Import departments, designations and locations

How it works

1. Choose Departments, Designations or Locations in Data Import.
2. Each row needs a name; a short code and a description are optional.
3. For locations, add address, city and state columns if you have them.
4. Headings such as Dept, Job title, Site or Office are matched automatically.
5. The row check skips names already in your list, and skips a row that repeats a name from an earlier row in the file.
6. After import, the entries appear in Settings, Organization, ready to pick in each employee's organization assignment.

What you can set

• Departments: name, code, description.
• Designations: name, code, description.
• Locations: name, code, address, city, state.
• Required: a name on every row.
• Up to 10,000 rows per file.
• Names already in the list are skipped, never duplicated.

Why import masters first

Masters are the lists everything else points to. When they are loaded cleanly before employees, every later step is easier: linking people, filtering reports, setting holidays and wall posts by department, and scoping access. Importing them from the list your management already uses also fixes naming once, so a store named SG Highway Ahmedabad keeps that exact name on every record instead of three spellings typed by three people.

Worked example: a retail chain with 48 stores

A fashion retailer with 48 stores across Gujarat and Rajasthan prepares three sheets. Locations has one row per store with a code such as AMD-SGH, the full address, city and state. Designations lists Store Manager, Assistant Store Manager, Cashier, Sales Associate, Visual Merchandiser and Stock Associate, each with a short code. Departments lists Stores, Merchandising, Warehouse, Accounts and HR. The location check skips two stores already added by hand and imports the other 46. Designations and departments import without errors, and HR moves on to the employee import the same afternoon.

Tips for master imports

Decide the naming before the import, not after, because renaming masters once employees are linked to them makes old reports harder to read. One short meeting with operations and accounts to agree names and codes saves weeks of confusion later.

• Agree one naming style for stores, offices and sites.
• Use short codes that match your accounts or store codes.
• Import job titles as designations and leave levels such as L1 or G3 for grades.
• Add grades, cost centres, employment types and categories in Settings, Organization.

Frequently asked questions