If you have jobs in another system or spreadsheet that you want to import into vWork you can bulk import them. This saves time, especially if you have a lot of jobs to enter, and ensures you avoid typos and other errors that you may have had if you had to recreate the job information manually.

How do I bulk import jobs?

1. Create a CSV for Import

You can bulk import jobs into vWork if you have the information saved as a CSV file. (You can save Excel spreadsheets as CSV files.) You can import up to 200 jobs at once into a single job template for each import.

Note:  The article Working with and importing data from a .CSV file provides some useful information to help you set up and save your CSV file. There is also further information about this below. 

2. Upload Your CSV

You upload your CSV file on the import jobs tab. Select the template you wish to use, select your CSV file, choose if it has a Header row, and then click Start Matching.

3. Match your CSV Fields to your chosen Template

You can match as many fields as you want by simply dragging your imported field from the left-hand side over to one of the available template fields on the right.

We will only import the fields that you choose to match.

In this example, we have selected 4 fields to match.

• Tip: If you want to geolocate a step in your job there are two important pieces of data you must include in the CSV file: an address for the step in one column, and the corresponding Latitude and Longitude to match the address in another column. If you have multiple unique geolocated steps, you need to include separate columns for the address and latitude and longitude for each of these.
  
  When you do the matching make sure you match the CSV fields for both the Step Address and the Combined Latitude and Longitude fields for each geocoded address to the corresponding Steps and Step Coordinates in the vWork Job Fields. (See the example above.)The steps in the vWork Fields are derived from the template you used to import the jobs into.
  
  In your CSV file make sure the Lat/Long coordinates are formatted like this example;
  -36.860144, 174.774982.
  Note: there is must be a comma between the Lat and Long coordinates. You can also have a single space if you want but this is not necessary. 

When you have mapped all the fields you want to import, click Submit.  

You then see a confirmation dialog like the one shown below. Click Accept to confirm you have selected the correct information to import.

Good to know

Data to think about including in your CSV file

• You can supply a Third-party ID for your jobs if you want. We always create a vWork ID for each job.
  
  
• The addresses that you supply are not automatically geocoded into the vWork system. This means we are not able to display a step location on the map unless you provide the latitude and longitude coordinates for the step in a separate column (see the Tip at Step 3 above). 
  
  
• If you want to assign jobs to workers, you must include the worker's email address in the file.
• If you include a worker but no start time, we will default the start time to now. If no worker is selected, then the Jobs will be created as unassigned jobs.
  
  
• If you import your jobs with workers assigned to jobs but with no start time the start time will default to the time of the import. If you have not assigned jobs to workers no start time is assigned to the job unless you have included start times in the CSV file.

Importing your jobs in a draft state

• You can also choose to import your jobs in a draft state. When a job is in draft no details are published until you remove the draft status from the job.
  
  
• To make your jobs have a draft state add a column to your import CSV and use the value 't' for true (import as draft) or 'f' for false (do not import as draft).
  
  
• When you match this field from the CSV drag it to the Import As Draft field  as shown here:
  
  

Tips on Date Formatting

• If you want to supply a scheduled start time, please ensure your CSV includes a start date and time in the following format: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM+12 (substitute +12 with your local time zone offset from UTC). You match this from the CSV to the Start Time field in the vWork Job Fields. 
  
  
• If you need to populate a date time custom field, the format is similar, but must also include seconds; use this format: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS+12 (substitute +12 with your local time zone offset from UTC).

Don't Forget the API...

• We also have a full API available. If you to find out about automating this process,  the API information can be found here.