Column matching and a row check before every import

How it works

1. Choose what to import and upload an .xlsx, .xls or .csv file up to 15 MB.
2. If the file has several sheets, pick the one with the data; ZeniaHR detects the header row, and you can choose a different row.
3. Columns are matched to fields by their headings and common spellings, and the matches from your last import of the same kind are remembered.
4. Change any match, reset to the automatic result, and confirm the date format: DD/MM/YYYY, MM/DD/YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD.
5. The server checks every row without saving and lists what will be added, updated or skipped, and what needs fixing with reasons.
6. Import the valid rows in the background, download the rows to fix, and delete a finished import job from recent imports when it is no longer needed.

What you can set

• File types: .xlsx, .xls, .csv, up to 15 MB.
• Rows per import: up to 10,000, or 2,000 for holidays.
• Header row detected, with a manual choice.
• Date formats: DMY, MDY, YMD, with the format detected from your data.
• Column matches remembered from the last import of the same kind.
• Review: added, updated, skipped and needs fixing counts.
• Rows to fix: an Excel file with the reason next to each row.
• Sample file for each import type, with an Instructions sheet.
• Nothing is saved until you press import.

Why check before saving

An import that saves as it goes leaves you with half a workforce loaded and no clean way back. Checking every row first, on the server and against the data already in ZeniaHR, means the decision to import is made with full information: how many new people, how many updates, how many duplicates skipped and exactly which rows are wrong. It also catches problems that only show up against existing data, such as a branch name that does not exist or an opening balance that is already there.

Worked example: a messy attendance-system export

A manufacturing company in Ludhiana exports its employee list from an old attendance system. The file has two sheets, a title row above the headings and dates written as 05-Apr-24. HR picks the Employees sheet, and ZeniaHR detects that the headings are on row 2. Twenty-six of the 30 columns match automatically, and dates with month names are read correctly. The row check flags 14 rows whose mobile numbers have only nine digits and 3 rows with no name. HR downloads the rows to fix, cleans them and runs them again. The next monthly update reuses the remembered matches.

Tips for smooth imports

Small habits save repeated uploads and long evenings with the accounts team. Most of them are about the spreadsheet itself rather than ZeniaHR, because the same file problems, such as merged cells and numbers stored as numbers, cause trouble in every system that reads Excel data.

• Start from the sample file when building a sheet from scratch.
• Keep headings in one row with no merged cells.
• Type long numbers such as Aadhaar and account numbers as text.
• Fix rows in the downloaded file rather than the original, so only the corrected rows go back in.

Frequently asked questions