Is my salary data safe?

Yes. The validator runs entirely in your browser no upload, no server, no logging. Open the network tab while you use it and you'll see nothing leaving the page.

Salary Information File the standardized format Omani banks use under the Wage Protection System (WPS) to process monthly payroll. It's typically a CSV or tab-separated file with 16 fields per employee.

What are the 16 fields in an Oman SIF file?

Salary Year, Salary Month, Employee ID Type (C for Civil ID or P for Passport), Employee ID, Employee Name, Bank Code, Account Number/IBAN, Salary Frequency (M/B), Working Days, Net Salary, Basic Salary, Extra Hours, Extra Income, Deductions, Social Security Deductions, and Notes. Every row must have exactly 16 fields separated by commas or tabs.

What is the IBAN format for Omani banks?

An Omani IBAN is always 23 characters: 'OM' + 2 check digits + 3-digit bank code + 16-digit account number. Ujoor verifies length, checksum, and recognizes all 22 Omani bank codes no manual lookup needed.

What if my file has an invalid Civil ID number?

Omani Civil IDs are typically 7–9 numeric digits with no leading zeros. Ujoor flags IDs with leading zeros, non-numeric characters, unusual lengths, or duplicates across rows each error points to the exact row so you can correct it before the bank does.

Why does my SIF file need UTF-8 encoding?

Arabic employee names and special characters require UTF-8 so the bank can read them correctly. If the file uses a different encoding (like ANSI or Windows-1256), Ujoor stops validation and tells you to re-save as UTF-8. Most Omani banks mandate UTF-8 anyway.

My file uses tabs instead of commas will that work?

Yes. Ujoor auto-detects commas or tabs, and accepts .csv or .txt. UTF-8 encoding is required (most banks mandate it anyway).

Can I validate bi-weekly salary files?

Yes. Ujoor supports both Monthly (M) and Bi-weekly (B) salary frequencies. The same file cannot mix both all rows must share one frequency. Ujoor flags any mixed-frequency file before you upload it.

Which banks does it support?

All banks that follow the Central Bank of Oman's SIF v4.1 spec. The validator checks your file against that specification, not against any single bank's proprietary quirks.

Does Ujoor work with Bank Muscat, NBO, Bank Dhofar, and Sohar International?

Yes. Ujoor validates against the Central Bank of Oman's SIF v4.1 specification, which every licensed bank follows Bank Muscat, NBO, Bank Dhofar, Sohar International, Oman Arab Bank, Ahli Bank, Bank Nizwa, Meethaq, Maisarah, Al Hilal, and all other 22 banks operating in Oman.

How is the Social Protection Fund (SPF) deduction calculated?

For Omani employees, SPF is 8% of gross salary, capped at a maximum of OMR 240 per month (8% of the OMR 3,000 salary cap). Expatriates contribute at different rates. Ujoor flags any row where the Social Security Deduction doesn't match the standard rate.

What is the minimum wage for Omani nationals in WPS files?

The minimum wage for full-time Omani nationals is OMR 325 per month. Ujoor warns you when a row falls below this so you can confirm the employee is part-time, on unpaid leave, or had deductions that explain the shortfall.

Is there a maximum deduction limit in Omani payroll?

Yes. Oman Labour Law caps deductions at 50% of an employee's gross pay. Ujoor warns when deductions exceed that limit a common cause of bank rejection and a potential labour-law violation. Add a note in the Notes field explaining the deduction if it's justified.

How do I fix a rejected SIF file?

Open the file in Ujoor and every rejection reason appears inline with the exact row, field, and rule. Fix each issue in place, then download a clean file. Most common causes: invalid IBAN, duplicate employee IDs, non-UTF-8 encoding, and salary math mismatches.

The validator stays free. Paid features (payroll generation, direct bank submission) are coming later they'll be optional and separate.

Home/SIF errors/File encoding must be UTF-8

SIF errors

File encoding must be UTF-8

The SIF file was saved with an encoding other than UTF-8 often Windows-1256 (the old Arabic codepage), ANSI, or UTF-16 with a byte-order mark. UTF-8 is the only encoding that guarantees Arabic employee names survive the trip through the bank's parser.

Rule: F08

Why the bank rejects this

The bank's parser tries to read the file as UTF-8 first. If Arabic characters come out as mojibake (garbled symbols), the parser stops immediately it does not attempt other encodings. The file is rejected before any row is validated, so you see "File encoding not recognized save as UTF-8" and nothing else.

How to fix it

Open the SIF file in Notepad++ (Windows) or VS Code (any OS) not in Notepad itself, which silently saves as ANSI.
In Notepad++: Encoding menu → "Convert to UTF-8" (not "UTF-8 with BOM" the BOM confuses some banks). Then File → Save.
In VS Code: click the encoding indicator at the bottom-right → "Save with Encoding" → "UTF-8" (no BOM).
If you exported from Excel, use File → Save As → "CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited)" in Excel 2016+. Older Excel versions default to ANSI open the result in Notepad++ to confirm.
Avoid Google Sheets native CSV export for Arabic files it sometimes injects UTF-16. Download as .xlsx and re-export through a proper UTF-8 tool.
Re-upload the re-saved file to Ujoor; rule F08 should pass and validation of individual rows will begin.

How Ujoor catches this

Ujoor detects the encoding as soon as you drop the file and halts with rule F08 if it is not UTF-8 so you never waste time debugging mojibake-filled rows. The halt screen tells you exactly which tool and setting to use for re-saving.

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