Articles on: Integrations

Importing into BrightCIS

BrightCIS is software that effortlessly manages subcontractors, submissions, and payments under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS).

TimeKeeper integrates with BrightCIS to import subcontractor timesheet hours for payment reporting.

Currently, this is done by exporting subcontractor hours from TimeKeeper into a CSV file, which can then be imported into BrightCIS for payment deductions. We hope to build a cloud-native integration once BrightCIS supports it.

To import TimeKeeper timesheet hours into BrightCIS, follow this three-step process:

Step 1 - Set up Subcontractor Mapping Between the Two Systems

To configure the subcontractor mapping between TimeKeeper and BrightCIS, you will need to enter into each TimeKeeper employee either the Trading Name of the Subcontractor or the Subcontractor Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) on their profile.

So for example, Eros here has a trading name of Eros and a UTR of 7140839005.

We take each Subcontractor Trading Name and Subcontractor UTR and enter that in the 'External Company Name' and 'External Company UTR' section of their employee profile.

Step 2 - Run the BrightCIS Report

We recommend first running the TimeKeeper Excel report to review the data (it’s more user-friendly). O

Once you’re happy, run the BrightCIS export format from the Staff Timesheet Report screen.

Step 3 - Import into BrightCIS

Once the CSV has been exported, open it and up and take a look inside that you are happy with the data. The export format will have the default following columns;

Column	Note
Subcontractor Trading Name	Name of subcontractor taken from External Company Name in Employee Profile
Subcontractor UTR	Unique Taxpayer Reference of Subcontractor taken from External Company UTR in Employee Profile
Hourly Payment 1 - Description	Line Item Description of Subcontractor Employee
Hourly Payment 1 - Number of normal hours	Decimal Hours worked at regular/standard hours
Hourly Payment 1 - Number of time and a half hours	Decimal Overtime Hours worked at 1.5x multiplier (blank if none)
Hourly Payment 1 - Number of time and a third hours	Decimal Overtime Hours worked at 1.33x multiplier (blank if none)
Hourly Payment 1 - Number of time and a quarter hours	Decimal Overtime Hours worked at 1.25x multiplier (blank if none)
Hourly Payment 1 - Number of double time hours	Decimal Overtime Hours worked at 2x multiplier (blank if none)
Hourly Payment 1 - Number of triple time hours	Decimal Overtime Hours worked at 3x multiplier (blank if none)
Hourly Payment 1 - Number of quadruple time hours	Decimal Overtime Hours worked at 4x multiplier (blank if none)

If you have other custom TimeKeeper overtime rates these will be appear as "Payment 1 - Number of hours at exceptional TimeKeeper OT Rate X" where X is the custom overtime rate.

To import into BrightCIS, you can do this by visiting https://cis.brightpay.com and clicking into your employer record.

Once in the employer, click "Import" and choose "Import Hourly Payments from CSV File".

Select the CSV file you exported from TimeKeeper and press Continue.

Click "Match Header Columns" to automatically match up the relevant columns in the CSV to the BrightCIS record.

You will need to uncheck the checkbox next to the header row and that should show as Ignore. If everything is matching up, then you should see "Matched".

Now click "Import".

That's the import complete, you should see a import message and the payments showing for the relevant subcontractor at those hourly rates

That’s it, the payments will appear against the relevant subcontractors with the correct hourly rates.

Final Note

Once you complete your first import, BrightCIS remembers the mapping for next time.

After that, you can simply click Import, select your CSV file, and you’re done.

Updated on: 22/09/2025

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