Most private sector employers in the UAE pay salaries through the Wages Protection System, WPS, which is run with the Central Bank of the UAE. Salaries go through a bank or exchange house that takes part in WPS, and each month it expects a Salary Information File, a SIF, that lists every employee, their account and what they are paid. Typing that file by hand from a payroll spreadsheet is slow, and one wrong IBAN or labour card number can get the file rejected.
Wink You can build that file from a posted payroll run. Please read this guide in full before you rely on it: the WPS export is in beta, it exports a file only, and it never sends money.
What is in Wink You today
- An Export WPS file button on a payroll run once it is approved and posted, with a Beta tag beside it.
- A UAE WPS preset in Payroll settings, also marked Beta. Nothing is switched on until you choose it.
- A .sif text file with one employee record (EDR) per person, and one control record (SCR) at the end with the count, the total, the currency and the salary month.
- Fixed pay in the file is basic pay plus allowances minus deductions. Variable pay is overtime. If deductions are larger than fixed pay, the rest comes off variable pay, so the total still equals net pay.
What it does not do
- It does not transfer salaries. You upload the file to your bank or exchange house yourself, the way they ask you to.
- It has not been confirmed with every bank. Bank acceptance has to be checked before you submit for real, so test the file with your bank or agent first.
- It works in AED only. A payroll run in another currency is refused.
- The leave days field in each employee record is sent as zero. It is not filled from Leave.
- It is not a connection to the MOHRE system or to a bank portal.
How to set it up, step by step
1. Choose the WPS preset
Open Wink Accounting, then Payroll settings. Under WPS preset choose UAE WPS preset (Beta). Enter your Employer ID and the Employer bank routing code, digits only, then save. At export time the file checks the lengths the UAE format expects: a 13 digit employer ID and a 9 digit routing code.
2. Add each employee's payment details
Open Employee payment details and click Add payment details. Choose the employee, enter the IBAN, the bank routing code and the Labour card number, then click Save payment details. At export the file needs a 23 character IBAN, a 9 digit routing code and a 14 digit labour card number for every person in the run. IBANs are stored encrypted, and the list shows them masked.
3. Post the payroll run
Prepare the run from approved timesheets, add any allowances or deductions, and click Approve and post. The WPS button only appears on a run that is posted or paid.
4. Export and upload
Open the posted run and click Export WPS file. A .sif file downloads to your computer. If a detail is missing or has the wrong length, the export stops and tells you, instead of producing a file the bank would reject. Upload the file through your bank or exchange house, check what they report back, and only then release the payment.
5. Match the salary transfer
When the salary payment appears on your bank statement, import the statement under Bank Accounts. A line with the exact net payroll amount is suggested as the payroll payment, and confirming it marks the run as paid.
Who can use it
Payroll pages are open only to business administrators and accountants, and every WPS export is written to the audit log with the run it came from.
Frequently asked questions
Does Wink You send salaries through WPS?
No. It builds the SIF file from a posted run. Sending the salaries is done by your bank or exchange house after you upload the file.
How do I make a WPS SIF file?
Choose the UAE WPS preset in Payroll settings, add each employee's IBAN, routing code and labour card number in Employee payment details, post the payroll run, then click Export WPS file on it.
Why is the WPS export marked beta?
Because the file follows the published UAE SIF layout but has not yet been accepted by every bank. Test it with your own bank or agent before your first real submission.
What details does each employee need for WPS?
An IBAN of 23 characters, the 9 digit routing code of their bank, and their 14 digit labour card number, entered in Employee payment details. If any person in the run is missing one, the export stops and says so.
Can I use it outside the UAE?
The only WPS preset is the UAE one. Businesses elsewhere can still run payroll in Wink You, or use Export payroll in Timesheets to get a CSV of approved hours for their own payroll provider.
Learn more
Read about the books at winkyou.com/products/accounting-reports, and watch winkyou.com/support/finance-and-reports/how-to-prepare-a-payroll-run for the payroll run that comes before the WPS export.