The Importer is how you load a spreadsheet of existing data into include GO without retyping everything. Upload a CSV or Excel file, map the columns to include GO fields, validate the rows, and import the ones that pass — all in one place.
It's especially useful when you're first setting up include GO: bringing over your Chart of Accounts, customers, vendors, employees, existing projects, catalog items, open invoice balances, or anything else you already have in another system or in a spreadsheet.
Where to Find the Importer
From anywhere in include GO, click the Settings icon in the left sidebar. In the Settings sidebar that opens, under the Integrations & Data section, click Importer.
Navigation path: Dashboard → Settings → Integrations & Data → Importer
The Importer Page
What you see on this screen
# | Element | What it does |
|---|---|---|
1 | Sheet file picker | Click Choose File to pick the CSV or Excel file on your computer. |
2 | Importer dropdown | Pick what kind of record your file contains — Chart of Accounts (COA), Clients, Vendors, People, Employees, Resources, and so on (see the full list below). |
3 | Validate button | Checks every row against include GO's rules without writing anything. Highlights rows that need fixing. |
Other things visible on the page:
Upload button — stages the file after you pick one.
Import Valid Rows button — commits the rows that passed validation.
Reset button (top right) — clears everything and starts over.
Run Progress card — live counters as rows validate and import, plus the run's current phase: Staging → Uploaded → Validating → Validated → Importing → Completed (or Cancelled / Failed).
Column Mapping card — where you match sheet columns to importer fields.
Import Runs section (bottom) — history of previous imports you can open and inspect.
What You Can Import
The Importer dropdown currently offers these entity types:
People and Employees — contacts and your workforce roster.
Clients and Vendors — the companies you work for and buy from. (There is no combined "Accounts" importer; pick the one that matches your sheet.)
Chart of Accounts — your GL account structure.
Projects, Project Templates, and Tasks (with Resources) — existing work and reusable templates.
Resources and Assemblies — your catalog items and bundles.
Open A/P Invoices and Open A/R Invoices — outstanding vendor and customer invoice balances, so your payables and receivables start out matching the old system.
The open-invoice importers matter most during onboarding — they bring over the unpaid balances your team still has to collect or pay, without re-entering each invoice.
The Import Flow
Importing is five steps, in order:
Pick an importer. Choose what kind of record the file contains (e.g., Chart of Accounts).
Choose a file. Click Choose File and select your CSV or Excel spreadsheet.
Upload. Click Upload to stage the file. include GO detects the columns and moves you into Column Mapping.
Map columns. For each required importer field, pick which spreadsheet column supplies the value. Required fields have a red asterisk; unmapped required fields block validation.
Validate and import. Click Validate to run every row through the app's rules. Fix any rows flagged warning / invalid / failed, then click Import Valid Rows to commit them.
Row statuses
Every row carries a status:
Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
Pending (gray) | Row is uploaded but hasn't been validated yet — the starting state. |
Valid (green) | Row is ready to import. No changes needed. |
Warning (amber) | Row can be imported but has something worth reviewing (possible duplicate, unusual value). |
Invalid (red) | Row breaks a validation rule (missing required field, bad data type, unknown reference). Must be fixed before it imports. |
Edited (blue) | You changed a cell after the initial validation. Re-run validation to promote it. |
Imported (solid green) | Row successfully landed in the database. |
Failed (solid red) | Row passed validation but a database constraint rejected it (very rare). |
You can edit cells directly in the row grid to fix validation errors without re-uploading the file.
Importing tasks with their resources
The Tasks (with Resources) importer loads tasks and the resource lines that sit under them from a single sheet. Because a task usually carries several resources, the sheet is laid out one resource per row, with the task's own details on the first of those rows.
Lay the file out like this:
The first row for a task carries the task name and all the task-level values (project, dates, crew, and so on), plus its first resource.
Leave the Task Name blank on the rows that follow, filling in only the resource columns. Those rows are treated as more resources for the task above them — they inherit its task-level values automatically, so you don't have to repeat the project, dates, and crew on every line.
Fill in the Task Name again when you start the next task.
Every row naming the same task on the same project rolls up under one task — it does not create a task per row. So a task with six resources is six rows in your sheet and one task in GO, carrying all six resources. Repeating the task name on every row works too and still produces a single task.
The import summary counts rows, not tasks: a sheet of 60 rows that builds 10 tasks reports 60 rows imported. Open the project afterwards to confirm the task count and check the resources landed where you expect.
Column Mapping
The Column Mapping section matches your spreadsheet's column headers to include GO's importer fields. Required fields must be mapped; optional fields can be left blank to accept the default.
For fields that reference lookup records (e.g., Person Type on the People importer), the mapping offers either a column or a default value dropdown — pick the default to apply the same value to every row.
Reviewing Past Import Runs
The Import Runs section at the bottom of the page lists every import you've done, most recent first. Click a run to see:
Which file was uploaded and when.
Who ran the import.
The final status (Completed, Completed with Errors, Failed, Cancelled).
Every row with its status.
Past runs are read-only — they're there for audit and troubleshooting, not re-execution.
Canceling a Running Import
If you catch a problem partway through, click the X (cancel) button in the toolbar. Already-imported rows stay; the remaining rows stop processing.
Who Can Access the Importer?
Users need the Data Import Access permission to see this page. By default that's Super Admin and Accountant. Because the Importer can create a large number of records quickly, this permission is deliberately narrow — keep it with trusted users only.
Tips & Best Practices
Start small. Import 5-10 rows first to confirm your mapping works. Then upload the full file.
Use CSV unless you need Excel features. CSV is simpler and encounters fewer parsing issues. Excel is handy when the file has formulas or multiple sheets you've already prepared.
Name your columns clearly in the spreadsheet. Headers like Account Number and Customer Name auto-match importer fields so you barely have to map anything.
Set defaults for fields that repeat. If every row has Person Type = Employee, set Employee as the default in Column Mapping instead of adding a column.
Fix errors in the grid. You can edit cells directly in the row grid — no need to re-upload the file.
Import related records first. If customers reference locations, import Locations before Customers. Likewise, import Clients and Vendors before the open A/R and A/P invoice balances that reference them, and import Projects before Tasks. Otherwise the lookups will fail.
Review warnings before importing. Warnings often catch duplicates — if you blindly import you'll end up with two of the same record.
Back up before big imports. A bad mapping on a 5000-row import is painful to clean up. Run validation, review the preview, then import.
Common Questions
What file formats are supported? CSV and Excel (.xlsx). The first row must be column headers.
What happens if I upload a duplicate row? Behavior depends on the importer. Most look for a unique key (account number, email, code) and flag duplicates as warnings so you can decide whether to skip or overwrite.
Can I update existing records, or only create new ones? Most importers support both create-and-update based on a unique key (e.g., Account Number on Chart of Accounts). If an Account Number already exists, the row updates that record; if not, it creates a new one.
My tasks import created one task per resource line — what did I do wrong? Repeat the Task Name on every row that belongs to the same task, or leave it blank on the follow-on rows so they attach to the row above. Rows that name the same task on the same project are combined into a single task carrying all their resources.
Can I undo an import? Not automatically. Each imported record is a normal entry in the database and has to be deleted or edited individually. That's why validation + starting small matters.
Why did some rows fail after validation passed? Usually a race condition — another user created a record with the same unique key between validation and import. Rerun validation on the failed rows.
How many rows can I import at once? There's no hard limit, but importing runs as a background job and very large files (tens of thousands of rows) can take several minutes. Watch the Run Progress card for live counters.
Which entities can I import? Twelve types today: Chart of Accounts (COA), People, Employees, Clients, Vendors, Projects, Project Templates, Tasks (with Resources), Resources, Assemblies, Open A/P Invoices, and Open A/R Invoices. The Importer dropdown always shows the current list — more are added over time.
Related Topics
Chart of Accounts — Popular first import target
Client Accounts — Customer records you can bulk-import
Vendor Accounts — Vendor records you can bulk-import
People — Bulk-add employees, contacts, and subcontractors
Resource Catalog — Import your existing catalog
Roles & Permissions — Control who can use the Importer