CSV import
The spreadsheet format Sprooster understands, and how re-uploading works as a sync.
No integration, no IT ticket: export your people to a spreadsheet, save as CSV, and drag it into Sprooster: the Connect directory step of onboarding, or Settings → Data sources → CSV upload. There's a Download a template link right in the upload form.
The columns
Only two columns are required. Header names don't have to match exactly. Sprooster guesses the mapping from your headers and shows you the guess (with a live preview) before anything imports, so you can fix any column it got wrong.
| Column | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | yes | |
| Work email | yes | Each person's unique key. This is how re-uploads match people |
| Job title | no | |
| Department | no | |
| Manager's email | no | Builds the reporting lines / org chart |
| Location | no | |
| Phone | no | |
| Start date | no | YYYY-MM-DD preferred; common formats are recognized |
| Birthday | no | YYYY-MM-DD; year optional in spirit (it's only used for the day) |
A minimal file looks like:
Full name,Work email,Job title,Department,Manager's email,Location,Start date,Birthday
Avery Kim,avery@acme.com,Head of Design,Design,sam@acme.com,Portland,2021-03-15,1990-06-02Re-uploading is the sync
There's no separate "update" flow. When your org changes, export a fresh CSV and upload it again:
- People matched by work email are updated with the new values.
- New rows are added.
- People missing from the new file are removed from the directory.
That last point is worth knowing before you upload a partial file: a CSV covering only one department will remove everyone else. Upload complete exports.
For the technically curious
- The file never leaves your browser. Parsing and column-mapping happen client-side; only the mapped rows (name, email, and whichever optional fields you mapped) are sent to the server when you click import. Extra columns in your export (salary, SSNs, whatever HR shipped you) are never transmitted as long as they're unmapped.
- Matching key is the lowercased work email; imports are idempotent upserts, so re-importing the same file is a no-op.
- Encoding: UTF-8 (with or without BOM). Quoted fields and embedded commas are handled per RFC 4180.
Tips
- Manager emails must appear in the file (or already be in the directory) for the reporting line to connect; a typo'd manager email just leaves that person unattached.
- Exporting from Excel? File → Save As → CSV UTF-8 keeps names with accents intact.
- The import preview counts the people it found and calls out problems (missing required fields, duplicate emails) before you commit. Nothing imports until you click the button.