Bulk Import & Excel Upload

Role Required: SOCIETY_ADMIN
Navigation: Sidebar → Settings → Bulk Import
Last Updated: March 2026 | Portal Version: 1.0

Overview

Bulk import allows you to populate the system with large datasets at once using Excel (.xlsx) files, instead of entering data one record at a time. This is especially useful when onboarding a new society with existing members, layouts, and plots.

Supported Import Types

Import Type	What It Does	When to Use
Members	Import membership applications in bulk	Migrating existing society members
Layouts	Import layout definitions	Setting up multiple layouts at once
Plots	Import plot data for a layout	Importing plot inventory (50-500+ plots)
Bulk Payments	Import offline payment records in bulk	Recording historical or batch offline payments

General Import Process

All bulk imports follow the same workflow:

Step 1: Download the Template

1. Navigate to Settings → Bulk Import (or the appropriate management page)
2. Click Download Template
3. Open the Excel (.xlsx) template in Excel or Google Sheets
4. The template includes column headers and sample data rows

Step 2: Prepare Your Data

1. Fill in the rows with your data, following the column format exactly
2. Do NOT modify column headers
3. Do NOT add extra columns
4. Save the file as .xlsx format

Step 3: Upload

1. Click Upload or Import
2. Select your prepared Excel (.xlsx) file
3. The system validates the file:
   • Column headers match expected format
   • Required fields are present
   • Data types are correct (numbers, dates, etc.)
   • No duplicate entries
4. If validation passes, see the preview
5. If validation fails, download the error report showing which rows have issues

Step 4: Review & Confirm

1. Review the preview showing what will be imported
2. Check the count: "X records will be imported"
3. Review any warnings (e.g., "3 rows skipped — duplicate member numbers")
4. Click Confirm Import

Step 5: Import Results

After import completes:

• Success count: Records successfully imported
• Skipped count: Records skipped (duplicates or non-critical issues)
• Error count: Records that failed (with specific error messages)
• Option to Download Error Report with row-by-row details

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Member Import

Navigate to: Sidebar → Membership → Import Members (/admin/member-import)

The page title is "Import Existing Members" — used to bulk onboard existing society members as Citizen users using an Excel file.

Instructions (shown on page)

1. Download the Excel template to see the required format
2. Fill in the member details — Full Name, DOB, Gender, Mobile, Email, Aadhaar are required
3. PAN, Father Name, and Address fields are optional
4. Upload the completed file to validate before processing
5. Existing users (by mobile, email, Aadhaar, or PAN) are automatically skipped

Excel Template Columns

Column	Required	Description	Example
full_name	✅	Member's full name	"Rajesh Kumar"
dob	✅	Date of birth	"1990-05-15"
gender	✅	Gender	"Male" / "Female" / "Other"
mobile	✅	Mobile number with country code	"+919876543210"
email	✅	Email address (must be unique)	"rajesh@email.com"
aadhaar_number	✅	12-digit Aadhaar number	"123456789012"
membership_number	✅	Society membership number	"MBR-2024-001"
pan_number	❌	PAN card number	"ABCDE1234F"
father_name	❌	Father's name	"Kumar Rajan"
address	❌	Full address	"123 Main Street, Chennai"

Upload Area

• Drag and drop your Excel file or click to browse
• Supported formats: .xlsx (Max: 10MB)

What Happens on Import

• A user account is created for each member (if email/mobile doesn't already exist)
• Existing users (matched by mobile, email, Aadhaar, or PAN) are automatically skipped
• A membership application is submitted with status PENDING_VERIFICATION
• Members still need to be approved individually through the normal membership approval workflow
• Imported members receive an email invitation to set up their account

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Plot Import

Navigate to: Sidebar → Layouts → Import Plots (/admin/plot-import)

The page title is "Import Plots" — used to bulk import plots into a layout using an Excel file.

Instructions (shown on page)

1. Select a layout to import plots into
2. Download the Excel template (pre-configured for the selected layout)
3. Fill in the plot details — Plot Number, Area (sq.ft), Price per sq.ft are required
4. Length, Breadth, Facing, and Status are optional
5. Existing plots (by plot number within the layout) are automatically skipped
6. Maximum 5,000 rows per upload

Steps

1. Select the target Layout from the dropdown (shows layout name, code, and current plot count)
2. Click Download Template (appears after selecting a layout)
3. Fill in your data and upload

Excel Template Columns

Column	Required	Description	Example
plot_number	✅	Unique plot identifier within the layout	"A-001"
area_sqft	✅	Plot area in square feet	"1200"
price_per_sqft	✅	Price per square foot (₹)	"800"
length	❌	Plot length in feet	"40"
breadth	❌	Plot width/breadth in feet	"30"
facing	❌	Direction the plot faces	"East"
status	❌	Initial status (default: AVAILABLE)	"AVAILABLE"

Preparing Plot Data

• Ensure plot_number is unique within the layout
• The system calculates base_price = area_sqft × price_per_sqft
• Valid facing values: North, South, East, West, North-East, North-West, South-East, South-West

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Layout Import

Navigate to: Sidebar → Layouts → Import Layouts (/admin/layout-import)

The page title is "Import Layouts" — used to bulk import layouts into your society using an Excel file.

Instructions (shown on page)

1. Download the pre-configured Excel template for your society
2. Fill in the layout details — Name, Code, Layout Type, District, Total Area, Total Plots are required
3. Layout Code must start with your society code prefix (e.g. SOC001-LAYOUT-A)
4. Valid Layout Types: RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, MIXED
5. Valid Statuses: DRAFT, ACTIVE (defaults to DRAFT if left blank)
6. Existing layouts (by code) are automatically skipped
7. Maximum 500 rows per upload

Actions

Action	Description
Download Template	Downloads pre-configured Excel template for your society
Upload area	Drag and drop or click to browse — .xlsx format, max 10MB

Excel Template Columns

Column	Required	Description	Example
name	✅	Layout display name	"Sunrise Garden Phase 2"
code	✅	Unique layout code (must start with society prefix)	"CMDA-CHN-SGP2"
launch_date	✅	DD/MM/YYYY	"24-04-2026"
district	✅	District name	"Chennai"
total_area	✅	Total area in sq.ft.	"50000"
total_plots	✅	Expected number of plots	"120"
status	❌	Initial status (default: DRAFT)	"DRAFT"

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Bulk Payments Import

Import offline payment records for multiple bookings at once. This is useful for recording historical payments or batch-processing offline collections.

Navigate to: Sidebar → Reports → Click "Bulk upload Payment" Bulk Payments (or Settings → Bulk Import → Payments)

Excel Template Columns

Column	Required	Description	Example
booking_Number	✅	Booking reference or ID	"BK-2024-001"
amount	✅	Payment amount (₹)	"50000"
payment_date	✅	Date of payment	"2024-03-15"
payment_mode	✅	Payment method	"CASH" / "CHEQUE" / "BANK_TRANSFER"
reference_number	❌	Cheque/transaction reference	"CHQ-12345"
remarks	❌	Additional notes	"First installment"

Rules

• Payments are created in PENDING verification status
• Each payment still requires admin verification through the normal verification workflow
• Invalid booking IDs or amounts cause row-level errors
• Duplicate detection prevents recording the same payment twice

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Validation Rules

All imports enforce these checks:

Rule	Description
Required fields	Missing required columns cause row-level errors
Data types	Numbers must be numeric, dates must be valid, etc.
Uniqueness	Plot numbers, email addresses must be unique
Referential integrity	Referenced entities (layouts, societies) must exist
Business rules	e.g., base_price must be > 0, area must be > 0
Encoding	File must be a valid Excel (.xlsx) format

Common Scenarios

"My upload fails with 'Invalid format'"

1. Ensure the file is saved as .xlsx (Excel format), not .csv or .xls
2. Check that column headers match the template exactly (case-sensitive)
3. Remove any extra columns or sheets
4. Ensure no special characters in the headers
5. Re-download the template and try again

"Some rows imported but others failed"

1. Download the Error Report after import
2. Review failed rows — each will have a specific error message (e.g., "Duplicate email", "Invalid phone format")
3. Fix the errors in your Excel file
4. Re-upload with only the failed rows (don't re-upload successful rows or you'll get duplicates)

"I imported members but they don't appear as active"

Imported members start with PENDING_VERIFICATION status. You still need to:

1. Go to Membership Approval
2. Review and approve each imported member
3. See Membership Approval for the approval process

"I need to import 500+ plots — will it time out?"

The system handles large imports in batches. For very large files (500+ rows):

• The import may take a few minutes
• A progress indicator shows completion percentage
• Do not close the browser tab during import
• The result summary will be shown when complete

Best Practices

1. Always start with the template — download and fill the official template to avoid format issues
2. Test with a small batch first — import 5-10 rows to verify your data format is correct before doing the full import
3. Keep a backup — save your original file before any modifications
4. Use .xlsx format — always save as Excel (.xlsx); the system does not accept .csv or .xls files
5. Review the preview — always review the import preview before clicking Confirm

Related Pages

• Membership Approval — Approve imported members
• Layout Management — Create layouts before importing plots
• Plot Management — Manage individual plots after import