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Team Member Import: Quick Guide (CSV, Excel, QuickBooks IIF)

What this does

  • Quickly add multiple team members from a file.
  • Works with CSV/TSV/TAB, Excel, and QuickBooks IIF employee exports.
  • Uses headers‑only AI mapping: only your column names are analyzed to auto‑map fields. Your actual names, emails, and phone numbers stay on your device by default.

Before you start

  • Make sure your file has a header row (the first non‑empty row should be column names like First Name, Last Name, Email).
  • Include at least First Name and Last Name. Email is strongly recommended.

Supported file types

  • CSV (.csv)
  • TSV/TAB (.tsv, .tab)
  • Excel (.xlsx, .xls)
  • QuickBooks IIF (.iif) — Employee section only

Importing Team Members (Step‑by‑Step)

  1. Open Team Members → Import
  • Go to the Team Members area in the app and click Import.
  1. Upload your file
  • Choose a .csv, .tsv, .xlsx, .xls, or .iif file.
  1. Review the auto‑mapping
  • If a mapping screen appears, confirm that columns like First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone, Employee ID are correctly matched. Adjust if needed.
  1. Check the preview grid
  • You’ll see each person in a grid with columns like First, Last, Email, Username, ID, Phone, and Roles.
  • New rows are pre‑selected to be saved. You can uncheck any you don’t want to import.
  1. Edit or add people
  • Use the Edit action to fix a row (names, email, phone, etc.).
  • Use Add Team Member to create a row manually if needed.
  1. Assign groups/roles (optional)
  • Click the people icon in the Roles column to assign groups and roles.
  1. Save
  • Click Save Team Members. If any row conflicts (for example, username, email, or phone already in use), you’ll see inline warnings. Fix and save again.

What gets imported

  • First name and last name
  • Email (used to contact the person)
  • Phone (digits normalized; one number per person)
  • Employee ID (optional)
  • Username (auto‑created if missing; see below)
  • Groups and roles (optional; you can assign them during review)

Notes:

  • The default password is Password123 if one isn’t provided.
  • You can edit any field before saving.

How usernames are created

  • If Email is present: we use the part before @ (ignoring any +tag). Example: michael+brad@builderpal.com → michael.
  • If there’s no email: we derive first.last, lowercase and cleaned (e.g., Brad Marchand → brad.marchand).
  • If duplicates appear in the same upload, a number may be appended to keep them unique.

Using QuickBooks IIF (Employee list)

  • The importer reads the Employee section: it looks for a header line starting with !EMP and then reads the following EMP lines.
  • Typical IIF columns it recognizes: EMAIL (email), PHONE1/PHONE2 (phone), REFNUM or EMPNO (employee ID), plus FIRSTNAME and LASTNAME.

Example IIF snippet:

!EMP	NAME	REFNUM	EMAIL	PHONE1	FIRSTNAME	LASTNAME
EMP	Brad Marchand	87	michael+brad@builderpal.com	(604) 613-2792	Brad	Marchand

Tips for IIF imports:

  • Make sure the file includes !EMP followed by EMP rows.
  • Other IIF sections (like !QBP EMPLOYEE, CUSTOMPI) are ignored.
  • If phone or email didn’t map, check the header names (e.g., EMAIL, PHONE1).

Examples

Example CSV:

First Name,Last Name,Email,Phone,Employee ID
Brad,Marchand,michael+brad@builderpal.com,604-613-2792,87

What you’ll see in the grid (simplified):

{
  "first_name": "Brad",
  "last_name": "Marchand",
  "username": "michael",
  "send_email_to": "michael+brad@builderpal.com",
  "send_sms_to": "6046132792",
  "employee_id": "87",
  "groups": []
}

Troubleshooting

  • IIF file missing !EMP
    • Re‑export your employees from QuickBooks Desktop and ensure the !EMP header and EMP lines are present.
  • Could not detect a consistent delimiter (CSV/TSV)
    • Re‑save as CSV (comma) or TSV (tab). Ensure the first non‑empty row has column names.
  • Header row looks empty or wrong
    • Check that your first non‑empty row contains clear headers like First Name, Last Name, Email.
  • Multiple email or phone columns
    • The importer uses the first recognizable match.
  • Conflicts on save (username/email/phone in use)
    • The row will show a warning. Edit the value or unselect the row and try again.

Privacy at a glance

  • Headers‑only by default: we send only your column labels to AI to figure out mapping.
  • Your actual names, emails, and phone numbers are processed locally in BuilderPal by default.

Quick checklist

  • File type is supported (.csv, .tsv, .xlsx, .xls, or .iif).
  • First non‑empty row has headers.
  • Columns include First Name, Last Name, and ideally Email (plus Phone, Employee ID if you have them).
  • For IIF, confirm the file includes !EMP and EMP rows.
  • In the preview grid, review fields, assign roles if needed, and click Save Team Members.
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