL 5100 (Salaries) and FICA taxes to GL 2200 (Payroll Taxes Payable). This mapping is set up once during integration and applied to every payroll run thereafter, eliminating the need to re-key the accounts each pay period.