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The easiest way to get a lot of worker data into Broadstripes quickly is to import one or more spreadsheets. This article covers preparing that data — your data sources — before you upload anything.

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What kinds of files can be imported?

Broadstripes imports Excel (XLS, XLSX) and comma-separated value (CSV) files. Data from other spreadsheet apps (e.g. Google Sheets) can usually be exported or converted to one of those formats.

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1. Locate your data

Any organizing data you have (e.g. an excelsior list, BU list, an informal Google Sheet kept by the organizing team, or an existing organizing database) will likely be useful in Broadstripes. The trick is to get that data into spreadsheet form for import.

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Spreadsheets with data on multiple tabs

If your spreadsheet contains multiple tabs, Broadstripes will only look at the first. If you need to import data from multiple tabs, create separate files with the data for each tab as the first tab in each file.

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Importing contacts from the cloud

Do you have organizers or supporters with a lot of worker info in their phone’s contacts app or on a computer or the cloud? That data can often be exported to a spreadsheet, and then imported to Broadstripes. Just be sure to get the data into one of the accepted formats (XLS, XLSX or CSV).
You can import as many spreadsheets as you want. If you have multiple spreadsheets, in most cases you should import them one at a time rather than trying to merge them prior to import. It’s been our experience that taking the time to merge spreadsheets isn’t worth the effort. This is true even with lists containing information about the same people. It’s usually easier to “clean up” a single sheet, import it, and then do additional imports that match on existing records — using a unique identifier, or a combination of fields like name, work location, phone, or email address.

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2. Review and “clean up” your data

Once you’ve identified your different sources of organizing data and gotten them into spreadsheet form, review and “clean up” that data to make sure it is formatted the way you want it and contains only the data you’ll be using in Broadstripes. Things to check:
  • Names split into separate First Name / Last Name columns (see Splitting names for import)
  • No formulas left in cells — paste values only
  • Consistent values in columns you’ll import into dropdown-style custom fields
  • Blank rows are harmless — Broadstripes drops fully blank rows automatically

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3. Name your spreadsheet columns

The first row of your import spreadsheet is the “header row” (selected below). The text in the header row tells the import process where to put the data in that column for all the following rows. Sample Broadstripes import file with header row selected The process of deciding where to put the data in each column is called “mapping.” Broadstripes will automatically map a column whose header it recognizes — matching is forgiving about capitalization, extra spaces, and hyphens, and it recognizes both built-in and custom field names. The import is faster and easier when your headers are recognized and mapped automatically, so name your spreadsheet columns with this in mind before uploading.

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Learn about Broadstripes’ built-in data and how to name headers

To understand which data fields are built in to Broadstripes, and how to name your headers so they’re recognized, refer to the data import fields list and the built-in data overview. Custom fields are also recognized, as long as they’re created in Broadstripes prior to import.
When your spreadsheet(s) are ready, you can start your import.

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Next steps

Go to: Import a spreadsheet