Import Locations with Excel
The most common way to set up your site, areas, and inspection forms is via the Setup tab. However, if you already have your structure built out within a spreadsheet, or you have a huge number of locations, a location import can speed up the process.
Is an Excel import of my data right for my team?
We recommend that organizations appoint a main point of contact responsible for setting up new locations via the Setup tab.
We only recommend performing an Excel import if:
- You already have your data in the desired Excel format, or it can easily be produced. It does not save time if you have to generate the Excel file from scratch.
- Your import does not touch any existing locations within your account. The import must contain only new locations that are not presently setup in your account.
What data can be imported into OrangeQC?
We can import location hierarchies (such as new sites and areas) and assign forms to those particular areas.
Account-wide inspection forms
Before we can import your locations, you need to create the inspection forms you’d like assigned. They must be marked as “Account-wide” so that they can be used across your new locations.
To create shared forms:
- Click the “Setup” tab.
- Open an existing location or create a new site (you could name it "Testing").
- Create an inspection form. Make sure it’s marked as "Account-wide." Repeat this step for all the forms you’d like to include in your import.
Create Excel File with Locations
The Excel file you'll create will represent your locations. If you haven't already set up a location, you’ll want to try that first; click here to learn how to add areas and assign inspection forms.
Open a new Excel file. In the first row, enter the following headers, each in their own columns:
- Site
- Level 1
- Level 2
- Form
You can have as many "Level _" columns as you need (e.g. "Level 3", "Level 4").
Each row in the file represents the location of one inspection form. For example, let’s say you want your finished location to look like this:
In this example, the Site column would be "Acme Campus." (In your file, you'll probably set up multiple locations, but in this example we'll only show one location.) Our Level 1 column will supply the names for the first sub-area under Acme Campus ("RR Building" and "WEC Building”). The Level 2 column will have the sub-areas beneath those buildings (the names of the floors). The last column, Form, will be the name of the inspection form we want to assign. If you want to include multiple forms for the same location, repeat the same data for Site, Level 1, and Level 2.
The Form column must match the inspection form name exactly as you have it online.
| Site | Level 1 | Level 2 | Form |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acme Building | RR Building | Floor 01 | Hallway |
| Acme Building | RR Building | Floor 01 | Lobby |
| Acme Building | RR Building | Floor 01 | Office |
| Acme Building | RR Building | Floor 01 | Public Areas |
| Acme Building | RR Building | Floor 01 | Restrooms |
| Acme Building | RR Building | Floor 02 | Hallway |
| Acme Building | RR Building | Floor 02 | Offices |
| Acme Building | RR Building | Floor 02 | Restrooms |
| Acme Building | RR Building | Floor 03 | Hallway |
| Acme Building | RR Building | Floor 03 | Offices |
| Acme Building | RR Building | Floor 03 | Restrooms |
| Acme Building | WEC Building | Floor 01 | Lobby |
| Acme Building | WEC Building | Floor 01 | Public Areas |
| Acme Building | WEC Building | Floor 02 | Hallway |
| Acme Building | WEC Building | Floor 02 | Offices |
| Acme Building | WEC Building | Floor 02 | Restrooms |
Tips for Spreadsheet Imports
To assign a form directly to the site (and not a sub-area), leave the Level 1 and Level 2 columns blank. You can also leave the Level 2 field blank if you want to assign it to a sub-area directly beneath the site (and so on, if you have more levels).
You can include more levels (a Level 3 for rooms, for example), but we recommend performing inspections at the floor level (unless it is a school or hospital).
You can vary how many sub-areas are assigned to each site. The only requirement is that Level 1 is filled before Level 2.
The Site column must not be blank.
You can leave the Form column blank if you don’t want any inspections assigned at that level. If you want to add them later, you will have to go back through the setup process.
Imports can not have more than 6,000 rows. If you are going above that, contact us to discuss alternative ways to capture your locations.
Imports can not be performed twice for the same location. Please make sure your file is correct before sending it to us and approving it for production use.