How to Import Data From Excel

Importing data from Excel spreadsheets only works with manual data sources. Before you can upload a spreadsheet to Plecto, you need to set up a manual data source and prepare your spreadsheet. Here's the short version of what to do:

1. Create a manual data source and add custom fields to match the fields in your spreadsheet. It will host all your uploaded data.
2. Download a data source template. If you don't want to use a template, add some required fields to your spreadsheet (read below).
3. Prepare your spreadsheet.
4. Upload the spreadsheet to Plecto.

1. Go to Data management > Data sources > + New data source.
2. Find Manual Data Entry and choose one of the manual data source options.
   1. Plecto offers 3 templates for manual data sources: Closed deal, Sales target, Booked meetings. If you select one of these, click Confirm to create the data source.
   2. If you select Custom input, you will create a custom data source. Give your data source a title, adjust the Permissions if necessary, then click Save in the bottom-right.
3. Finally, add custom fields to the data source. One field represents one column in your data source.

Once you have created a manual data source, we recommend downloading a spreadsheet template of your data source. It will make it easier for you to prepare your spreadsheet for Plecto.

1. Go to Data management > Data sources > Import from Excel.
2. Choose the data source and click Download Template. Plecto will generate a spreadsheet template based on the selected data source and download it on your local device.

Plecto needs to be able to recognize and sort the data from your spreadsheet, so make sure to prepare your spreadsheet accordingly. Each row in the spreadsheet must represent a unique registration (one call, one won deal, etc.).

There are some fields that need to be part of the spreadsheet – some of them are mandatory to have data, and some need to be part of the spreadsheet, but optional to fill out. Follow the guidelines below.

⚠️ Required fields #1 – mandatory to include and have data

Each row must be linked to an employee. You need to provide ONE (!) of the following options per row so that Plecto can identify the employee:

• E-mail + First name + Last name. In the row, add the employee email, first name, and last name. Employees that don't already have a Plecto profile will receive an email invitation to join Plecto.

OR

• External User ID + External System Name + First name + Last name. The External User ID can be a random string of numbers, but it has to be unique for each employee. The External System Name can be anything (for example, Excel).

⚠️ Required fields #2 – mandatory to include in the sheet, but optional to fill out

• External ID: You can leave this field empty, but it's required to have it in the spreadsheet. External ID represents the ID field in your data source and it allows you to update the same data. Keep the same External ID, and if you reupload your spreadsheet, Plecto will update the registrations with the same External ID instead of creating new ones.
• Date: Each registration needs a valid date and time. Use a date format that Plecto can recognize (5/22/2021 or 2021-05-22). This will show as the Created date, which is also the default date in manual data sources. If you don’t add date and time of your registrations, Plecto will add today’s date and a default time of 00:00:00 to all the registrations.

1. Go to Data management > Data sources > Import from Excel.
2. Select the data source to which you want to upload your data.
3. Click Choose File and choose a spreadsheet.
4. Click Preview to see how Plecto plans to organize your data.

5. Double-check if all fields match your data source. If you see Do not import, it means that Plecto doesn't recognize a field OR that there's no such field in the data source. Click in the field and choose a different option to match or add the missing fields to the data source and try again.

6. Click Save to finish and import your data.