Adding users to your platform has never been easier! With our Import capability you will now be able to quickly add users to your company without the hassle of having to do so manually one by one. This option saves you time ensures you don't miss any details when adding your new employees.
Advanced plan users and above can update a bulk of information for users with the import users option. This article should answer all your questions and guide you step by step when importing users using an Excel (CSV) spreadsheet.
In this article we will go over:
When should You Use The Import Users Option?
Importing users is handy for a number of cases, such as:
Adding new users and assigning them to groups (Locations and Departments)
Updating existing users' information and adding new user's fields
Archiving multiple users
Assigning large groups of existing users to new groups (Locations and Departments)
Performing multiple actions, like all the mentioned above, in one step. This means you can use the import users option to add new employees and update existing employees at the same time.
Here's a Step by Step:
First, you'll need to access your Launch Pad. In order to use add users in general, you should have an "Owner" permission. If your permission is "View Only" or "View and Edit", you should contact other owners within your company so they can change your permission to owner.
Next, on your sidebar, click on "Users", and then click on the Import Users button as shown in the image below.
Step 1 - Prepare
The first step is all about preparing your Excel file to import. You may want to download our Excel template but you can of course use your own file, as long as it aligns with the Launch Pad's language.
The main columns you must have in order to create a user are: First Name, Last Name, and Phone. The phone number MUST be a mobile phone number.
We also included some tips along the way, so make sure to read it as you go through this process for the first time.
Here's an example of how the file may look:
The first step is all about preparation, so once you're done preparing your file, you can click on the NEXT button on the bottom right corner of the screen.
Step 2 - Import Settings
This step is important as this is the time to select what you'd like to happen when you import the file. There a 3 main options to choose from:
Add new only, ignore existing users - Choosing this option will upload new users only and will ignore existing users, even if they're in the file. Choose this option if all you want to do is add new users that currently are not in your Launch Pad or archived.
Note: The Launch Pad recognizes users with their unique mobile phone number, that's how it'll know if they're already exist in your Launch Pad.
Add new and update existing users - Choosing this option will upload new users, and update existing users that are both in the Launch Pad and in the file. Choose this option if you want to make sure that all the users you have in the spreadsheet are being added to your app.
IMPORTANT NOTE: When choosing the option to update existing users, you'll need to decide what you want to do with the details being imported. You can choose either to keep all existing details in the Launch Pad and update the file's details on top of that, OR you can choose to overwrite all existing details and add just the file's details.
So, what should you pick? If you just finished a testing period with Connecteam and you want to upload all of your users and start with a clean slate, you may want to choose overwrite. Otherwise, you will mostly want to choose to keep the existing details and update on top of it.
Update existing users only - Choosing this option won't upload new users and will only update existing users, as long as they're in the file. Choose this option if all you want to do is update existing users' information.
Note: This option is the right option to choose for actions like updating multiple groups of users (Locations and Departments), adding new fields and information, and archiving multiple users.
When done, choose the option you want and click NEXT.
Step 3 - Upload
Now it's time to upload your file. You can do so by dragging and dropping the file or by browsing your computer. Just make sure you've saved the spreadsheet as a CSV file (Comma separated values).
When done, click NEXT.
Step 4 - Unknown Data
When uploading the file, you may have some unknown data. Well, it may be known data to you, but it's unknown to your Launch Pad as it couldn't match data from the CSV file with the current existing data. The data may be Unknown Groups or Unknown Columns.
Examples of unknown data:
You have 2 locations in your Launch Pad - New York and Boston. If, under the locations/departments columns in your file, there will be data such as Los Angeles or NYC, the Launch Pad will recognize it as an unknown group and ask you to choose what you'd like to do with it.
Let's say you've added a new custom field to your file, like date of birth, but it doesn't yet exist in your Launch Pad, it will be recognized as an unknown column and you'll be asked to choose its purpose.
Ok, we have some unknown data. Now what? At this stage you'll be asked to choose what you'd like to do with the unknown groups/columns. and you can choose from the following:
Add it as a new location/department - For the mentioned example above, you would want to add Los Angeles as a new location.
Add it to an existing location/department - For the mentioned example above, you would want to add NYC to the existing location called New York.
Ignore it. Choosing this option won't import that data at all.
As for custom fields - Add to an existing field or ignore. Quick tip: You'd want to add custom fields before hand as they can't be created during the import process. Click here to learn how.
Step 5 - Overview Import
This is an easy one, all you need to do is view the information before it's being imported to your Launch Pad. In this stage you can also view errors and fix it immediately without having to import the file again.
Errors may be:
Missing first name, last name or phone number.
Incorrect phone number format.
Duplicated phone numbers.
Step 6 - Summary
View the summary of your import and click Confirm
Now your users are being added and updated in the background, so you can keep and working with your Launch Pad. Once done, you will be notified.
Summary
In this article we went over when to use the import option, and gave an elaborative Step by Step of how to import users. Don't forget, if you are using the Import capability make sure to upload the File via CSV.
Additional Resources on Adding Users:
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