How to Import a Training Matrix from Excel

Clean meaning before formatting

The hardest import problem is not cell colour; it is ambiguity. Decide which file is authoritative, remove duplicate workers and agree what blank, N/A, booked and expired mean. Keep the source unchanged as a backup and perform cleaning in a controlled copy with an owner and date.

Pre-import checklist

• One stable worker identifier plus a clear display name
• Role, team and worker type in separate columns
• One consistent name per requirement
• Dates stored as genuine spreadsheet dates
• No merged cells or decorative title rows in the data range
• Blank means missing; N/A means deliberately not assigned
• Evidence paths retained for later attachment

Test before committing

Import a representative sample containing a normal record, an expiry, a missing value, N/A, duplicate-looking names and a subcontractor. Compare the resulting statuses with the source and inspect date locale carefully. Only then import the remaining rows and reconcile counts.

1. Save a read-only source copy.
2. Create a clean import worksheet.
3. Normalise workers, requirements and dates.
4. Run a sample upload.
5. Resolve warnings rather than ignoring them.
6. Reconcile totals and spot-check evidence.
7. Set a cutover date for the old sheet.

Plan the cutover and ownership

Choose a date after which the new system is authoritative and make the old workbook read-only. Tell supervisors where new certificates must go and who resolves rejected imports. Reconcile active-worker counts, requirement counts and a sample of status totals immediately after cutover, then repeat the check after the first renewal cycle. Evidence files usually need a separate migration plan because a spreadsheet hyperlink may point to a personal drive or local path that other users cannot reach. Preserve an import log showing warnings and corrections; it is easier to explain one controlled migration than many unexplained edits.

Pay particular attention to spreadsheet dates around 1900-system values, day/month interpretation and cells containing formulas that display blank. Test records dated on the first twelve days of a month because UK and US parsing can reverse them without an obvious error. Convert formula results to agreed import values only in the controlled copy. After upload, sort oldest and newest dates and inspect outliers such as 2099, 1900 or midnight timestamps before trusting reminders.

Import does not validate requirements

FieldClear can ingest and track the information you provide, but an imported green date does not prove a requirement is appropriate or evidence authentic. Your organisation remains responsible for assignments and verification. Importing is data migration, not legal or competence assurance.