You can maintain employer custom field values in bulk using the Excel employer import and include custom fields in employer exports. This article explains how custom fields behave when importing and exporting employer data.
Related article: Employer Custom Fields explains how to create and manage custom fields.
Import Employers and Custom Fields from Excel
You can use an Excel file to create or update employers and their custom field values in bulk. Go to the employer import and upload your Excel file. The file is processed in the background, and the changes are applied once the import is completed.
How custom fields are matched. Heartpace matches an Excel column to a custom field using a custom field name. Standard employer fields are matched first. If a column does not match any field, it is ignored.
Importing a value for a custom field
If the custom field is not yet connected to an employer, the import will:
Connect the field to the employer.
Save the imported value.
You do not need to add the field to the employer first.
Importing choice fields
For single-choice and multiple-choice fields, enter the option label in Excel.
Matching is not case-sensitive. For multiple-choice fields, separate the values with commas. Example: North, South, West
New options
If the value in your Excel file does not already exist as an option, Heartpace automatically adds it as a new option.
Example: If the existing options are:
North
South
West
and your Excel file contains: Central. Central is added as a new option and assigned to the employer.
What happens if a custom field is not in the Excel file?
The import only updates fields that are included in the file and have a value. If a custom field is not included as a column, the employer's existing value is kept.
Example. An employer currently has: Region: North
If you import an Excel file without a Region column, the value remains North.
Important: The Excel file does not replace all existing employer data. Fields that are not included in the file are left unchanged.
Custom fields for new employers
If a custom field is set to Apply to new employers, it is automatically added to employers created through the import. This happens even if the custom field is not included as a column in the Excel file. In this case, the field is added to the employer but its value remains empty.
In short
What you do in Excel | What happens |
Include a custom field with a value | The value is imported |
Include a custom field that is not yet connected to the employer | The field is connected and the value is imported |
Leave a custom field out of the file | Existing value is kept |
Import a new choice value | A new option is created |
Create a new employer with a field set to Apply to new employers | The field is added with an empty value |
Related article
Employer Custom Fields — Learn how to create, configure, edit and manage employer custom fields and their permissions.
If you have any questions, please contact us via [email protected] or simply drop a few lines in the online chat.