Import Projects or Project Templates from CSV File

In Accelo, there are two project import abilities. One is for the high-level project details, or the project “shell,” which shows the high level details of the project along with dates. The project shell import is mainly used to get your current, past and future projects into Accelo so that you can start managing your work in Accelo.

The second project import is for project plan templates that includes the project’s milestones and tasks. This will have the task and rate detail included, along with the task rate, budget and description among other things.

To import a sample Project CSV file, click here.

To import a sample Project Template CSV file, click here.

NOTE: The best practice to only bring in current and future project plan templates and not historical project plans (if still not in use), but certainly retain your project details for these projects.

In this guide, you can learn about:

• Reviewing and Preparing your CSV File for Import
• Running the Import
• Import Results & Viewing the Log

Reviewing and Preparing your CSV File for Import

Before you import, you’ll want to check that your CSV is properly formatted and that fields from your CSV exist in Accelo.

Project Import (Project "Data" with high level details):

Please note:

• Your CSV file must contain the project’s Job Title, Job Type, Job Status, Company Name and Status, and Contact First Name, Last Name and Status fields at a minimum.

• Your CSV should be limited to 1000 rows to optimize import performance. Files with more rows of data may stall out so that the import process does not complete.
  

1. Make sure your CSV is correctly formatted:
   

   • • For any cell with multiple values, eliminate all spaces between delimiters (commas, ampersands, etc) and values. For example, “Staff,Accounting” NOT “Staff, Accounting”

     • The Job type refers to the Project type and should be the type title.

     • The Job status should be the exact status title particular to the type.

     • The Job manager should be the id number of the user.

     • You can also import a Custom Project ID. (Custom Job ID)

       NOTE: In order for the Custom Project ID to correctly show in Accelo, you must ensure that your Project settings (Configuration gear > Projects > Settings) are configured to show custom project IDs, and you must also ensure that the individual Project types (Configuration gear > Projects > Types, Progressions & Fields > Edit Type) are configured to show custom IDs.

     • Be consistent on the date format. Pick one format and stick to it (MM/DD/YY or DD/MM/YY, etc.).

   
   

2. Set up custom project fields from your CSV into Accelo:On the following page, you’ll have an opportunity to select the CSV Fields that you wish to import into Accelo. This way, if certain fields contain no data or aren’t as critical for the import, they can be ignored.

   • • The custom project field will use the same title and value options found in the specific column in your spreadsheet.

     • To add a custom project field, click the Configuration gear, go to Project then Custom Profile Fields -> Project and click Add profile.
       
       

3. Make sure all values for Types, Status and Manager from your CSV exist in Accelo before import.
   

   If these values are not already added, Accelo cannot match them to Projects.
   

Project Plan Import (Project “Phase/Template” with Milestone and Tasks):

Please note:

• Your CSV file must contain the project’s Task/Milestone Template Title, Is task Template fields at a minimum.

• Task Duration will default to 1 day unless otherwise specified.

• Task Hours will default to 0 mins unless otherwise specified.

• Your CSV should be limited to 400 rows to optimize import performance. Files with more rows of data may stall out so that the import process does not complete.
  
  

1. Make sure your CSV is correctly formatted:
   
   
   

   • • To automatically indent items in the Project Plan once it is imported into Accelo, add a > before each indented item on the CSV. Add additional indents to nest milestones, sub-milestones, and/or tasks as needed on your project template.

     • For any cell with multiple values, eliminate all spaces between delimiters (commas, ampersands, etc.) and values - especially on Tags and Skills.
       For example: “Test2,Brian” NOT “Test2, Brian”

     • Also, to ensure Tasks are brought into Accelo as Tasks and not Milestones, include an extra field titled Is Task Template on the CSV. Is Task Template should be either a Yes or No. Milestones are “No” and Tasks are “Yes.”

     • The manager should be the id number of the user.

     • Enter Hours of time as a decimal. (e.g. 2.5 for two and a half hours).

     • Budget type is one of the following (Non-Billable, Calculated, or Fixed).

     • Rate title will be whatever rate titles that you have in your configuration, not the $$. The “Rate” field on your import will take in the Rate Title of the rates that are already existing in your Accelo deployment. NOTE: listing numerical values in the rate will not pull over into the project template budgeting.

     • Service item is the name of the service Item and not the number.

   

2. Set up custom project fields from your CSV into Accelo:
   

• • The custom project field will use the same title and value options found in the specific column in your spreadsheet.

  • To add a custom project field, click on the Configuration gear, go to Project then Custom Profile Fields -> Project and click Add profile.
    
    
    

  • Make sure all values for Types, Status and Manager from your CSV exist in Accelo before import.
    

    • • If these values are not already added, Accelo cannot match them to Projects.

     

Running the Import

After reviewing the format of your CSV and configuring Accelo to have fields matching your import file, it’s time to start the import.

1. Upload your CSV file.

   1. From the Import & Exports section in Configuration, click CSV Import: Project (Data) or CSV Import: Project (Phase/Template). Browse for the .csv file by clicking Upload CSV File.
      
      
      

   2. Drag column values from your CSV (on the left) to the correct space on the right (Project, Company, Contact for Project Details and Project for Project Plan Import).

      1. You also have the option to Add an Additional Project or Contact, which will just allow you to map separate fields to this area.
         
         Project Details Import:
         
         
         Project Plan Import:
         
         
         

   3. Map your CSV Fields:

      1. Your CSV column names will be on the left, and you’ll map the import to the appropriate Accelo fields it will populate from the dropdown. Once completed, mapping the fields should look something like this:
         
         
         If you forget to create a custom field in Accelo before importing, you can easily create one by hitting + Create New from the dropdown menu under “Accelo Field.”
         

         • • CSV Field - This is the column in your CSV by the same name with all the appropriate data values.

           • Accelo Field - This is where you'll decide where the CSV field data values will import to. The Accelo field names don't need to match the CSV, the important part is informing the import wizard where the data should populate.

           • Fallback Value - The value that will populate the Accelo field if you don't have one provided in the CSV file. You can leave this blank if you don't want anything to populate for blank entries.

           • Delimiter - If your Accelo field can have multiple values, you must select a delimiter, such as a comma, ampersand, etc. in order to proceed to the next step.

   4. Choose your Matching and Merge Options:

      1. You may have already imported a list of your projects into your deployment. Because of this, we offer a number of Matching & Merge Options should we find any Project that already exists in your Accelo account. This is only for the Project Details Import. We'll be going over each one below:
         
         

         • • Matching Project - Choose what Accelo looks for to find a duplicate/matching Project. By default, we will identify it based on the Project Title, Type and Status, by the Company Name, and by the Contact Firstname and Lastname values, and you can require a match to involve multiple fields from your CSV import as well.
             
             

           • When a match is found:

             • Do Nothing - Skip: We will not touch the existing match in Accelo and not import any values in the corresponding row of the CSV import.

             • Do not overwrite - Only update empty fields: We won't overwrite any existing data but will populate any blank Accelo fields with values from the import. This is the default.

             • Overwrite - Update all fields: Every mapped and matching field in the CSV import will overwrite any existing Accelo field.
               
               

           • When multiple matches are found:

             • Match most recently created: Match the one that has the most recent creation date within Accelo. This is the default.

             • Match first created: Match the one that has the earliest creation date within Accelo.

             • Match most recently edited: Match the one that most recently has had an edit to its key fields, such as Type or Status.
               
               

   5. Preview your Import:
      
      

• • Check the Preview in Accelo to make sure it looks similar to your CSV file. The only difference is that column names are now named after the Accelo field it will be going under.

  • If everything looks correct, hit Complete at the bottom right, then Proceed to begin the import. 
    
    

Import Results & Viewing the Log

The import process may take a few minutes depending on the depth of your CSV. During this time, you’ll find a “View Logs” option available where you initiated your Import.

The log will give you a very detailed breakdown on what was successfully imported, and what wasn't, and can even be expanded to show you the details and logic behind each field being mapped.

When the import is done, you will also be given the opportunity to download the results in an email notification that is sent to the uploader. Note that all three results files are generated regardless of whether there were any warnings or errors.

Accelo will recognize if a Project you are importing already exists, and will update the details based on the data in the spreadsheet. To see the details of what records were created, see the _created.xls.

Also, if a project is listed twice in the importing spreadsheet, it will only be imported once, with the details of the later version being the ones that are saved.

If you find you still have a lot of duplicate projects, contacts or companies in the system after importing, you can manually clean them as you discover them through merging.