Data import and data migration

Data Import loads your teams, people, projects, vacancies and allocations from a spreadsheet. Data Migration moves an organisation's data across from Flowstate's earlier storage — you only need it if Flowstate asks you to use it.

Both pages are under Settings → Scenarios. You need access to data import to use them. Ask your Flowstate admin.

Imports change your live data

Both pages write straight to your live data, not to a scenario, and there's no undo. Try a spreadsheet with a few rows first, and check the result before you import the rest.

Before you start

• Set up your locations, resource types and job roles first. See Organisation basics.
• Invite your team managers to Flowstate, so the import can make them managers.
• Decide where your people data will come from. If your HR system will be the source of truth, or you're not sure a spreadsheet is the right way in, read Get your people data into Flowstate first. To keep people in step with your HR system instead, see Connect your HR system.

Import a spreadsheet

1. Go to Settings → Scenarios → Data Import.
2. Choose what you're importing: Employees, Teams, Projects, Contractors, Forecasts & Allocations or Vacancies.
3. Drop your file in, or select Choose File, then select Analyze File. The first row of the file must be column headings.
4. On Map Columns, check the Flowstate field chosen for each of your columns. Change any that are wrong, or choose Ignore. Select Next.
5. On Review & Configure, read any errors and warnings.
6. Under Missing Entities, switch on Create for anything the file mentions that Flowstate doesn't have yet — a new team, for example.
7. To overwrite records that already exist, switch on Update Existing Records. Leave it off to skip them.
8. Select Continue to Import, then Start Import.
9. Check the results: how many records were Created, Updated and Skipped, and any Import Errors.

Import one type at a time, in this order: teams, projects, employees, contractors, vacancies, then forecasts and allocations.

Tips for a clean import

• Write dates as year-month-day, for example 2026-04-03.
• Include a work email for every employee. Flowstate recognises employees you've already imported by their email, and uses it to match each person to their login. A row without an email still imports, but that person can't be matched until you add their email.
• Keep contractor names exactly as they are in Flowstate. Contractors you've already imported are recognised by name.
• Put each person on one row, with their annual base salary. If your file is a monthly payroll export, reshape it first. Leave out employer costs such as pension and National Insurance — Flowstate adds those through each resource type's overhead. See Organisation basics.
• Import vacancies and allocations once. Importing the same file again adds them a second time.
• Import vacancies as Open, Filled or Cancelled. To mark a vacancy Committed, change its status in Flowstate after importing.
• Leave Missing Entities switched off unless you mean to create something new, so a typo doesn't become a new team or job role.
• Moving to a sync from your HR system later? The sync doesn't recognise imported people by email. Your technical team links them first. See Adopt people who are already in Flowstate.

If rows didn't import

• Fix the rows listed under Import Errors, then import a file with just those rows.
• If people landed in the wrong month, check the dates are written as year-month-day.
• If a team or project wasn't found, import it first, or switch on Create for it under Missing Entities.

Move data from Flowstate's earlier storage

Use this only if Flowstate has asked you to. It copies employees, teams, projects, salary history and allocations into your live data.

1. Go to Settings → Scenarios → Data Migration.
2. Check the Migration Preview: how many employees, teams, projects, allocations and salary adjustments will be copied, and any warnings.
3. Select Start Migration.
4. When Migration Complete appears, check the counts of what was copied.

Tip

• Run the migration before you import or add people, so the same person isn't added twice.
• Contractors and vacancies aren't copied. Add them separately.
• If there's nothing to move, the preview shows nothing and Start Migration can't be selected.

If Migration Failed appears, nothing was copied. Send the error shown to your Flowstate contact.

Spreadsheet columns

Files can be .csv, .xls or .xlsx, up to 50 MB, one file at a time.

For Employees, Contractors, Vacancies and Teams, the columns and the required ones are listed in People and teams.

Import	Columns you can map	Required
Projects	Project Name, Project Code, Start Date, End Date, Status, Value Stream, Owner Email, Estimated Cost, Description	Project Name
Forecasts & Allocations	Employee Name, Employee Email, Team, Project, Job Title, Job Role, Work Type, Resource Type, Target Type, Target Name, FTE, Start Date, End Date, Role, Forecast Month	A person or team, and the team or project their time goes to. With one row per allocation, also FTE and Start Date.

For Forecasts & Allocations, you can put each month in its own column, headed like "Jan 2026" or "2026-01", with the FTE for that month in each row. FTE is a share of someone's time from 0 to 1.