Employee contact data can be imported into Merit Palk from a CSV file. If the source data is prepared in Excel (XLS/XLSX) format, it can be easily saved as a CSV file.
This import functionality is available only for users of the PRO package of Merit Palk.
To import employee contact data, open the menu: Settings → Data import from file → Import employees contact info
CSV file requirements
The CSV import file must meet the following requirements:
General settings
Encoding: UTF-8
Field separator: semicolon (;)
File structure
Column | Description | Notes |
Column 1 (A) | Personal identification code | *** - required field |
Column 2 (B) | Last name | * - informational field, not imported |
Column 3 (C) | First name | * - informational field, not imported |
Column 4 (D) | [Empty field (NEW!)] | Empty field |
Column 5 (E) | Phone number | ** - imported if information is provided |
Column 6 (F) | Email address | ** - imported if information is provided |
Column 7 (G) | Bank account number (IBAN) | ** - imported if information is provided |
Column 8 (H) | Bank account owner | ** - imported if information is provided |
Column 9 (I) | Report language selection | ** - imported if information is provided |
Column 10 (J) | Address (NEW!) | ** - imported if information is provided |
Column 11 (K) | City (NEW!) | ** - imported if information is provided |
Column 12 (L) | County (NEW!) | ** - imported if information is provided |
Column 13 (M) | Postal code (NEW!) | ** - imported if information is provided |
Column 14 (N) | Country code (NEW!) | in ISO2 format ** - imported if information is provided |
*** – required field
** – fields are imported if the information is provided in the file. If the same fields are already filled in the program, they will be overwritten with the data from the import file.
* – informational fields that are not imported, even if they are filled in the file.
Language selection codes
The language selection can be marked using the following two-letter codes:
et – Estonian (default value)
en – English
ru – Russian
This setting defines the employee’s report language (for example, payslip, summary payslip report, detailed vacation liability report).
If the language selection is not specified in the file, Estonian will be used by default.
Additional instructions
Column names in the first row of the file should be added only if not all data is imported at once.
If all columns in the file are filled in, column headers are not required.
If not all columns are filled in, column headers must be added to the relevant columns.
The import file must include all 14 columns, even if some are left blank. Only the mandatory field — the personal identification code — has to be filled in.
The file may contain empty rows at the end – these will be ignored.
The program ignores all columns starting from column 15.
Imported data is matched based on the employee’s personal identification code.
💡The CSV file must always be generated from an Excel (XLS or XLSX) file. If changes are required in the import data file, they must be made in the original Excel file, not in the CSV file.
After making the changes, save the Excel file again in CSV format and use the new CSV file for import.
API integration
Employee contact data import is also available for PRO package users via API integration.
More information: Merit Palk API documentation
Sample file
You can download a sample file here
Country codes in ISO2 format
Country codes in ISO2 format
Country / area | Code |
Afghanistan | AF |
Åland Islands | AX |
Albania | AL |
Algeria | DZ |
American Samoa | AS |
Andorra | AD |
Angola | AO |
Anguilla | AI |
Antarctica | AQ |
Antigua and Barbuda | AG |
Argentina | AR |
Armenia | AM |
Aruba | AW |
Australia | AU |
Austria | AT |
Azerbaijan | AZ |
Bahamas | BS |
Bahrain | BH |
Bangladesh | BD |
Barbados | BB |
Belarus | BY |
Belgium | BE |
Belize | BZ |
Benin | BJ |
Bermuda | BM |
Bhutan | BT |
Bolivia | BO |
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba | BQ |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | BA |
Botswana | BW |
Bouvet Island | BV |
Brazil | BR |
British Indian Ocean Territory | IO |
British Virgin Islands | VG |
Brunei | BN |
Bulgaria | BG |
Burkina Faso | BF |
Burundi | BI |
Cabo Verde | CV |
Cambodia | KH |
Cameroon | CM |
Canada | CA |
Cayman Islands | KY |
Central African Republic | CF |
Chad | TD |
Chile | CL |
China | CN |
Christmas Island | CX |
Cocos (Keeling) Islands | CC |
Colombia | CO |
Comoros | KM |
Cook Islands | CK |
Costa Rica | CR |
Côte d'Ivoire | CI |
Croatia | HR |
Cuba | CU |
Curaçao | CW |
Cyprus | CY |
Czechia | CZ |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | CD |
Denmark | DK |
Djibouti | DJ |
Dominica | DM |
Dominican Republic | DO |
Ecuador | EC |
Egypt | EG |
El Salvador | SV |
Equatorial Guinea | GQ |
Eritrea | ER |
Estonia | EE |
Eswatini | SZ |
Ethiopia | ET |
Falkland Islands | FK |
Faroe Islands | FO |
Fiji | FJ |
Finland | FI |
France | FR |
French Guiana | GF |
French Polynesia | PF |
French Southern Territories | TF |
Gabon | GA |
Gambia | GM |
Georgia | GE |
Germany | DE |
Ghana | GH |
Gibraltar | GI |
Greece | GR |
Greenland | GL |
Grenada | GD |
Guadeloupe | GP |
Guam | GU |
Guatemala | GT |
Guernsey | GG |
Guinea | GN |
Guinea-Bissau | GW |
Guyana | GY |
Haiti | HT |
Heard Island and McDonald Islands | HM |
Honduras | HN |
Hong Kong | HK |
Hungary | HU |
Iceland | IS |
India | IN |
Indonesia | ID |
Iran | IR |
Iraq | IQ |
Ireland | IE |
Isle of Man | IM |
Israel | IL |
Italy | IT |
Jamaica | JM |
Japan | JP |
Jersey | JE |
Jordan | JO |
Kazakhstan | KZ |
Kenya | KE |
Kiribati | KI |
Kuwait | KW |
Kyrgyzstan | KG |
Laos | LA |
Latvia | LV |
Lebanon | LB |
Lesotho | LS |
Liberia | LR |
Libya | LY |
Liechtenstein | LI |
Lithuania | LT |
Luxembourg | LU |
Macao | MO |
Madagascar | MG |
Malawi | MW |
Malaysia | MY |
Maldives | MV |
Mali | ML |
Malta | MT |
Marshall Islands | MH |
Martinique | MQ |
Mauritania | MR |
Mauritius | MU |
Mayotte | YT |
Mexico | MX |
Micronesia | FM |
Moldova | MD |
Monaco | MC |
Mongolia | MN |
Montenegro | ME |
Montserrat | MS |
Morocco | MA |
Mozambique | MZ |
Myanmar | MM |
Namibia | NA |
Nauru | NR |
Nepal | NP |
Netherlands | NL |
New Caledonia | NC |
New Zealand | NZ |
Nicaragua | NI |
Niger | NE |
Nigeria | NG |
Niue | NU |
Norfolk Island | NF |
North Korea | KP |
North Macedonia | MK |
Northern Mariana Islands | MP |
Norway | NO |
Oman | OM |
Pakistan | PK |
Palau | PW |
Palestine | PS |
Panama | PA |
Papua New Guinea | PG |
Paraguay | PY |
Peru | PE |
Philippines | PH |
Pitcairn | PN |
Poland | PL |
Portugal | PT |
Puerto Rico | PR |
Qatar | QA |
Republic of the Congo | CG |
Réunion | RE |
Romania | RO |
Russia | RU |
Rwanda | RW |
Saint Barthélemy | BL |
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha | SH |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | KN |
Saint Lucia | LC |
Saint Martin | MF |
Saint Pierre and Miquelon | PM |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | VC |
Samoa | WS |
San Marino | SM |
São Tomé and Príncipe | ST |
Saudi Arabia | SA |
Senegal | SN |
Serbia | RS |
Seychelles | SC |
Sierra Leone | SL |
Singapore | SG |
Sint Maarten | SX |
Slovakia | SK |
Slovenia | SI |
Solomon Islands | SB |
Somalia | SO |
South Africa | ZA |
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | GS |
South Korea | KR |
South Sudan | SS |
Spain | ES |
Sri Lanka | LK |
Sudan | SD |
Suriname | SR |
Svalbard and Jan Mayen | SJ |
Sweden | SE |
Switzerland | CH |
Syria | SY |
Taiwan | TW |
Tajikistan | TJ |
Tanzania | TZ |
Thailand | TH |
Timor-Leste | TL |
Togo | TG |
Tokelau | TK |
Tonga | TO |
Trinidad and Tobago | TT |
Tunisia | TN |
Türkiye | TR |
Turkmenistan | TM |
Turks and Caicos Islands | TC |
Tuvalu | TV |
Uganda | UG |
Ukraine | UA |
United Arab Emirates | AE |
United Kingdom | GB |
United States | US |
United States Minor Outlying Islands | UM |
U.S. Virgin Islands | VI |
Uruguay | UY |
Uzbekistan | UZ |
Vanuatu | VU |
Vatican City | VA |
Venezuela | VE |
Vietnam | VN |
Wallis and Futuna | WF |
Western Sahara | EH |
Yemen | YE |
Zambia | ZM |
Zimbabwe | ZW |