How to Import Employees

Overview

In Simpro Premium, you can manually add employees to the system through People A screenshot of a schedule icon with a grey calendar icon and an arrow. > Create New Employee, or save time and reduce data entry error by importing an employee list.

You may wish to test the import process with one or two employees before importing an entire list.

Learn more in How to Create Employees.

In order to view content or perform actions referred to in this article you need to have the appropriate permissions enabled in your security group. Go to System A screenshot of a schedule icon with a grey calendar icon and an arrow. > Setup > Security Groups and access your security group to update your permissions. The relevant security group tab and specific permissions for this article can be found here:

Import Employees

To prepare to import employees into Simpro Premium, you can download and add data to Simpro Premium's Employee Import Template for:

Alternatively, you can create your own import list and leave out any fields that do not apply to your employees.

To import your employee list successfully into Simpro Premium, the Employee Name and Email fields must be specified for each employee. If these fields are not specified, the employee and their information is not uploaded to Simpro Premium.

Once your import list has been created, you can prepare your list for import with the following steps:

  1. Save your file in your system as a compatible file type: CSV (.csv), text (.txt) or a ZIP file (.zip). Consult your spreadsheet software for file saving instructions, if required.
  2. Separate your data using the same or similar headings as the import template.
  3. Add fields to import information for each of your employee custom fields defined in system setup.
      • To import a file successfully your import file must contain the card name relevant to the type of card you are importing. This can include the Company Name, Customer First and Last Name, Site Names, Supplier Names, Employee Name, Contractor Name and Contact First and Last Name. When Mandatory Fields are On, additional fields are made mandatory.
      • If Mandatory Fields are toggled on under System A screenshot of a schedule icon with a grey calendar icon and an arrow. > Setup > Defaults and your import file does not contain the relevant fields, your import will be successful. When a card file that lacks the relevant mandatory fields is accessed it cannot be saved without completing these fields. For a complete list, see Mandatory fields.
  4. Ensure information is accurate, up-to-date and spelled correctly.
  5. Remove any special characters (such as ? # $ % @ !) as these may not import correctly.
  6. Save your file again.

After preparing your employee list, work through the following steps to import your list into Simpro Premium.

To adjust employee import settings, go to Utilities A screenshot of a schedule icon with a grey calendar icon and an arrow. > Import > Employees.

The import options include:

First Record Is Select Header Record if your list's first row contains column titles, or select Data Record if your list's first row contains specific data.
Update Only Select to update details of existing employees in Simpro Premium. The first criterion for matching is the employee ID and if that is not available, the employee name is considered to update the details of existing employee database.
Update and Create Select to update details of existing employees and create new employees if the employee ID and / or name does not match with any of the existing employees.
Create Only Select to keep the existing employee database as is and at the same time create new employees if the employee ID and / or name does not match with any of the existing employees.
Always Create New Select to ignore any matching criteria with the existing employees and always create new employees in Simpro Premium with new IDs.
If Custom List Value Not Found If any columns in the import file represent drop-down lists in Simpro Premium, for example any custom fields, and your file contains any additional values or 'custom list values' not available in the relevant list, select Create New List Option to add the additional value to the applicable drop-down list. Select Reject and Warn to ignore the field and receive a warning that the field was not created.

To select an import file:

  1. Go to Utilities A screenshot of a schedule icon with a grey calendar icon and an arrow. > Import > Employees.
  2. Adjust import settings, then click Choose File / Browse.
  3. Locate your employee import file and click Open.
  4. Click Next.

After selecting an employee import file, manually match or review your list columns with the fields available in Simpro Premium. You may have both Simpro Premium and your list open at the same time.

To match import columns:

  1. Select your import file as above.
  2. On the Employee Import Columns Mapping page, use the drop-down lists for each Column No. to select the matching field in Simpro Premium. The import-file mapping page shows the column headings from your import file under First Row.
  3. To leave a column out of the import entirely, select Ignore.
  4. Select from the drop-down list To update, match employees by:
    • Employee ID
    • Name
    • Custom Field Value.
  5. Click Import Employees.

Use the Cancel button to cancel the import process before it's complete, if required.

Also, you can allow the import to process in the background while you continue to navigate and perform other tasks in Simpro Premium.

After uploading an import file, the Employee Import Complete page displays a breakdown of your import, including employees Added / Updated / Ignored.

If any records in the import file fail to import, you receive an error message. You can then download a list of error messages to check details of the failed records.

After a successful import, it is recommended you manually check employee card files to ensure data has imported correctly. To do this:

  1. Go to People A screenshot of a schedule icon with a grey calendar icon and an arrow. > Employees.
  2. Click an imported employee.
  3. Check Profile > Details for errors and manually amend, if required.

For additional training, complete an interactive material in the Simpro's Learning Toolbox. Learn more in About Simpro's Learning Toolbox.