Add employees

Manually add or import employee information into a workforce plan.

While you can manually enter your employee information row by row, it's more efficient to import it. You can import a file that you exported from your payroll system or use the Phocas template file.

If you're not familiar with the layout and contents of a typical workforce plan, see Take a tour of Workforce Planning.

Import employees

There are two ways to import employee data:

• Use your own file: Import an Excel file directly, such as one exported from your payroll system. During import, you need to map the columns in your file to the columns in your workforce plan.
• Use the Phocas template: Download a template file with the workforce plan columns already set up. Then copy your data into it before importing.

Options for importing employee data

Which method to use depends on how often you plan to import:

• For frequent imports, download the template and set up the file to map data from your payroll system's output. You can then update and import data quickly on subsequent runs.
• For occasional imports, such as once a year, either method works. I have a file is often quicker for one-off imports.

Either way, you need to prepare the data first.

Prepare the data

Use your own file

Export the file from your payroll system and save it to your computer.

Use the Phocas template file

1. Open the workforce plan.
2. Click the Plan menu, then click Import data > I need to download a template.
3. Open the template and enable editing.
4. Enter or paste your employee data. See Add employees manually for details about each column, then save and close the file.

Import template

Check the data:

• Use values, not formulas: Formulas can cause issues on import. Convert formulas to values in Excel first with Paste Special > Values.
• Store dates as dates: Ensure date columns are formatted as dates in Excel, rather than text. Excel date cells import automatically. Other date formats might produce regional-formatting errors.
• Use unique employee IDs: The import tool won't import rows where the unique ID field contains duplicates. If your data uses a non-unique identifier, such as 'Sales Rep', create a unique ID for each employee. Combine the position and name, or add a sequential number. The unique ID must also be unique across every workforce plan you publish. See Employee unique ID.

Import the data

1. Open the workforce plan.
2. Click the Plan menu, then click Import data > I have a file.
3. Locate and select the file you want to import.

If you use the Phocas template file, the data imports directly into the grid.

If you use a file from another system, the Import data window opens for you to map its columns to the workforce plan columns.

Map the data

In the Import data window:

1. Review the name of the import file and the data it contains to ensure it is as expected.
2. If you need to use a different file, click Select file, then locate and select the correct file.
3. Review the column mappings. If the import file column names match your plan column names, they are mapped automatically.
4. For each column, accept the auto-mapping, select a different plan column, or ignore the column.
5. Click Import. The plan updates with the imported data. Review the imported data and adjust as required.

Validate the data

Phocas validates the following on import:

• Database dimensions: Values must match existing entities in the underlying database. For example, if the trading entity dimension comes from your finance database, only existing trading entities are valid. If the file contains a spelling error or new trading entity, the values are not imported. Map the value to a valid dimension entity when prompted.
• Custom dimensions: All values are imported as dimension entities. The new entities are then available for selection when you enter employee information manually.
• Benefit plans: Values must match existing benefit plans. You can't introduce a new benefit plan through import. Add it in the plan setup first.

Add employees manually

Open the plan and click Add employee. A row is added to the grid. The yellow cell background indicates that you can edit the values.

Enter values into each column for the employee.

See the following related pages:

• Take a tour of Workforce Planning > Workforce plan columns to learn about the columns in the Employee and Remuneration column groups that are included in every plan.
• Create a workforce plan > Set up the columns to learn about the types of additional columns that might be in the plan and how to enter information into them.
• Manage employee information to learn about how to update employee information, view the cell history and more.