When you submit pension data to Smart using PDX, your software completes validation on the data you're about to submit.

If this validation fails, the following error appears:

'SMART-PDX-29 - We weren't able to match this employee's details in payroll with a record in Smart pensions'.

Smart pension holds a unique identifier for each employee called the 'External ID'. You set this when you add a newly enrolled employee to your Smart portal.

When you add an employee by uploading a Send Pension Data CSV file, the ID is the employee reference from Sage 50 Payroll.

However, if you add them by sending data in PDX, the External ID field is the employee's ▼ RTI ID from their employee record. 

Depending on how you added the employee to your Smart portal, their unique identifier is either their employee reference or their RTI number. 

Check employee details

To resolve this error, check the details in your Smart online account and update any incorrect details.

Check employee enrolment

The first step is to check that you've set the employee up in your Smart pension online account. Check whether the external ID is their RTI number or reference number if they're already enrolled.

If they're not enrolled already, enrol the employee on the Smart website then try again to send your pension data.

Check the NI number

Ensure that the employee's NI number is correct in both Sage 50 Payroll, and in your Smart online portal.

If you find this is incorrect in either location, correct it. You can then submit your pension data without completing the RTI ID section below.

RTI ID

If the NI number is unknown, check that the employee's RTI ID is either:

• Seven or more digits long, or:
• Contains one or more letters

If it does, update the employee's External ID on your Smart portal to match the RTI ID in Sage 50 Payroll.

To find this ID in your software:

1. Double-click the relevant employee on your employee list.
2. Go to the Employment tab.
3. Check the RTI Payroll ID field.

PDX only uses a maximum of 30 characters as when it submits the external ID to Smart. This means if the employee's RTI Payroll ID is more than 30 characters, you need to remove characters 31 and above.

For instance, if the RTI payroll ID is 32 characters long, remove the last two characters before you compare it to your Smart portal.

If you need to check the RTI ID for multiple employees, you can ▼ download a report to make this easier.

Send pension data

After you resolve any differences, send your pension data as normal:

1. Go to Payroll then Send Pension Data.
2. Go to the Errors tab.
3. Select I've corrected the errors.
4. Go to the To Send tab, and submit your data as normal.