---
title: "Bulk-import your employees"
description: "Onboard a full team or your entire workforce in just a few minutes using a pre-formatted Excel file. Perfect for the initial Illizeo rollout, migration from your previous HRIS, or onboarding a new team in bulk."
url: "https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/bulk-import-your-employees/"
updated: "2026-05-07"
category: Core HR services
---

# Bulk-import your employees

Onboard a full team — or your entire workforce — in just a few minutes using a pre-formatted Excel file. Perfect for the initial Illizeo rollout, migration from your previous HRIS, or bringing on a new team in bulk.

  **Required role:** Administrator
 **Estimated time:** 5–15 min
 **Difficulty:** Intermediate
 Premium

## Before you start

Bulk import is designed to add or update **multiple employees in a single operation** from an Excel or CSV file. Depending on your needs, Illizeo supports several import types:

- **Basic Import** — quickly create employees with only the essentials (ID, name, email)
- **Full Import** — create employees with all their sections (personal info, job, dependents, addresses, contacts, bank, insurances, etc.)
- **Custom section imports** — import data into your tailor-made sections (Custom Sections)
- **Balance imports** — salary history, absence balances, attendance periods, bonuses
- **Document imports** — bulk document library and profile pictures

 **Tip**For a successful Illizeo deployment, always run a **basic import** first (employee accounts only). Only then run the additional imports (job, bank, etc.) using the `employeeId` you have assigned.

## Prerequisites

- You have **administrator rights** on your Illizeo workspace
- Your file is in **.xlsx** or **.csv** format, encoded in **UTF-8**
- For a basic import, you have at minimum: a unique ID, a first name, a last name
- The file size does not exceed your upload limit (typically 10–50 MB)

## Step by step

  1

### Open the import screen

From the main menu, go to **Settings → Imports**, or open `/import/upload/` after your sub-domain.

    2

### Choose the import type

From the **Import type** dropdown, pick the scenario that fits your need:

- `Basic Import` — express employee creation (5 columns only)
- `Csf Personal Info`, `Csf Job Info`, `Csf Dependent`
- `Salary upload`, `Custom Bonus upload`, `One-time / Recurring compensation upload`
- `Attendance / Absence periods upload`, `Accrual balance upload`
- `Employee Documents (Multiupload)`, `upload Profile picture`
- Your **custom sections** appear automatically

For this first guide, choose **Basic Import**.

    3

### Download the template file

Click **Download template**. Illizeo generates an Excel file with 3 sheets: Basic Import (with 5 dummy rows), Picklists (accepted values), and Guideline (rules to follow).

    4

### Fill in the file

Open in Excel or LibreOffice. Delete the dummy rows and fill in:

| Column (technical key) | Status | Format & rules |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Effective Date** `(effectiveDate)` | Optional | Hire date. Default DD/MM/YYYY in CH/FR. |
| **Employee ID** `(employeeId)` | Required | Unique identifier across the organisation. |
| **First Name** `(firstName)` | Required | Human characters only (rule `PersonName`). |
| **Last Name** `(lastName)` | Required | Same rules. |
| **Email** `(email)` | Optional | Work email. Used for login. |
| **Status** `(status)` | Optional | `active` or `inactive`. Default `active`. |

 **Encoding warning**If editing as CSV, save in **UTF-8** (not Windows-1252). Otherwise é, ç, à will be corrupted in Illizeo.    5

### Upload the file

Drag-and-drop, or click to select. Illizeo analyses it and redirects you to **Analyze**.

    6

### Map the columns (Analyze)

Mapping is auto-detected via technical keys. If a column is not recognised, you can map it manually, create it as a Custom Field, or mark it Ignore.

    7

### Customise the options (Customize)

- **Update existing employees** (upsert mode)
- **Send welcome email** with activation link
- **Assign to organisation** — Company, Department, Office, Team
- **Absence policy** default for the batch
- **Tracking profile** for attendance and remote work

    8

### Verify the preview

The Preview step shows valid rows (green), warnings (orange), and errors (red, skipped).

 **Best practice**Better re-import a clean file than have 50 wrongly-configured employees in your DB.    9

### Run the import (Save)

Click **Import now**. Illizeo writes all valid rows, displays a recap (X created, Y updated, Z errors). Welcome emails go out if enabled.

## Common errors and fixes

| Error | Cause | Fix |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **"Email already exists"** | Email linked to another employee | Update via `employeeId` or use a different email |
| **"Employee ID duplicated"** | Duplicate ID in file or with archived employee | Enable Update option or change ID |
| **Corrupted characters** | CSV not in UTF-8 | Re-save as `.xlsx` or CSV UTF-8 with BOM |
| **"Invalid date format"** | Format ≠ global setting | Check Settings → General → Date format |
| **"Validation failed: PersonName"** | Non-human characters in name | Clean the file (apostrophes ' and dashes - allowed) |
| **Upload silently fails** | File > server limit (50 MB) | Split into smaller imports |

## Going further

### Combine multiple imports

The basic import only creates accounts. To complete the profile, chain other imports using the assigned `employeeId`:

#### Recommended order for bulk onboarding

- 1. Basic Import (create accounts)
- 2. Csf Personal Info
- 3. Csf Job Info
- 4. Csf Dependent
- 5. Employee bank details
- 6. Employee insurances
- 7. Salary upload
- 8. Multi documents
- 9. Profile picture

### Scheduled (recurring) imports

For high-volume HR, Illizeo can schedule automated imports from SFTP, OneDrive or Google Drive. See [Schedule automated imports](#).

## FAQ

  How many employees can I import in a single run? No hard limit, but we recommend batches of **~5,000 rows max** to avoid timeouts.   What happens if a row has an error? Only red rows are rejected. Others are created normally. Final report lists all errors for re-import.   Can I undo an import after the fact? Not in one click. Contact your CSM for bulk archive or DB rollback. Always do a careful Preview first.   Are welcome emails sent automatically? Only if you ticked the option at Customize step. Otherwise accounts are silent.   How do I import data not in the template? Create a **Custom Field** or **Custom Section** in Settings — they appear automatically in subsequent imports.   Will my employees receive a password by email? Never. Welcome email contains a 24h activation link. Employee chooses their own password.   Can I import without using the Illizeo template? Yes, with the expected technical column names and UTF-8 encoding. Template is faster and avoids surprises.

### Need help with your first migration?

Our Premium Consulting team can take care of your initial import: extraction, cleanup, mapping, quality control.

[Discover Illizeo Premium Consulting →](/en/premium-consulting/)

## Related articles

  [OnboardingAutomate a full onboarding journey](#)
 [PermissionsCustomise permissions per role](#)
 [DocumentsBulk-import employee documents](#)
 [Custom fieldsCreate a custom field on the profile](#)

### *Related*