Set up Benefits and Deductions sync for Global Payroll

The Benefits and Deductions sync allows you to map benefit plan items and deductions from Workday directly to Deel as part of your recurring payments configuration. Once mapped, these values sync automatically alongside compensation data, eliminating manual payroll adjustments.

This feature works within the existing Recurring Payment Sync plugin. No additional plugin needs to be enabled.

In this article

• Before you begin
• How benefits and deductions appear in the mapping UI
• Step 1: Open the recurring payments mapping
• Step 2: Map benefits
• Step 3 : Map deductions
• Step 4 : Map one-time payments
• Step 5 : Trigger a sync and validate
• Troubleshooting
  • A benefit item isn't appearing in the mapping UI
  • A benefit shows a different value than expected
• Known limitations

Before you begin

Before starting the Benefits and Deductions setup, make sure you have completed the required parts of the common connection setup. If you haven't done this yet, go to How to connect Workday GPC to Deel first.

Parts 1 and 2 of the common setup must be complete before continuing:

• Part 1: Connecting Workday to Deel - creating an ISU, setting up security groups, an API client, tokens, and connecting to Deel
• Part 2: Setting up DCoD - integration system, external payroll vendor, and vendor mapping

The Recurring Payment Sync plugin must be enabled. If you haven't done this yet, see Set up one-time and recurring payment sync.

Custom pay items must be created before mapping

Deel does not have native Benefits and Deductions pay items for Global Payroll workers. Before you can configure the mapping, you must work with your Deel PRM to create custom pay items in Deel. These work in the same way as custom One-Time Payment items.

This is a blocker: the mapping configuration cannot be completed until custom pay items have been created. Contact your Deel PRM before starting.

How benefits and deductions appear in the mapping UI

Workday GPC items now appear in the recurring payments mapping UI with their source list shown in parentheses after the item name. This makes it straightforward to identify what each item is and where it originates.

For example:

The format is always: [Item name] ([Source list]). This is how benefits are distinguished from compensation and deductions in the mapping UI.

Step 1: Open the recurring payments mapping

1. In the Plugins and settings tab, locate the Global Payroll - Recurring Payment Sync plugin and click to open it.
2. Select the entity you want to configure.
3. The mapping UI will now display all available Workday GPC items, including benefits and deductions, each labelled with their source list in parentheses.

Step 2: Map benefits

Benefits appear with (Benefits) next to the item name. For example, Parking Spending (Benefits).

Benefits require more care than compensation items

Each benefit is a different plan type. You must ensure the correct plan and the correct tag are both selected for each benefit item. For example, the tag might be employee cost pre-tax. The combination of plan and tag drives accurate data integration. Mapping the item name alone is not sufficient.

1. For each benefit item, select the corresponding custom Deel pay item created by your PRM.
2. Confirm that the correct plan and tag combination is selected alongside each benefit.
3. Repeat for all benefit items across the entity.

Step 3 : Map deductions

Deductions appear with their source list in parentheses, similarly to benefits. Map each deduction item to the corresponding custom Deel pay item.

Step 4 : Map one-time payments

One-time payments originate from a separate section in Workday (compensation one-time payments) and appear separately from recurring items in the mapping UI.

Map these items even though they come from a different source — doing so ensures the data is pulled and handled correctly in Deel.

Step 5 : Trigger a sync and validate

1. From the integration's main page, click Sync Workday GPC to trigger a manual sync.
2. Go to the Payroll Logs tab and check that benefit and deduction amounts are appearing correctly in Deel.
3. Spot-check a worker who has a benefit item assigned to confirm values are flowing through as expected.

Troubleshooting

A benefit item isn't appearing in the mapping UI 

Check whether the plan and tag are correctly configured in Workday. If the combination isn't set up on the Workday side, it won't appear in Deel's mapping screen. The client or their Workday SI must ensure the correct plan-tag combination is configured in Workday first.

A benefit shows a different value than expected 

Verify that the correct value from the configured table is mapped — for example, employee cost pre-tax. An incorrect tag selection will pull the wrong figure.

Known limitations

• Benefits require a plan and tag combination to be configured in Workday before they appear in Deel's mapping UI. This configuration must be done by the client or their Workday SI — it cannot be completed by the implementation team alone.
• One-time payments come from a separate Workday section and will not appear alongside recurring items in the mapping UI, but should still be mapped.