Excel roster upload checklist for project teams

An import is not a substitute for checking the source. For a project that keeps its shift plan in Excel, the best time to fix a missing identifier or a date in the wrong month is before the workbook becomes the workforce reference. This checklist is for the roster administrator, not a claim that every spreadsheet will import without adjustment.

1. Choose the correct project and file

Keep one source of truth for the roster period you mean to release. Give the file a meaningful name such as north-site-october-roster.xlsx rather than final-v7-really-final.xlsx. Confirm the project in the app before selecting the file; a clean import into the wrong project is still the wrong roster.

RosterField accepts CSV or XLSX for the signed-in import workflow. If an XLSX contains several worksheets, pick the actual roster sheet rather than an instructions tab or an older period. In a CSV, there is only one flat table. The public demo sandbox runs the same importer with smaller limits and no publication; use only non-sensitive test data there.

2. Make a person identifiable without guessing

For a matrix roster, missing employment numbers can be represented by physical source positions such as ROW-12 or COL-C. These are upload-local identifiers, not guessed employee numbers or persistent identities across files. Shift lists still need employee identifiers. Prefer the correct source employment number when one exists, and do not mistake whitespace or a formula without a saved value for that number. If two source records have the same number, review the conflict for this publication.

Check names, role, employer and work location against your source of record. Similar names do not establish identity. Personnel are separate for each upload; a repeated number in a later file does not merge records across publications. If a person is missing, inspect the layout, mapping, excluded records and dates rather than assuming the number is the only cause.

3. Inspect the date axis and the shifts

Find the first and last date you intend to share. A workbook may have dates across columns with one worker per row, or dates down rows with workers across columns. The importer can review both, but you still need to verify which cells are names, dates and shift values. For ambiguous dates like 03/04/2026, choose the intended day/month interpretation and read several dates in the preview.

List the daily labels actually in use: day shift, night shift, RDO, leave, training and travel can mean different things to different teams. Unfamiliar non-empty values start with their cleaned source text in the mapping field and require confirmation. A blank mapping keeps that text; it does not discard the entry. Use a meaningful replacement when needed. Time-only cells need a daily status, and oversized labels must be shortened deliberately rather than truncated. To remove a value, use a blank source-cell correction or edit the workbook.

4. Treat formulas as a source-data question

The importer reads saved results from Excel formula cells; it does not run Excel calculations. Open the XLSX in your spreadsheet application, recalculate and save it before upload if you rely on formulas. If the review warns that results are missing or may be stale, go back to the workbook and inspect the affected dates and people. Merely ticking an acknowledgement does not make an incorrect formula result correct.

5. Release only what you have checked

Start with the review actions and click each flagged item to open its correction section. Information icons explain the checks; optional mapping and correction tools stay collapsed. Check personnel, total entries, exclusions and the selected date window, which is limited to 140 inclusive days. Resolve duplicate groups one by one. Every edit requires a refreshed preview before Publish can unlock.

Open What will be published to inspect the first 100 sample entries, paginated 10 at a time. Those pages are not the full roster. Compare total counts and known source records, including boundary dates. A source-cell correction affects the draft without rewriting the original uploaded file; update your planning source too where the underlying plan was wrong.

Once the preview represents the intended workforce plan, publish it as the current project version. Earlier publications remain in roster history; they do not vanish simply because a new roster is current. Tell workers which project link or QR code to use, and remember that a published roster is a reference to a reviewed version, not a promise that future changes will appear without another publication.

For a closer look at the controls, read How it works and the guide to duplicate employment numbers.

Questions people ask

Can a clean-looking preview still be wrong?

Yes. It can reflect an incorrect source plan, worksheet or date window. Compare several known people and edge dates with the approved workbook; the app cannot decide whether your operational plan is correct.

What should we do when a blocker remains?

Read the stated issue rather than repeatedly pressing Publish. Resolve the decision in review if appropriate, or correct the workbook and upload a new copy. Update the preview after a choice and check the resulting counts.