Tips to help with Imports

Here are some tips to make your imported entries a little easier. The key to making the imports work is attention to detail.

General Tips

• First make a few entries manually to understand how the system works prior to using the import templates.
• Be sure to read the instructions found on the Import Templates themselves.
• Copying and pasting is an effective way to ensure accuracy.
• Use excel tools and shortcuts to speed up completion of the spreadsheet, such as carrying the company name or date through multiple affiliated transactions or sequentially numbering the Transaction IDs (for Enterprise accounts).
• Add investors to your account before you add related transactions. (Applies to Enterprise accounts only)
• Add investment accounts to your account before you add related transactions. (Applies to Professional and Enterprise accounts)
• A company must be entered before a round, and a round must be entered before its associated transaction can be entered. Likewise, an investment fund must be entered before a fund transaction. Once your file is uploaded, you'll be prompted to import each category in sequence.
• When additional cells are needed to be added, add new rows across the entire spreadsheet ensuring that all data is entered above the gray line.
• Import only 150 rows at a time. Split your entries into multiple spreadsheets if necessary.
• You can do a combination of direct entry and Imports. For example, you can add a company and its rounds directly and then import the transactions. Or, you can import multiple companies and enter the rounds and transactions manually.
• If you wish to add additional details to a pre-existing company or round via import, be sure to re-import ALL the fields that currently have content in them in that particular company's record, in addition to adding your new data. Any blank cell in the company template will be uploaded as blank into the company profile (overwriting any pre-existing data) and similarly with rounds. If you choose to go this route, an easy way to export the data from your company record, is to go to Portfolio Management and select the excel or csv icon on the top right. Then you can use that data to re-populate the investment template and re-import it along with your new data. 
• If you wish to add additional details to a pre-existing investor via import, be sure to re-import ALL the fields that currently have content in them in that particular investor's record, in addition to adding your new data. Any blank cell in the investor template will be uploaded as blank into the investor profile (overwriting any pre-existing data). (Applies to Enterprise accounts only)
• If multiple investors in your account make a follow-on investment or you need to record an exit, you can obtain a list of the investors' email addresses and investment accounts, for those who already invested in that particular entity, by going to the Investors tab within the company or investment fund record and export it. Then simply copy and paste them into the investment template along with the new data. (Applies to Enterprise accounts)

Tips for Rounds

• Be sure that the Company Name matches the exact name of the company already in the system or on the Companies page of the template you intend to import. If different in any way, the system will not recognize it. 

Tips for Transactions

• Transaction ID must be a unique ID entered by you such that no other entry you make will have the same ID. If it is not unique, it will override any pre-existing entry with that same ID. To ensure that your ID is unique, you can use this approach: Enter the company name, the round name, and the transaction type, followed by a number, for example, CompanyName_RoundName_TransactionType_1 or Newco_SeriesA_StockPurchase_1, Newco_SeriesA_StockPurchase_2. If you have multiple entries to make, using Excel's tools, you can drag the corner of the box down to fill the rest of the Transaction IDs in consecutive numerical order.
• If you're importing a round as well as well as its associated transactions, copy from the Round tab, the Company Name, Name of Round and Closing Date and paste it right into the Transaction form in the corresponding columns. If you are adding multiple transactions for the same round, then use Excel's tools to copy those items to your other transactions to save time and ensure accuracy.
• If you're importing transactions for multiple investors or using investment accounts, you might find it helpful to find a list of them in Account Management and Investor Management on the Investment Accounts page for Enterprise accounts. You can export the latter to make it easy to access email addresses and investment accounts.