Sapling - Bulk Data Upload (Self Service Upload)

Introduction

Easily create or update data for your team members, groups, holidays, and time-off requests with the self-serve bulk upload feature. This guide walks you through everything you need to know about creating and updating data using Sapling's bulk upload functionality.

This article covers the following topics:

• What you can do with bulk upload
• How to create new data
• How to update existing data
• Pro tips for a smoother process

What Can You Do?

With the bulk upload feature, you can:

• Download a sample CSV template to insert your information
• Create:
• Bulk add future team members as pending hires
• Bulk create profiles for current team members not yet in Sapling
• Bulk create holidays for a calendar year
• Bulk create groups for team organization
• Update:
• Bulk update profile field values for current Sapling team members
• Bulk assign user permissions for current Sapling team members
• Bulk assign profile templates for current Sapling team members
• Bulk import PTO requests and balances for current team members

From the home page, navigate to Administration Tools > Platform Settings > Upload Data.

Important to note: Only users with Super Admin permissions can view the Self Service Upload feature on their account.

 

Create New Data

You can create profiles for existing team members, new groups, holidays in bulk, etc. Follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the Create section and click Get Started for your desired option.
2. Choose your method to upload data:
• Download a Sapling template
• Upload a CSV file
• Fill it in directly in Sapling

1. Use Sapling Template

• Click Download Template to get a sample CSV file.
• Review the instructions provided within the template.
• Fill in the necessary details. You can delete any columns you are not using to reduce time spent mapping data later.

2. Upload a CSV File

• Once you've completed the template, return to the upload tool and choose Upload CSV File.
• Drag and drop your file or use the file picker. Accepted file formats include .csv, .tsv, .xls, .xlsx, and .xml.

• After uploading, map your spreadsheet columns to Sapling data fields and click Continue. This step allows you to clean up or remove any errors before finalizing.

• Review any errors by switching to the 'Invalid' tab, edit any necessary data directly in the upload tool, and then click Submit.
• Then click Confirm when prompted to finalize the process.

Sapling will process your uploaded data, and you’ll receive an email notification once it’s complete.

Update Your Data

You can update profile data, templates, permissions, and more. The process is similar to creating new data:

1. Navigate to the Update section and click Get Started for your desired option.
2. Select your method to update data:
• Download a Sapling template
• Upload a CSV file
• Fill it in directly in Sapling

Updating Existing Profiles

• Use email addresses or user IDs as unique identifiers. If you're updating email addresses, use user IDs to avoid errors.
• Ensure that all users in your upload file already exist in Sapling. If not, the system will return an error.

💡Pro Tips

• What values are rolled forward?

  • Sometimes you may upload a .csv that does not contain all columns present in the original Job details table. If any column from a table is not present in the .csv or not mapped, the value for that column will be rolled forward from the chronologically previous row in the table. If there is no chronologically previous row, then the value is left blank.

• What special characters can cause issues if their part of the header?

  • These characters cause issues with the data to upload if their part of the headers/column names:  /, %, + , =, ?.

• What happens when the .csv file includes all columns in a table and some columns are ignored during mapping?

  • The ignored columns for the rows that are inserted will be populated with rolled-forward data from those columns in the chronologically previous rows in the table.

• What happens if the option/value chosen for a group type doesn’t exist in Sapling?

  • The group type value is created in Sapling and the new value is assigned to the team member in Sapling.

  • For example, You upload a CSV file that has 'Location' as ‘New York’ for a team member. If the location 'New York' (exact spelling match) doesn't exist in Sapling, after the bulk upload, 'New York' will be added to the 'Location' group in Sapling and will be assigned to the team member in Sapling.  The new value 'New York' will also be enabled (toggle on) to further show up in the 'Location' dropdown for you to select.

• How do I update a coworker field like Manager and Buddy?
  • To update fields like Manager or Buddy, you'll need to provide at least a company email address, as it serves as our unique identifier in Sapling. Be sure to enter the correct email address rather than the coworker’s name.
• Can I bulk subtract time off balances for my team members?
  • Yes, you can bulk subtract time off balances by entering a negative number (e.g. -8) in the Opening Balance column of the upload file. Please note that the value must be in hours.

• The list of ISO Standard country codes (alpha-2 & alpha-3): https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/country_code_list.htm