Summary
Spreadsheet import is an easy way to create or update data in Planhat in bulk
Planhat provides spreadsheet templates for you to fill in, for ease
You can access the import tool by clicking in the main search box ("Federated Search") and selecting "Import"
In the form, ensure you specify which data model you are uploading (e.g. Companies or End Users)
Planhat preloads Company mapping and column/field mapping in the form, but you can view and edit this before proceeding with the import
Who is this article for?
Anyone who would like a quick overview of importing data into Planhat via spreadsheet
Series
Importing data via Excel spreadsheet - overview ⬅️ You are here
Article contents
Introduction
There are various ways you can bring data into Planhat:
Manual data entry - e.g. adding a single Company record in the UI and typing in the details directly
Excel spreadsheet upload - great for manual bulk data entry; this is the method we focus on in this article
Integrations to sync data into (and out of) Planhat, such as the Salesforce and HubSpot integrations
Planhat Automations with incoming webhooks
Using the Planhat API
Our simple (yet advanced) spreadsheet import functionality makes it easy for you to create or update multiple records in a quick manual action.
🔑 Key details - summary of method
You can upload records for any model by clicking in the main search box at the top of Planhat ("Federated Search") and then "Import"
Select your choice of model, and then click "Download template"
Complete the template spreadsheet with your desired data, then upload it (by clicking "Choose a file...")
Confirm data mapping and click "Import"
📌 Definitions
Planhat "models" (also called "data models") are similar to the "objects" you may be familiar with from other tools
E.g. "Company" is the model representing organizations that are your customers or prospects (i.e. your accounts)
"Records" are data items within those models
E.g. "Samsung" and "Pfizer" could be Company records
Where to upload data via Excel spreadsheet
Federated Search
The main way to upload data by spreadsheet is via the main search box at the top middle of Planhat (in the top gray bar) - the Federated Search box.
Click the image to view it enlarged
Clicking in the Federated Search box, you should then click on "Import" in the "Tools" category at the bottom, as shown below.
This will open up a modal (form) like so, which we will go through here. You can select your choice of Planhat data model from the dropdown in the top-right corner (as shown below).
Page e.g. Data Table
Alternatively, you can get to this same upload modal via a suitable Page, such as a Data Table Page for the relevant data model.
For this option, click on the ellipsis icon in the top right-hand corner, and select the import option.
For example:
Click the image to view it enlarged
The import form will open, like we have just seen above. The data model that your Page is for will be pre-selected in the top-right corner (e.g. Company in this example), but you can actually still select a different model from the dropdown if you like.
How to import data via Excel spreadsheet
Once you have opened up the import modal (form) as discussed/pictured above ...
Ensure that your desired data model is selected in the dropdown menu in the top right
E.g. "Companies", "End Users", "Assets" or "Deals" etc.
Be aware that if you have navigated to this form via the Federated Search box, it will show whichever model you last selected in this form, which might not be the model you want to upload this time
Use the dropdown menu to select what type of data you want to import
Click the "Download template" button
This downloads an .xlsx file for that data model, with spreadsheet columns representing fields
It's not obligatory to download and use one of these templates - you could potentially use your own spreadsheet (e.g. from exporting data from Planhat that you edit and then import) - but it's recommended to use a template if possible
Edit the spreadsheet file as necessary
For example, if you have downloaded the End Users template and you want to bulk-create some End Users, fill in a row for each End User
🚀 Tip: Although the templates are Excel file types, if you don't have Excel you can still open and edit them in other programs (such as Google Sheets)
📌 Important to note: When creating records, you typically need to fill in the "Company Id" (or an equivalent column) so that the records can be mapped to their parent Companies. You can use any of the three ID types (Planhat ID, Source ID and External ID), and you do not need to add prefixes here to denote the ID type; rather, you specify this in the mapping in the import form. For End Users, there is also the option of mapping via email domain. For more details, see here
In the modal, click "Choose a file..." and select the spreadsheet file to upload
This will open up a data-mapping form similar to the one below, where you configure:
"Match records to Companies" - where you specify which ID(s) you are using to map these records to their Companies (if applicable - note you will not see this part of the form if you are uploading Companies). We discuss this in further detail here
"Map source columns to [model] fields" - where you choose which fields in the uploaded spreadsheet should map to which fields in Planhat (or not be imported at all). Planhat automatically suggests mappings here where possible, but you can modify them. You can even create new fields to map to, without leaving the form! Again, we go over this in more detail in a separate article here
When you have finished configuring the data mapping, click the orange "Import" button in the bottom right (as shown in the screenshot above). You will see the results of your upload summarized - for example:
🚀 Tip: If you experience any failures in uploads (like in the example screenshot below), the error message will provide information on what went wrong. Where a number is underlined (like the "3" in the example below), you can click there to "drill down" and see further details. You can also refer to our troubleshooting article for advice on preventing and resolving issues
Further reading
For additional details and support, check out our other articles in this series: