Importing Users (Employees, Contractors, Clients) from CSV files in Productive offers a convenient way to add multiple users to your account.
This process ensures data accuracy and saves time by allowing you to upload user information in bulk.
In case you'd like to know more about adding Users and Contacts in-app, check out this article.
Note: Adding Employees and Contractors to your account will be possible only after you've made sure you have an adequate number of paid seats in your account.
Otherwise, you'll notice an error saying "You can't import more users than your available seats" while importing your data.
How to Import Users
To get started, download and fill out the "Users" CSV template with your data:
Navigate to Settings > Data import.
Select "Download .csv templates" and download the Users CSV template.
The file you download will contain several columns:
First Name | The user's first name. |
Last Name | The user's last name. |
The user's email. | |
Role | Choose one of the system permission sets (not custom ones) to assign to the user (e.g. Admin, Staff, Client Collaborator, Contractor). Refer to the full list of acceptable role inputs below. |
Job Title | The user's job title (Sales Manager, Designer, Marketing Specialist). |
Company | For clients, enter the client company they belong to. For contractors, enter the firm or agency that employs them. |
Send Invitation | Adding "Yes" will trigger sending an email invitation, while leaving the field blank or writing "No" will skip sending the invite. |
Subsidiary | If you have multiple subsidiaries, add the one the user belongs to. |
Manager (email) | Optionally, add the user's manager to help build the org chart or for easier internal organization. Note that you need to add the manager's email address there! Important: The person designated as a manager must already be an existing user in the organization before they can be assigned as a manager to others.
It is recommended to import the users who will serve as managers first. After importing the managers, import the CSV file again, excluding the users who have already been imported (i.e., the managers). A manager cannot be assigned to users classified as Clients or Contractors. |
Acceptable "Role" Inputs (click here to expand)
Acceptable "Role" Inputs (click here to expand)
Contractor
Contractors are external collaborators who work with you on projects but are not part of your organization. They have one default permission set, can only see projects they're explicitly added to, and can track time against services in budgets and deals shared with them.
👉 Learn more about contractor permissions.
Client Collaborator
Client collaborators are users who can collaborate with your team on tasks. This is a free seat.
Client Lead
Client leads are users who can collaborate with your team on tasks and can also access budgets and timesheets. This is a free seat.
Staff
Staff can access all projects they are a member of, manage tasks and task lists, and collaborate on those projects. Staff can see time tracking and scheduling only for themselves. Staff by default can not access the organization settings or any financial information.
Coordinator
Coordinators can access projects, manage scheduling, and add people to projects. They have no access to any financial information and can only see the time component of the budget. Additionally, they can approve time off, but they cannot approve time entries. The coordinator permission set can access all projects without restrictions.
Manager
Managers oversee projects and deals, with access to all deals containing relevant financial information except for cost and profit details. They do not have access to cost rates or general organization-level settings. The manager permission set grants access to all deals and projects.
Profitability Manager
Profitability managers manage projects and deals, with access to all deals containing relevant financial information. However, they do not have access to cost rates or general organization-level settings. The profitability manager role grants access to all deals and projects.
Admin
Admins can manage everything, including creating user accounts, managing salaries, and general organization-level settings.
Uploading the Template and Fixing Errors
After completing the template, upload it:
1. Drag and drop the filled template into the upload box or manually upload it.
2. Productive will automatically check for errors. Any identified errors will be marked with a warning symbol (⚠️), which you can hover over to pinpoint specific problem areas.
3. You can edit data directly within the import popup to fix errors without saving and re-uploading the CSV file.
After making edits, select "Check for errors" to ensure a smooth import process.
Completing the Import
Once all errors have been resolved, proceed with the import by clicking "Proceed to import" and then "Import" on the subsequent screen.
After successful upload, review the imported data either in Resourcing > Employees, CRM > Contacts, or Settings > Users.
Useful tips
Do not delete or remove any columns from the CSV file template. If certain fields are not applicable, simply leave those columns empty without deleting them. Maintaining the integrity of the template structure ensures smooth data import processes!
Take advantage of the inline editing feature to fix any errors in the imported file efficiently.
Unlike other imports, User imports cannot be reverted in Settings > Data imports > Import history.
To remove a User (Employee, Client, Contractor), you will first need to deactivate them in Settings > Users. To stop being charged for the seat (Employees and Contractors), remove the unused seat from Settings > Billing.
