Validate and apply an import

Validate your file to see what it would change before changing any records. Read the preview, fix errors, and decide how to handle warnings. Apply it only when the records, dates, and amounts match what you intended.

Before you begin

Applying an import requires the applicable import permission plus the permission for the type of information listed in Prepare a file for import. Your permissions must cover every affected department, linked record, and date in the complete file. FTE Tree checks your access when you confirm the import and while the work continues. Removing required access stops further changes. Giving you more access does not add records to the file you confirmed. Changes to relevant organization rules or existing information may require validation again.

Import effective values

Budget-rate and employee-pay templates ask for an Effective date, with no end date. Each Create row adds a value. When rows for the same value share an effective date, the last applied row in the file wins; earlier entries remain in history. A row with a later effective date takes priority from that date, regardless of where an earlier-dated row appears in the file.

Download a fresh template before importing rates or pay. An old End date column is rejected with an explanation. Use an Update default action and an effective date to select an inherited rate or mark general pay as not set. Corrections and removals still require the current source record ID and a reason.

Validate the file

1. Open Imports, choose the information type and Create or Update, and select the completed CSV. Choose Upload and validate.
2. Start validation.
3. Review record counts, proposed changes, warnings, and errors.
4. Correct the source file and upload it again when any error appears.
5. Validate again until the result is ready to apply.

Warnings require a business decision. Do not confirm one merely to make the import continue.

Validation can classify preview rows as:

Review the expected create, update, unchanged, and skipped totals. Then review the row preview sample and the complete issue summary.

What happens when a cell is blank or missing

A blank cell does not automatically mean zero. Its meaning depends on the selected import type, Create or Update mode, and column instructions.

• A missing required value or identifier is an error. The whole file remains unapplied.
• An optional blank Update cell may leave the existing value unchanged when the template says so.
• A supported clear must appear as a clear in the preview before you apply it.
• A position import does not create a missing labor budget rate or employee pay entry. Those are separate imports and separate review steps.

If approved position history has no FTE for a date, Position Report Readiness identifies the missing value and related financial amounts remain Needs Position setup. Review affected position, budget, compensation, and workforce plan results after an import rather than assuming another area supplied a default.

Resolve errors and warnings differently

An error must be corrected before the import can be applied. Common causes include a missing required value, unknown identifier, invalid date, unavailable choice, duplicate record, or conflicting assignment.

A warning identifies a change that may be allowed but needs a deliberate decision. Examples include bypassing ordinary position approval or changing approved position information while a request is active.

For each warning:

1. identify every affected row;
2. read the expected before-and-after change;
3. confirm the business authority for the action;
4. decide whether to change the file, postpone the import, or accept the warning; and
5. record the reason when the page requests acknowledgment.

Do not assume that a file with no errors is safe to apply. A valid but unintended update can still change the wrong records.

Review the preview

Compare the preview with the source file and your expected outcome:

• Does the record count match?
• Are creates and updates separated as expected?
• Are any rows unexpectedly unchanged?
• Are stable identifiers matched to the intended records?
• Do effective dates and cleared values appear correctly?
• Are protected values hidden from anyone without the required access?
• Does a position import identify approval bypass and active-request effects?

If any answer is unclear, stop and correct the file or ask the responsible business owner.

Apply once

Confirm that no one else is applying the same changes, review any requested action note, then select Run import once. If a confirmation appears, check it and select Confirm and run. Follow the existing import’s progress; do not upload a duplicate file while it is still running.

The confirmation tells you that the validated rows will be created or updated as shown in the preview. Recheck the import type, mode, counts, warnings, and intended effective dates immediately before confirming.

Confirming approves that exact file and operation. FTE Tree checks your access as the import continues. Removing the required access stops further changes, but does not undo rows already applied. The import can also stop if the information or organization settings change, or if a data check fails. Review its final status and counts before trying again.

If relevant access, organization rules, or records changed after validation, validate again. The previously reviewed preview may no longer describe the current result.

Follow progress

Open the import page to check its current status: validation, waiting, applying, completed, stopped, or failed.

A clock beside Waiting to import means the import is waiting to start. A spinner beside validation or application means that work is in progress. Read the status label and message to decide what to do next.

• If validation is still running, wait for the preview.
• If the import is waiting or applying, do not submit a duplicate.
• If the import stops before applying rows, correct the file or setup and start a new import.
• If it fails, read the message and confirm whether any rows were applied before deciding what to do next.

Before validation starts, Stop validation lets you stop the uploaded file from being checked. When an import is waiting to start, preparing, or applying rows, use Stop import if it is available. Stopping prevents further work but does not undo rows already saved. Review the final status and row results before preparing another file.

Do not infer completion from the browser being open or an email arriving. Open the import itself and confirm the completed status and result summary.

Review the result

Open the completed import and affected records. Confirm effective dates and a small sample of created or updated values. Review labor budget or actual compensation separately when the import belongs to those areas.

For a broad import, sample:

1. the first and last source rows;
2. a newly created record for a Create import;
3. a changed record and any expected unchanged row for an Update import;
4. a row with a warning;
5. a record from each affected department; and
6. a protected or financial row when authorized.

Compare the final row counts with the preview you approved. Open Activity history on a few affected records to see which changes were saved and when.

Example: safe position update

A file updates department and FTE for 20 positions beginning July 1. Validation shows 20 updates, no creates, and a warning that 3 positions have active requests.

Before applying, review those 3 requests and decide whether the imported approved change should proceed first. After applying, open all 3 requests, compare their submitted proposal with the newly approved starting information, and close and replace any request that no longer represents the intended change.

Why is a row unchanged?

The row may contain no applicable change, such as optional blank Update cells that leave existing values alone or an unchanged identifier. A supplied dated value records a new entry even when its value matches an earlier entry, so that row counts as updated. Review the row preview and effective date together.

Optional practice: check the preview before changing records

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

1. Prepare a two-row practice Create file, with one correct row and one incorrect reference.
2. Validate it. The file should remain unapplied while it has an error.
3. Correct the reference and validate again.
4. Check that the preview shows the two records you intend to create.
5. Read and handle any warnings, then apply once.
6. Open the completed import and both records.

Next, try an Update file with a changed value, an unchanged row, and an allowed clear of a filled optional field. Check each row’s preview before applying. A blank cell is not necessarily a clear.

Compare the final counts and dates with what you intended. If the information or rules changed after validation, validate again before applying. See corrections if an applied value was wrong.