Most businesses come to Tanca from Excel. The good news is that Excel data can be transferred almost completely; the hard part isn't technical but the fact that old data is often not clean.
Choose the right source file
Don't use the "Employee List" file that HR keeps — that file often includes people who have left. Use the most recent month's payroll: anyone named in it is actually working and being paid.
Four cleanup tasks before importing
| Task | Why | Quick method |
|---|---|---|
| Remove people who have left | Once imported, you'd have to delete them one by one | Cross-check against the most recent month's social insurance contribution list |
| Standardize department names and job titles | "Sales Dept.", "Sales Dpt", "Sales" will become three different units | Filter a unique list in Excel, then merge manually |
| Check for duplicate and incorrectly formatted emails | Duplicate emails are the most common reason rows are rejected | Use Excel's duplicate highlighting feature |
| Use a consistent date format | Mixed dd/mm and mm/dd dates will be imported incorrectly | Format the entire column to a single format |
Migration process
- Finish setting up Regions, Branches, Departments and Job Titles using the standardized names (articles A2-03 and A2-04).
- Download the `Import_Create_info.xlsx` template from HR › Create New ▾ › Import File › Create Info.
- Copy data from the old Excel file into the correct columns of the template. The template has 74 columns with English headers — see the mapping table in article A2-05.
- Import 5 people as a test and check the results.
- Import the entire list, then reconcile the total count against the old payroll.
Keep the original Excel file and every imported file, for at least two payroll periods. When the figures don't match, you'll need to trace back.
