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How to Import Data Into Planhat via Excel
How to Import Data Into Planhat via Excel
Christian Dreyer avatar
Written by Christian Dreyer
Updated over a week ago

While a live CRM sync, or creating customers and contacts via our API is the preferred approach, using a file import is a great way to get started quickly if your CRM data is not clean, ready or not structured in a way that reflects how you manage your customers.

There are a couple of ways that you can import Excel files into Planhat:

  • Command Box (Alt + S): By clicking the magnifying glass in the top left corner or by using the shortcut "Alt + S" you will be able to open the Command box. Once the Command Box is open, under the "Import" header you will see a range of different imports, you will then need to do the following:

    • Click on the relevant import header and download the file.

    • Populate the file and then using the Command Box, click on the same import header and reimport the file.

  • Data Module: Click on the "Data" module which you will find on the left sidebar, go to the appropriate tab at the top of the page e.g. Companies, End Users, Workflows etc and then do the following:

    • Click on the ellipsis icon in the top right-hand corner and select the import option.

    • The import form will open, read the instructions and download the import template to Excel.

    • Populate the file and then import it via the same window that you used to download the template.

📌 Important to note: This will add data into Planhat potentially overwriting existing data. Please contact us via live chat if you have any questions before importing data. It's a lot easier to fix an import file than it is to fix data that has been overwritten. 😄


How to Populate the Excel Import Templates

The Excel import templates are quite intuitive but you need to adhere to the template rules because each column will insert data into a dedicated field in Planhat. Some of the column headers contain a comment, please read the comments because there are instructions explaining what type of information needs to be entered. To learn more about the required import template fields for creating and updating records, check out this article. 🤓

  • The Excel import template that you download is specific to you, this means all of Planhat's default fields will be in the template, plus all of the custom fields that you have created.

  • You don't need to upload all of the columns, if you only need to upload a few data points then you can just include those columns (including any mandatory columns of course). The column headers should be either the field ids (same as in API) or by default the same display names used in the Planhat Data module.

  • The import will stop at the first empty row in each sheet. It is fine to have empty cells or even empty non-mandatory columns, but when the import finds an empty row it will stop. 

  • Team Members (users of Planhat) will neither be updated nor duplicated if they already exist in your Planhat account as long as their name and email match.

  • Multiple companies with the same "ExternalId" or contacts with the same email, will result in only the last occurrence in the import file being saved/updated.

  • If you are importing multiple values to a field (a multi-picklist field), separate the values using a comma. For example John, Paul, George, Ringo

  • If you are importing data into a CheckBox field, use TRUE and FALSE to represent yes/no or on/off.

📣 Quick tip: You don't need to use our import templates, you can use a plain spreadsheet but the field names need to match what's in Planhat and the required fields need to be included. The columns don't need to be in a specific order either.


Updating Imported Data

In general, anything you import in the file can be updated later.  It's fine to start with a simple import, but equally fine to get everything imported in one go. Once the data is in Planhat you can edit in Planhat or you can use an additional import to bring in additional data. 

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