Goal
When payroll data stops flowing, census work stops with it. This guide covers the most common payroll problems in Stax.ai CX — broken authentication, stalled connections, missing data, and upload trouble — organized by symptom so you can diagnose and fix them fast.
Your starting point for any payroll issue is the Payrolls page: open it from the left sidebar, find the client, and read the Payroll Status badge. The status usually tells you what's wrong. See Payroll Statuses Explained for the full reference.
The connection shows "Require Re-auth"
Possible causes: Authentication to the payroll provider failed — usually because the sponsor changed their password or account permissions.
Resolution steps:
Ask the sponsor to log in to the client portal and re-authorize the payroll connection (profile picture > Payroll).
Enable the Payroll Re-Authentication Follow-up reminder in Settings > Advanced so CX nudges the sponsor automatically — every 2–3 days to the payroll contact or Plan Sponsor works well. See Client Task Reminders.
Watch the Payrolls page for the status to return to Active.
The connection is stuck at "Awaiting Client"
Possible causes: The sponsor started connecting payroll but didn't finish the flow — some providers require extra steps, and skipping one leaves the connection incomplete.
Resolution steps:
Ask the sponsor to log back in to the portal and complete the connection from the start. Share Connecting Payroll (Client Portal) with them.
If they're unsure where it went wrong, walk them through it on a call — or use Client Portal Live View to see their screen and guide them.
The connection is stuck at "Assisted"
Possible causes: The sponsor hasn't sent the Finch invite yet — or they have, and the data simply hasn't synced (assisted connections typically take about two weeks).
Resolution steps:
Confirm the sponsor created the invite user exactly as: user staxai, email [email protected].
Point them to the provider-specific instructions: open Payroll Providers in your settings and click the ? icon on the provider's card.
If the invite was sent, allow up to two weeks. The status stays Assisted until payroll syncs from Finch into CX.
Payroll data is in, but reports or compensation figures are missing
Possible causes: The status is Awaiting Mapping — data has arrived but pay codes haven't been mapped to the plan's definitions of compensation yet. The Stax.ai team handles this mapping based on plan provisions.
Resolution steps:
No action needed — mapping completes on the Stax.ai side.
Need it faster? Email [email protected] with the company name.
A sponsor's file upload isn't working
Possible causes: The upload task isn't set up as the right task type, the sponsor can't find the task, or the sponsor doesn't have portal access.
Resolution steps:
Confirm the task's client task type is Upload Payroll Report and the sponsor is the assigned contact. See Drag and Drop Payroll Uploading.
Confirm the sponsor has an active portal login and the company's status is portal-eligible (Active, Onboarding, or Terminating).
Ask the sponsor to open the task from the tasks section on the left side of the portal — the drag-and-drop upload page opens from the task itself.
The status shows "Error"
Possible causes: Something went wrong syncing payroll data from Finch.
Resolution steps:
Email [email protected] with the company name.
When to contact support
Contact [email protected] when:
A status shows Error.
A connection sits in Syncing or Awaiting Mapping much longer than expected.
A sponsor has re-authorized or reconnected and the status still doesn't recover.
You need a mapping expedited for a deadline.
Include the company name and roughly when the problem started — it speeds things up.
Related features
Payroll Statuses Explained — every status, meaning, and action
Connecting Payroll (Client Portal) — the connection flow to re-run for most fixes
Client Task Reminders — automate the follow-up nudges
Client Portal Live View — guide a stuck sponsor in real time
Tips
Turn on the payroll follow-up reminders once, firm-wide. Most re-auth and incomplete-connection issues resolve themselves when CX does the nudging.
Check payroll statuses before census season starts — fixing connections is much easier without a deadline attached.
Don't assume the worst on Syncing. Large employers take longer to pull in; it usually resolves on its own.