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Overview

Use Import employees when you need to add or update people in bulk from an existing spreadsheet. Teamper lets you upload your own CSV format, map each column to the right field, preview every row, and confirm the import only after you understand what will change.

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Who can use this

  • Company admins

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Before you start

  • Create the departments named in the CSV
  • Create the holiday calendars named in the CSV
  • Create and activate the leave type you want to use for imported opening balances
  • Make sure your company has an active default leave policy
  • Save the CSV in UTF-8 format if your spreadsheet tool gives you multiple export options
The downloadable template is still available as a convenience, but you do not need to match a rigid Teamper header format. You can import your own CSV and map each source column during the flow.

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What you can map

Required mappings:
  • Full name
  • Email
  • Department
  • Opening balance
Optional mappings:
  • Employee ID
  • Start date
  • Holiday calendar

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How matching works

  • Teamper prefers Employee ID as the stable match key for re-imports and migration corrections.
  • If you do not map Employee ID, Teamper can also match an existing employee by email.
  • If both Employee ID and email are present, Teamper uses them to confirm the same employee record.
  • The import can update an existing employee record, but it does not change an existing employee email through this flow.

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Step-by-step guide

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1. Upload the CSV and choose the leave type

  1. Go to Employees.
  2. Click Import CSV.
  3. Click Template if you want a starter file.
  4. Choose the active leave type that should receive the imported opening balances.
  5. Upload the CSV file.
  6. Review the reference lists for departments and holiday calendars if you need to confirm the exact names already configured in Teamper.
  7. Click Analyze file.

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2. Map your columns

  1. Review the suggested mappings on Map your columns.
  2. Confirm that the required fields are mapped to the correct source columns.
  3. Add any optional mappings you want to include, such as Employee ID, Start date, or Holiday calendar.
  4. Review the sample values to make sure Teamper is reading the right column.
  5. Click Reset mapping if you want to start the matching step again.
  6. Click Preview import.

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3. Review the preview

  1. Review the selected leave type at the top of the preview.
  2. Filter the rows by outcome if you want to focus on created, changed, unchanged, or blocked rows.
  3. Check the mapped values for each row.
  4. Review the match key Teamper used, such as Employee ID or Email.
  5. Edit only the launch-safe fields directly in the preview if you need to correct a row before import: Department, Start date, Holiday calendar, and Opening balance.
  6. Treat Full name, Email, and Employee ID as review-only identity fields in this step.
  7. Review the opening balance effect for each row, including any correction delta before you save.
  8. Fix any rows marked Needs fixing before you continue.
  9. Click Confirm import when the preview matches what you expect.
Confirm import is the only confirmation step. Teamper does not create or update any employee records until you click it.

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4. Review the receipt and send invites

  1. Review the Import complete page.
  2. Check the totals for created, changed, and unchanged records.
  3. Review the row-level results, including the match key Teamper used, the mapped values that were saved, and any opening balance details.
  4. Click Send invites if you want to invite newly created employees right away.
  5. Click View employees to return to the directory.
The result page is a receipt for what Teamper already saved. It is not a second review or confirmation step.

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What happens next

  • Teamper does not save anything until you click Confirm import.
  • Newly created employees remain not_invited until you send invites from the result page.
  • Existing employees updated by the import do not receive a new invite from this flow.
  • Imported opening balances are applied to the leave type you selected at the start of the import.

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Troubleshooting

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Analyze file does not continue to mapping

Check for an empty CSV, malformed CSV formatting, invalid UTF-8, or more than 200 employee rows.

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Preview import shows blocked rows

Check for missing required mappings, duplicate mapped source columns, missing or invalid leave type selection, invalid opening balance values, or row-level validation errors.

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Re-importing updates the wrong employee

Use Employee ID as the stable match key whenever possible. Email can also match an existing employee, but email is less reliable during migration if addresses have changed outside Teamper.

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An opening balance cannot be imported

If Teamper says the imported opening balance belongs to an older balance period, use a manual leave balance adjustment instead of the import flow.