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Import Schedules

You can easily create a schedule in Avanti from a third-party scheduler using Import Schedules. These schedules will carry into Time Cards and eventually into Payroll.

If Import Schedules isn’t on your System Menu yet, go to How to Add New Items to Your Avanti Menus for more information.

Import File Overview

  • You can import a .CSV file or an excel file with an extension .XLS or .XLSX. If you’re importing an excel file, only the first sheet will import.

  • If there’s a header row in the file which shouldn’t be imported, the first column in the first row must start with Emp, and the second column must contain Date. Otherwise, we’ll try to import the first row and you’ll get an validation error.

  • Employee Number, Schedule Date and Pay Code are required to import. Either From/To times or Units/UOM is also required for every schedule. Depending on your Time & Attendance setup, some additional information may be required.

    For additional information about creating the file, go to the How To Create the Import File section at the bottom of this article.

  • You can find a sample Excel file attached at the bottom of this article.

  • The column order in the import file must match the format outlined below. If you’re not importing information for a column, leave the column blank.

 Column

Description

Contents and Format

A

Employee Number

An active employee setup in Schedules.

B

Schedule Date

If importing an Excel file, format the cell using a date format. If you’re importing a .CSV file, the allowed formats are in the How To Create the Import File section below.

C

Pay Code

An ID of a valid pay code.

D

From Time

Required depending on the Pay Code. See the How To Create the Import File section below.
Include AM or PM if you’re importing an Excel file. If you’re importing a .CSV file, calculate the time in the number of minutes since midnight. 

E

To Time

F

Units

Required depending on the Pay Code. See the How To Create the Import File section below.
Units of Measure can be H, D, U or A.

G

Units of Measure

H

Shift ID

Required if the Pay Code is set to Shift Required.

I

Location Code

A valid location code for the scheduled time.

J

Position Code

If this isn’t included in the file, the position defaults to the employee’s primary position.

K

Pay Primary Position

Enter a 0 if the employee’s primary position rate should be used to pay the employee, even if the employee is scheduled for a different position.
If this is blank or 1, the employee is paid using the scheduled position rate.

L

Attendance Code

Required if the earning code is set to Use Attendance Code.

M

Comment

Any additional information to include on the schedule.

N

Task Id

A valid Task Id for the scheduled time.

O

GL Account Code

An account override for the GL segment selected for Time Card GL Segment in Time & Attendance Parameters.

P

GL Account Code

Q

Vacation Override Code

A Vacation Group to override the group selected on the Employee’s Profile

R

WCB Override Code

A WCB Group to override the group selected on the Employee’s Profile

S

Union Override Code

A Union to override the code selected on the Employee’s Profile

T

Province of Employment Override

A two-letter province abbreviation to override the province of employment selected on the Employee’s Profile.

U

Reference Number

A unique identifier for the schedule. This ensures the same schedule is not imported twice by accident.

For additional information about creating the file, go to the How To Create the Import File section at the bottom of this article.

How to Import Schedules

Once you’ve updated the format of the file, you can import the schedules.

Step 1: Open Import Schedules in the Avanti Desktop Application.
By default, this can be found in Time & Attendance >> Schedules.

Additional Information
Can’t find Import Schedules in your Avanti Desktop? Go to How to Add New Items to Your Avanti Menus for more information. 

Step 2: Select the arrow beside Import File, and locate the file.

Step 3: Select the format of the Schedule Date in the file:

  • MDY - Select if the dates in the file are Month, Day, then Year.

  • YMD - Select if the dates in the file are Year, Month, then Day.

  • DMY - Select if the dates in the file are Day, Month, then Year.

Additional Information
This is only required if you’re importing a .CSV file. 

Step 4: Determine what to do if a duplicate reference number is found.

  • Replace the unapproved schedule in Avanti by selecting Replace Duplicate Reference Number when importing the file.

  • Skip importing the schedule into Avanti by deselecting Replace Duplicate Reference Number when importing the file.

Additional Information
This is only required if your import file includes reference numbers in column U. 

Step 5: Select OK to import the file.

Important Information
The import will begin as soon as you select OK.

How to Create the Import File

To create the import file, you can copy each column into a new excel file. The columns of the file must be in the order below. If you’re not importing information in a column, leave the column blank.

Employee Number - Required
The first column is the employee number of an active employee in Avanti. The employee must have a Schedule Start date on the Dates tab of their Employee Profile.

If you allow alphanumeric employee numbers, make sure to include any leading zeros in the employee number. If you plan on saving this as an excel file, you’ll need to change the column format to a text field; otherwise, Excel removes the leading zeros when the file is saved.

Schedule Date - Required 
Column B, the Schedule Date, must be included in the file to import a schedule. The schedule date must be between the employee’s Schedule Start and End Date on the Employee Profile.

If you’re importing an Excel file, the cell format must be Dates.

If you’re importing a .CSV file, all dates must be in an accepted format. Don’t forget to select the correct date format when you import the .CSV file.

Accepted date formats for .CSV files:

YY/MM/DD

YY-MM-DD

YY.MM.DD

MM/DD/YY

MM-DD-YY

MM.DD.YY

DD/MM/YY

DD-MM-YY

DD.MM.YY

YYYY/MM/DD

YYYY-MM-DD

YYYY.MM.DD

MM/DD/YYYY

MM-DD-YYYY

MM.DD.YYYY

DD/MM/YYYY

DD-MM-YYYY

DD.MM.YYYY

Pay Code - Required
Copy the pay code’s ID from Avanti into column C. The Pay Code = determines whether From/ To Time or Units/Units of Measure are needed in the import file.

If the pay code has an earning code selected, the earning code must be active on the Employee’s Profile.

From Time, To Time - Required if the pay code is set to From and To Times.
The From and To Times are required in columns D and E if the Pay Code’s Entry Type is From/ To Times.

If you’re importing an Excel file, select a custom format h:mm AM/PM for these columns.

If you’re importing a .CSV file, enter the number of minutes for the time. For example, if the employee’s schedule is 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, column D is 450 and column E is 960.

Units, UOM - Required if the pay code is set to Use Units and Units of Measure.
The Units and Unit Code is required in columns F and G if the Pay Code’s Entry Type is Units/Units of Measure.

The unit code is a single letter abbreviation of H, D, U or A.

  • H is for hours.

  • D is for days.

  • U is for units.

  • A is for an amount.

For example, if the employee is scheduled for 7.5 hours, then column F is 7.5, and column G is H.

Shift ID - Optional unless Pay Code is set to Shift Required 
You can include a Shift ID in column H of the import file. The shift must be valid for the employee’s work group and the day of the week.

The shift must be included in the import file if Shift Required is selected for the Pay Code.

If a shift isn’t assigned to the schedule, then premium rules, minimum/maximum hours, and break rules won’t apply to the time worked unless the shift is added later.

Location Code - Optional
In Column L, you can enter the ID of a valid location code for the schedule.

Position Code - Optional
If the employee isn’t scheduled for their primary position, enter the position code ID in Column J. If the column is blank, Avanti assumes the employee is scheduled for their primary position.

The position must be on the employee’s profile if Only allow defined Employee Positions is selected on the Time Data Entry tab in Canadian Payroll >> Installation and Maintenance >> Payroll Parameters.

Pay Primary Position - Optional
Enter 0 in column K if the time should be paid at the employee’s Primary Position, even if the employee works a different position.

Column K should be:

  • 0 - to pay the employee’s primary position rate.

  • 1 or blank - to pay the rate of the position worked.

Attendance Code - Required if ‘Use Attendance Code’ is selected for the earning code. 
You can enter the ID of a valid attendance code in column L.

The attendance code is required when the earning code has Use Attendance Code selected.

Comment - Optional
Column M can contain any additional comments for the schedule.

Task ID - Optional
You can enter a valid Task ID in column N.

This may import into a field with a different label than Task ID. It’ll import into the field specified in Task ID on the Add’l Field Names tab in Canadian Payroll >> Installation and Maintenance >> Payroll Parameters.

GL Segments, GL Segments - Optional
Columns O and P will import the GL Account Overrides for the schedule.

The override GL Segments are selected on Time Card GL Segments the Options tab in Time and Attendance >> Installation & Maintenance >> Time & Attendance Parameters.

Vacation, WCB, Union, and Province of Employment Override - Optional
The next four columns, column Q through T on the excel file, are optional overrides for the employee vacation group, WCB group, union, and province of employment, respectively.

For the Vacation Code, WCB group and Union Code, the column should be the ID for the code. For the Province of Employment, the import file should contain the two-letter abbreviation for the province.

If these are blank, the employee’s profile information determines the vacation group, WCB group, union code and province of employment.

Reference Number - Optional
This ensures the same schedule isn't accidentally imported as two entries. If there's a unique number for every schedule in the import file, you can include it in the last column of the import file, column U on the excel file.

When there's a duplicate number in the import, you can choose to either: 

  • Replace the unapproved schedule in Avanti by selecting Replace Duplicate Reference Number when importing the file. 

  • Skip importing the schedule into Avanti by deselecting Replace Duplicate Reference Number when importing the file. 

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