--- title: "Developer guide to get employee data from Payfit API" url: "https://getknit.dev/blog/developer-guide-to-get-employee-data-from-payfit-api/" date: "2025-11-03T17:41:06+00:00" modified: "2026-04-11T05:10:32+00:00" type: "post" --- # Developer guide to get employee data from Payfit API [Blog](https://getknit.dev/blog) / [Tutorials](https://getknit.dev/blogs/tutorials/) / Developer guide to get employee data from Payfit API [Tutorials](https://getknit.dev/blogs/tutorials/) · November 3, 2025 · Updated April 11, 2026 Developer guide to get employee data from Payfit API ==================================================== ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/knit-website-media/2026/08/64c34ca1e0546a9d333bb35a_Kunal-3-112x112.png)Kunal Mishra 3 min read [](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgetknit.dev%2Fblog%2Fdeveloper-guide-to-get-employee-data-from-payfit-api%2F) [](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgetknit.dev%2Fblog%2Fdeveloper-guide-to-get-employee-data-from-payfit-api%2F&text=Developer%20guide%20to%20get%20employee%20data%20from%20Payfit%20API) Table of Contents - [Introduction](#) - [Prerequisites](#) - [API Endpoints](#) - [Step-by-Step Implementation](#) - [Common Pitfalls to Avoid](#) - [Frequently Asked Questions](#) - [Why Use Knit for Payfit API Integration](#) ### Introduction The **Payfit API** empowers businesses to programmatically access payroll and HR data, from employee records to accounting insights, allowing smoother integrations with your internal systems. This article, part of our in-depth [**HRIS API series**](/blog/full-list-of-knits-hris-api-guides/), focuses on how to **fetch employee and accounting data using Payfit’s API**. ### Prerequisites Before making requests to Payfit’s API, ensure you have: - Access to Payfit’s Partner API with valid credentials. - The **Company ID** for which you want to retrieve data. - A **Python environment** set up with libraries like `requests`. ### API Endpoints The following Payfit endpoints are typically used for accessing company and employee-level data: - **Company Information:** `GET https://partner-api.payfit.com/companies/{companyId}` - **Accounting Data:** `GET https://partner-api.payfit.com/companies/{companyId}/accounting-v2` ### Step-by-Step Implementation #### Step 1: Fetch Company Information ``` import requests def get_company_info(company_id, headers): url = f"https://partner-api.payfit.com/companies/{company_id}" response = requests.get(url, headers=headers) return response.json() ``` #### Step 2: Fetch Employee Accounting Data ``` def get_employee_accounting_data(company_id, date, headers): url = f"https://partner-api.payfit.com/companies/{company_id}/accounting-v2" params = {"date": date} response = requests.get(url, headers=headers, params=params) return response.json() ``` **Note:** The `date` parameter should follow the format `YYYYMM` (e.g., `202212` for December 2022). ### Common Pitfalls to Avoid 1. **Incorrect endpoint usage:** Always verify you’re using the latest Payfit API version. 2. **Authentication errors:** Missing or invalid tokens can lead to 401 Unauthorized errors. 3. **Ignoring rate limits:** Payfit enforces rate limits add retry logic with exponential backoff. 4. **Invalid date formats:** Ensure dates follow the correct `YYYYMM` format. 5. **Not validating company IDs:** Invalid IDs can cause 404 or empty responses. 6. **Poor error handling:** Always check response codes and handle failures gracefully. ### Frequently Asked Questions **1. What authentication method does Payfit API use?** Typically OAuth or API key-based authentication, depending on your access level. **2. How can I handle API rate limits?** Use retry logic with exponential backoff and respect the `Retry-After` header. **3. What is the correct date format for accounting data?** Use `YYYYMM`, e.g., `202401` for January 2024. **4. Can I retrieve data for multiple months in one call?** No, each API request fetches data for a single month. **5. What if I get a 401 Unauthorized error?** Double-check your API token and ensure it hasn’t expired. **6. How should I handle response errors?** Implement robust error handling based on HTTP status codes (e.g., 400, 401, 429, 500). ### Why Use Knit for Payfit API Integration Integrating directly with Payfit can be time-consuming, especially with complex authentication and version updates. **Knit** simplifies this by offering a **single, unified API** to access Payfit and other HRIS systems with built-in: - Authentication and authorization handling - Continuous integration maintenance - Unified data models for employees, payroll, and accounting By integrating with [Knit](https://developers.getknit.dev/reference/hris-apps) once, your team can connect to Payfit and dozens of other systems effortlessly saving engineering hours and reducing maintenance overhead. Building a Payfit integration? Knit gives you two ways to build it. Pick the one that fits. - [Payfit on Unified API](https://getknit.dev/integration/payfit/) Your customers want Payfit and the other HRIS tools they use. Build one integration and get normalised read and write data with real-time webhooks. [Try free](https://dashboard.getknit.dev/signup) - [Payfit MCP server](https://getknit.dev/mcp-servers/payfit-mcp-server/) Your AI agent needs to read and act in your customers' Payfit. Use a pre-built, hosted MCP server instead of writing integration code. [Try free](https://mcphub.getknit.dev/) Knit's Unified API connects to 190+ apps across HRIS, ATS, CRM, accounting and more. Knit never stores your end users' data and is SOC 2, GDPR and ISO 27001 compliant: [How Knit handles security](/security/) · [Security Center](https://compliance.getknit.dev/) Not sure which fits? [Talk to a human](/book-demo/) ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/knit-website-media/2026/08/64c34ca1e0546a9d333bb35a_Kunal-3-112x112.png)Written by Kunal Mishra Changing integration landscape, one organization at a time‍ Keep Reading ------------ ![How to Get an Okta API Token (Step-by-Step)](https://storage.googleapis.com/knit-website-media/2026/08/blog-banner-red-scaled-640x400.png) [Tutorials](https://getknit.dev/blogs/tutorials/) ### [How to Get an Okta API Token (Step-by-Step)](https://getknit.dev/blog/okta-api-key/) Generate an Okta API token in the Admin Console, add it as an SSWS Authorization header, and call the Okta… July 22, 2026 · 8 min read ![Get Ticket Data from Freshdesk API using Python](https://storage.googleapis.com/knit-website-media/2026/08/blog-banner-red-scaled-640x400.png) [Tutorials](https://getknit.dev/blogs/tutorials/) ### [Get Ticket Data from Freshdesk API using Python](https://getknit.dev/blog/get-ticket-data-from-freshdesk-api-using-python/) Learn how to retrieve ticket data from the Freshdesk API with step-by-step instructions, endpoints, code examples, common pitfalls, and FAQs… April 11, 2026 · 5 min read ![How to Retrieve Candidate Education Data from Bullhorn API using Python](https://storage.googleapis.com/knit-website-media/2026/08/blog-banner-yellow-scaled-640x400.png) [Tutorials](https://getknit.dev/blogs/tutorials/) ### [How to Retrieve Candidate Education Data from Bullhorn API using Python](https://getknit.dev/blog/how-to-retrieve-candidate-education-data-from-bullhorn-api-using-python/) Step-by-step guide to retrieving candidate education data from the Bullhorn API, including authentication, endpoints, common pitfalls, and FAQs. 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