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Import residents and staff from a CSV file

Add many residents or staff at one time: download the template, fill it in, check the preview, import.

This article tells you how to add many residents or staff accounts from one CSV file. BetterCare shows a preview first. No record is saved until you confirm.

Import a file

  1. In the sidebar, select Settings. Go to the Bulk import section.

  2. Select Residents or Staff.

  3. In step 1, Download the CSV template, select Download.

  4. Open the template in a spreadsheet program. Add one row for each resident or staff member. Save the file as CSV.

  5. In step 2, Select your file, select Select file, then choose your file.

  6. In step 3, Check the preview, select Preview upload.

    The Bulk import section with Residents and Staff, and the three steps marked 1, 2 and 3

  7. Read the preview. Each row shows New, Imported or a message.

  8. If all rows are correct, select Import, for example Import 2 residents.

When all rows are saved, the panel shows how many records BetterCare added. Select Done.

The file columns

Use the column names of the template. Do not change them.

  • Residents: first_name, preferred_name, last_name, home, community, room, external_organisation_id.

  • Staff: first_name, last_name, username, email, home, community, role, external_organisation_id.

  • In home, write the care home name or the care home ID.

  • The community and preferred_name columns can be empty. For staff, you can write more than one community. Put a semicolon (;) between them.

  • In role, write carer, home_manager, group_manager or admin. An empty role is carer.

  • Each staff row needs a username. A carer and a home manager need a care home.

  • A home manager can import residents and carers for their own care home only.

If a row has a problem

The preview shows Needs changes and a message on each row that has a problem, for example "No care home is called …". You cannot import until all rows are correct.

The preview panel with Needs changes and a row error marked 1

  1. Correct the rows in your file.

  2. Select Cancel.

  3. In step 2, select Change, then choose the corrected file.

  4. Select Preview upload again.

A message such as "A resident with this name is already in Hawthorn Lodge" is a warning only. It does not stop the import.

If BetterCare cannot read the file, check that the file has the column names of the template and one row for each record.

If some rows did not save

The panel shows Not complete. The saved rows stay.

  1. Select Try the unsaved rows again.

    The import result panel with Try the unsaved rows again marked 1

If you import the same file again, BetterCare does not add the saved rows a second time. Do not change a saved row in the file. If you must change it, put it in a new file.

After a staff import

An import does not show passwords. Open each new staff member on the Staff page and set a password. Read Set a new password for a carer and Send a password recovery link.

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