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Import Data 📥

What you'll learn: How to upload a spreadsheet of birthdates and joining dates to populate Ava with your team's data all at once.

When to Use Import Data​

The Import Data feature is ideal when:

  • You're setting up Ava for the first time and already have dates in a spreadsheet or HR system
  • You need to add many team members' dates at once
  • You're doing a periodic bulk update or data audit

Tip: Prefer privacy? Use Collect Dates instead

If you'd rather let team members enter their own dates, use Collect Dates. Both approaches work well — many admins use Import for initial setup, then Collect for ongoing additions.

Step 1: Select Your Team​

From the main menu, click Import. Ava will ask you to select a team — choose the team you want to import data for and click Submit.

Step 2: Download the Template​

Ava will send the Excel template file (celebrations_template-[team-name].xlsx) to your OneDrive. You'll receive a permissions prompt:

"Ava Celebration Buddy needs permission to upload this file to your OneDrive"

Click Allow to grant permission. Ava will then send you the template file in the chat. Download it from there.

Step 3: Fill in the Spreadsheet​

Open the template in Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet tool.

Required Columns​

ColumnFormatExampleRequired?
NameFull name (must match Teams display name)Sarah Johnson✅ Yes
EmailWork email addresssarah@company.com✅ Yes
BirthdateDD/MM or DD/MM/YYYY14/03 or 14/03/1990Optional
Joining DateDD/MM/YYYY01/06/2021Optional

Rules & Tips​

  • Email is used to match team members — it must match the email address on their Microsoft Teams account exactly.
  • You can fill in Birthdate only, Joining Date only, or both.
  • Leave a cell blank if you don't have that date — Ava will skip it.
  • Do not add, remove, or rename columns in the template.
  • Do not include a header row if it's already in the template — the first row is always treated as the header.

Warning: Date format matters

Ava expects dates in DD/MM/YYYY format (e.g. 25/12/1985). If you export from an HR system that uses MM/DD/YYYY, convert the column before uploading or Ava may read the dates incorrectly.

Example Data​

NameEmailBirthdateJoining Date
Sarah Johnsonsarah@company.com14/03/199001/06/2021
Alex Chenalex@company.com22/0715/09/2019
Maria Garciamaria@company.com03/01/2023

Step 4: Upload the Spreadsheet​

  1. Go back to Ava → Import Data.
  2. Click Choose File and select your completed spreadsheet.
  3. Click Upload.

Ava will process the file and show you a preview of what will be imported before anything is saved.

Step 5: Review the Preview​

Before confirming, Ava shows a summary:

  • ✅ Ready to import — rows Ava can process
  • ⚠️ Warnings — rows with minor issues (e.g. no email match found) that will be skipped
  • ❌ Errors — rows with invalid data that cannot be imported

Review any warnings or errors. You can:

  • Proceed anyway — import the valid rows and skip the flagged ones
  • Cancel — fix the spreadsheet and re-upload

Step 6: Confirm the Import​

Click Confirm Import to save the data.

Ava will confirm how many records were successfully imported.

Troubleshooting Imports​

"Email not found in Teams"​

The email in your spreadsheet doesn't match a Teams account. Check for typos, or confirm the person is actually a member of the Teams workspace.

"Invalid date format"​

The date in that cell isn't recognised. Check it follows DD/MM/YYYY (e.g. 25/12/1985). A common mistake is using slashes vs. dashes — Ava requires slashes.

"Duplicate entry"​

A team member's data was already in Ava. The new upload will overwrite the existing entry. This is expected behaviour during bulk updates.

The file won't upload​

  • Make sure the file is saved as .xlsx (not .csv or .xls)
  • Check the file isn't open in Excel at the same time — close it first
  • File size limit is 5 MB

Next Steps​