Open the import and read its exact message before trying again. First find out whether any rows have already been applied. Then fix the file or setup described by the message and prepare the appropriate correction without repeating completed work.

Before you begin

To do this You need
General requirement You need the applicable import permission plus the permission for the selected import type. Your permissions must cover every affected department and date in the complete file.
Invitations Manage members
Departments, GL codes, or department GL assignments Manage departments
Job groups or job codes Manage job catalog
Work schedules Manage position setup
Pay adjustment rules Manage labor budget setup
Positions Manage positions for every department and date affected by the file
Employees or assignments Manage employees for every department and date affected by the file
Labor budget rates Manage labor budgets for the complete file coverage; shared job code rates require All departments
Actual compensation Manage actual compensation for every department and date affected by the file

Check the template

Confirm that the file came from the current template for the correct record type and create or update mode. Keep the header row, required IDs, and accepted choices unchanged.

Common file problems include:

  • using a report export instead of a blank import template;
  • using a Create template for existing records;
  • renaming, deleting, or adding columns;
  • adding a title row, totals, notes, or formulas;
  • saving in a different file format;
  • allowing a spreadsheet program to alter dates, leading zeros, or identifiers; and
  • leaving example or unintended rows in the file.

Download a new template and copy only the intended values when the file format is uncertain.

Read the issue summary by row

Start with the first error and its row number. Correct the source file, then review whether the same cause affects other rows.

Errors must be corrected before you apply the import. Warnings require a business decision and acknowledgment. Do not treat a warning as an error to bypass, or an error as a row that can be ignored.

Compare the preview counts with your file. Unexpected creates, updates, unchanged rows, or skipped rows often reveal a wrong mode or identifier before you apply the import.

Check dates and references

Confirm effective dates, end dates, departments, job codes, work schedules, employees, positions, and other referenced records. A referenced choice must be available on the date used by the row.

Check the setup order. Create and make a department or job code available before a position refers to it. Make an employee and position available for the required dates before an assignment refers to them.

For Update files, confirm stable identifiers exactly. A display name may not uniquely identify the intended record.

Remember that an end date is the first date the period no longer applies. Incorrect date order or overlapping periods can prevent validation.

Check assignment rules

Assignment rows must follow the organization’s current rule for overlapping employees and positions. If the rule changed after validation, validate again.

Review assignments already in FTE Tree and other rows in the file. Under a one-position-per-employee rule, a new assignment can conflict with an existing future assignment even if no two source rows overlap.

Check assignment FTE, start date, end date, employee status, position availability, and actual work schedule.

Check access and protected files

Confirm that you have the applicable import permission and the matching permission listed under Before you begin.

The complete file must fit within your permission coverage. This includes existing records, proposed departments, linked records, and effective dates. A file containing an unauthorized row stops before a detailed preview is shown. Shared job code rates and records without a department require All departments coverage.

If access changed after validation, validate again before applying.

If the import does not complete

Open the import and read its current status and most recent message.

  • If it is waiting or applying, do not upload a duplicate file.
  • If it stopped before applying source rows, correct the source or setup and start a new import.
  • If it failed, review whether the summary says any rows were applied before preparing a correction.
  • If it completed, verify the result rather than assuming a missing notification means failure.

Keep the original source file until the outcome is understood.

Example: Update identifiers do not match

You intend to update 50 positions, but five rows contain identifiers that do not match existing positions. Update mode reports those rows as errors; it does not create five new positions.

Confirm the identifiers for those five records and correct the file, then validate it again. If they represent genuinely new positions, prepare a separate Create import using the correct template. Do not change mode simply to bypass an unmatched identifier.

Example: assignment overlap

An employee has an existing assignment ending October 1. A new assignment begins September 30. Because the earlier assignment still counts through September 30, the periods overlap. Begin the new assignment October 1 or correct the earlier dates according to what actually happened.

Get more help

Contact Support if a valid current template repeatedly fails or an import remains in progress without a new message. Include the import ID and issue file, but do not send protected source data through an unapproved channel.

Also include the import type, create or update mode, current status, approximate row count, first affected row, exact message, and checks already completed. Remove unnecessary personal or financial values from screenshots.

Optional practice: find what finished before trying again

Use prepared practice records for this exercise. Follow its setup instructions before making changes.

Use an existing practice example of a stopped import.

  1. Open the import and read the exact message.
  2. Check how many rows were created, changed, unchanged, or not applied.
  3. Open a few of the records that succeeded.
  4. Correct the problem described by the message.
  5. Prepare only the remaining work with the right template. Choose Upload corrected file when available, or Start a new import after a stopped import. This starts a new import rather than resuming the earlier one. Ask Support if you cannot tell which rows were saved.

For example, 40 created + 10 unchanged + 50 not applied = 100 rows. Re-uploading all 100 as Create could repeat the 40 records already created.

If you cannot tell which rows succeeded, ask for help using the import number before another broad update. Use Correct an import for an already-saved wrong value.