Use an import when you need to add or change several records from a CSV file. Choose the information type and download its template before entering rows. A report can help you find record identifiers, but its downloaded file is not an import template.

Before you begin

You need the applicable import permission plus the permission for the selected type. Your import and management permissions must cover every affected department, linked record, and date in the file. Shared job-code budget defaults and records without a known owning department require All departments. If any row is outside your access, the complete file is rejected before previews or changes.

Import Additional permission
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
Workforce Rules Manage workforce rules and View positions for every affected department, plus matching financial viewing access for that coverage
Positions Manage positions
Employees or assignments Manage employees
Pay adjustment rules Manage labor budget setup
Budget rates Manage labor budgets
Employee compensation Manage actual compensation

Use Import workforce data for positions, employees, assignments, workforce rules, budget rates, and compensation. Use Import organization setup for invitations, departments, schedules, job catalog, GL setup, and adjustment definitions. Invitation role assignments also need Assign access and reviewed delegation. Downloading an uploaded file or result file requires the export permissions for the kinds of information it includes; an empty template contains no organization data.

Choose the type and mode

Choose the record you intend to change: invitations, departments, job groups, job codes, work schedules, positions, employees, position assignments, GL codes, department GL assignments, Pay adjustments, job code budget rates, position budget rates, employee compensation, or Workforce Rules. GL means general ledger. GL codes and department GL assignments classify department accounts; they do not enter employee pay. Available choices depend on access and setup.

Use Create for new records and Update for existing records. Search before creating to avoid duplicates. Download a fresh template for that exact type and mode; do not convert a Create file into an Update file by adding columns.

Each import changes its own area. Position imports do not create assignments, budget rates, or employee pay. For small changes, the record page may be easier than a file.

A supplied dated value records a new entry even when it matches the value already shown. This preserves your instruction for that effective date if an earlier change is entered later. Leave an optional Update cell blank to omit it where the template permits; use <clear> only in a column that supports an explicit clear. For a department’s Available job codes, a blank Update cell leaves the selection alone, while <clear> records an empty selection from the effective date.

Prepare setup first

Create departments, job groups, job codes, work schedules, and adjustment choices before records that use them. Then prepare positions, employees, assignments, budget rates, and employee compensation in that order as needed. Wait for each earlier import to complete and verify its records before using their identifiers in the next file.

Employee Create rows need every required value, including department and status where required. Successful rows make the employee available from the row’s effective date.

Invitations Create files must keep every downloaded access-planning column. Invited name and email need values. Other cells may be blank only where the template permits it.

Keep the file shape unchanged

Use the downloaded column names and file format exactly as provided.

  • Keep every header exactly as downloaded, including capitalization and spaces.
  • Do not rename or remove required columns, and use only the headings provided by the template.
  • Do not add headings, totals, notes, blank title rows, or formulas.
  • Keep one record action per row.
  • Use the accepted date and choice formats shown in the template.
  • Remove example or unused rows before uploading.
  • Save as CSV when the template requires CSV.

Spreadsheet programs can alter dates, leading zeros, and long identifiers. Reopen the saved CSV as plain data and confirm those values before upload.

When LibreOffice Calc opens the file, choose Separated by, select only Comma, clear Semicolon, and keep the double quote as the String delimiter. When saving, choose Text CSV (.csv), turn on Edit filter settings, use the same comma and double-quote settings, and select Quote all text cells when that choice is available.

If a cell contains several values separated by semicolons, keep them together in that cell. If validation reports unnamed columns that contain data, reopen a fresh template with the settings above and copy the values into their intended columns instead of deleting those columns.

Enter dates, times, Yes/No answers, and percentages in the formats below. Follow the exact choices in your downloaded template:

Value Required representation
Date YYYY-MM-DD
Date and time YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ
Time HH:MM:SS
Yes or No choice Yes or No
Pay adjustment rule rate A decimal rate such as 0.1025 for 10.25%, without a percent symbol
Built-in choice The exact choice label shown with the template
Configured code The exact configured code

Capitalization matters for choice labels and configured codes. Values such as true, 1, 10.25%, an unlisted choice, or an alternate date layout do not represent the documented template value.

FTE in import and export files uses four decimal places. The organization’s FTE display setting does not change file precision or calculations.

Enter dated values

Use the effective date on which the information begins. In an Update file, a blank mapped value normally leaves the existing value unchanged. Where the downloaded template allows <clear>, use it to make an optional value blank beginning on the row’s effective date without erasing earlier history.

Cell value Typical Update meaning
Blank Leave the existing mapped value unchanged
A new value Begin that value on the row’s effective date
<clear> where allowed Make the optional value blank beginning on the row’s effective date

The template guidance is final for the selected type. Do not use <clear> in a column that does not explicitly allow it.

An optional end date is the first date a period no longer applies. A blank end date means there is no planned end unless the template guidance for that action says otherwise. Do not invent a placeholder value when information is unknown; validation will explain required setup.

Example: adjacent assignment periods

An assignment fills position A through June 30 and position B beginning July 1. Use July 1 as the end date of the first assignment and July 1 as the start date of the second. The end date is the first day the earlier assignment no longer counts.

Prepare identifiers carefully

Stable identifiers protect against changing the wrong record.

  1. Obtain identifiers from the record page or an authorized report.
  2. Confirm the organization and record type.
  3. Preserve leading zeros and exact characters.
  4. Do not reuse an identifier for a different business record.
  5. For records matched to another trusted source, coordinate corrections so later files continue to match.

Employee and position numbers are FTE Tree references that are assigned once and not reused. External IDs are separate values from a payroll system, human resources system, or another approved source. Financial templates can request a specific record identifier. Copy the identifier from the matching record or report as instructed by that template. Do not substitute a name, external ID, or another reference.

Import use Identifier behavior
Employee Create Leave Employee number blank to assign the next number, or enter an approved unused number. Include the external employee ID only when that column is enabled.
Employee Update Use the existing employee number. If external employee IDs are enabled, you may leave the employee number blank and use the exact external ID instead. If both identify different employees, validation stops the file.
Position Create or Update Position numbers and enabled external position IDs follow the same matching pattern as employee identifiers.
Position assignment Employee identifier and Position identifier accept the matching FTE Tree number. They also accept the exact external ID when that type of external ID is enabled. External assignment ID identifies the assignment row itself.
Employee compensation Use the employee and assignment record IDs supplied by the downloaded template or an authorized export. These are FTE Tree record IDs, not employee numbers or external IDs.

Organization settings determine whether employee, position, and assignment external IDs are not used, optional, or required. A locally managed required employee or position ID must be included in a Create file and cannot be cleared. An integration-managed ID is read-only: omit it from local changes, and review missing or incorrect values through the connected system.

Prepare assignment rows

Confirm the external assignment ID, employee, position, assignment FTE, start date, optional end date, type, and work schedule. External assignment IDs must be enabled because the ID identifies an assignment import row. A Create file cannot supply an ID owned by an HRIS integration. Assignment rows must also follow the organization’s flexible, one-per-employee, one-per-position, or one-to-one rule.

Review overlapping assignments already in FTE Tree, not only other rows in the file. A file can be internally consistent and still conflict with an existing or future assignment.

Prepare financial rows

Job code and position budget-rate files affect labor budget only. Employee compensation files affect actual compensation only. Check the employee and assignment IDs, amount, and dates. Basis tells whether the amount is hourly or yearly. Amount semantics tells whether a yearly amount is a full-time salary or the complete contracted total for one assignment.

For an employee compensation update, choose correct, default, or remove. Validation checks every row before any part of the file is applied.

  • Use correct when the amount, pay type, assignment, or effective date was recorded incorrectly.
  • Use default to return an assignment to employee-level pay from a date, or to record that employee-level pay is no longer known from that date.
  • Use remove when the record should never have existed.

For a job code or position budget-rate update, choose supersede, default, or void.

  • Use supersede to correct the selected rate’s amount, basis, or effective date.
  • Use default to return a position to its job-code rate, or to record that a job code no longer supplies a rate, from a chosen date. A position without either its own rate or an applicable job-code rate has missing budget information.
  • Use void when the rate record should never have existed.

Every financial Update row also requires a reason.

Do not put compensation amounts in position, employee, or assignment files.

Budget rates and employee pay have an Effective date, with no end date. Use Create to add a later value when the rate or pay changes. The latest effective date on or before the day being reviewed applies. When entries for the same record share that date, the most recently saved entry applies. Earlier and later entries remain in history. Assignment-specific pay takes priority over employee-level pay only for that assignment.

A correction cannot move pay to another employee. Remove the incorrect entry and create the intended employee’s entry. If an integration manages pay for the affected period, correct it through that integration. See Manage employee pay for pay types and timeline examples.

Review before uploading

Check the type, mode, row count, identifiers, dates, required choices, amounts, and intended result. Include only necessary information and store the file in an approved location. For a broad or protected change, have another qualified person review it when possible.

Direct position imports can change approved information without ordinary request steps. Review the approval-bypass warning and active-request effects before applying. An import does not approve, rewrite, or close an active request.

Next, validate and apply the import. Validation checks whether a file can be applied; you still need to confirm that its preview matches the intended change.

Optional practice: start with a small file

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

Use separate practice records so the original walkthrough remains available.

  1. Choose the type of information and Create or Update.
  2. Download that exact template.
  3. Enter one or two intended rows, keeping its headings unchanged.
  4. Check the IDs, dates, and required choices.
  5. Upload and validate the file.

Try each type you use in your work:

Import type Small example to enter and check
Invitations An authorized learner’s name, email, and intended access. Check the invitation and later acceptance.
Departments A practice department and its parent. Check the resulting hierarchy.
Job groups A practice group. Check where it sits in the job catalog.
Job codes A practice Patient Services Coordinator code. Check its group and where it is available.
Work schedules A practice Day schedule. Check that it can be selected on January 1, 2027.
Positions A separate 1.0 FTE position with its department, job code, and January 1 start. Read the warning about changing approved information directly.
Employees An active practice employee with the required department and status. Keep the assigned employee number.
Position assignments A full-time 1.0 FTE assignment with the right employee, position, and external assignment ID. Check its dates and FTE.
GL codes A practice account code with the required values. Check the exact code before using it elsewhere.
Department GL assignments A department/account relationship. Check which account applies on the chosen date.
Pay adjustments A reusable 20% benefits rule. Enter the template’s decimal value 0.20. Apply the rule separately in budget or compensation afterward.
Job code budget rates A $70,000 annual rate for the practice job code. Check a position that uses its rate.
Position budget rates A $70,000 annual rate for the practice position. Check that it takes priority over a job-code rate.
Employee compensation A $60,000 annual salary for the intended employee/assignment record IDs. Check the pay separately from budget.

Create the records a row refers to before importing that row. For Update, follow the template’s allowed actions and reasons. A blank value usually leaves information unchanged; use an allowed clear only when you intend to remove that value from its date onward.

Practice every import type

Use the import examples by information type for complete prerequisites, Create and Update rows, expected results, and corrections. The examples use prepared practice records.

Form choices

Use this reference to choose form values. Available choices depend on the task, selected date, and your access.

Import mode

Choose whether the file creates records or updates records already identified in the file.

Choice Meaning
Create Add new records or new dated entries as supported by the selected import type.
Update Change existing records using the identifiers and operations required by this import type.

Create can add a later dated financial entry to an existing position or employee; it does not always mean creating a new person or position. Update operations differ between financial areas. Download a fresh template for the selected type and mode, and validate before applying.

Import type

Choose the kind of records contained in the file. The selected type determines the template, required identifiers, and permitted operations.

Keep each file aligned with its selected type. Load prerequisite departments, job codes, or other choices before records that reference them. An unavailable type or mode can reflect your permissions or the supported operations; changing the selected type will not make incompatible headers valid.

Import workforce policy

Use Import workforce rules for complete rules, later dated requirements, corrections, and separate fiscal-year budget caps. Workforce Rules files require one action per rule and protect every kind of financial information included in the file.

Position requirements and initial status

A position Create import needs all mandatory position information, including required custom fields, on the position’s first effective date. Choose Active or Suspended in Initial status; leaving it blank chooses Active. Suspended creates an official position that is initially inactive and still needs complete information. Update imports cannot change a position’s status.

To introduce a new required custom field, create it as optional, import and apply the answers for existing eligible positions, then enable Required. All current and approved future positions must have answers before the setting can be saved. Use approved position changes for scheduled positions that are not eligible for Update imports. Earlier history and eliminated positions do not need backfill. A validated file has not applied its answers yet.