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Uploading students, guardians and staff

Creating & updating student, guardian, teacher or counselor accounts

Written by Central Support

Throughout the school year, new user accounts may need to be created (new students, guardians, and additional teachers or counselors, etc..) Importing Users has never been easier with the latest version of uploaders!

Where do I navigate to find Upload (Users)?

Click your profile picture in the top-right corner of the page to open the drop-down menu. Under the Account section, select Bulk Upload.

Upon landing on the Upload & Integrate page, select Import Users.

At this point, you should have your data file ready. If you don't have one and would like to use a template, click Import Users to open the Select File page. From there, click here to download the available templates and fill them in before proceeding.

Step 1 - Uploading your data file (.csv, .xls, or .xlsx only)

a. Click the upload box, then browse and select the file you want to upload. OR
b. Drag the file that you want to upload from its folder and drop it into the upload box.

Step 2 - Configuring the settings of your upload

  1. Select whether you would like to create Student, Staff (Teacher/Counselor) or Guardian(/Parent) accounts

  2. Make sure to determine the date format used in your file so that the uploader reads the data accurately.

    • Our system accepts the following date formats:

      • Day-Month-Year (DD-MM-YYYY)

      • Month-Day-Year (MM-DD-YYYY)

      • Year-Month-Day (YYYY-MM-DD)

      • Month/Day/Year (MM/DD/YY)

      • Day Month Year (DD MMM YYYY)

IMPORTANT

  • If your school intends to use Common App and you are creating Teacher or Counselor accounts, please use 10-digit phone numbers to ensure compatibility.

Step 3 - Matching data columns to Cialfo fields

First, determine which row in your file contains the column headers. Next, match the columns in your file to the corresponding data fields available on Cialfo. To make future uploads easier, your column mapping will be saved and automatically applied the next time you upload a file. :)

Note: All required fields are marked with an asterisk (*). For optional fields, you can select Ignore this column if you don't want to import data for that field. No data from the selected column will be imported.

Step 4 - Preview & Confirm

Reviewing errors found

After processing your data, the magical wizard will identify any rows in your file that contain errors and specify exactly what those errors are. You can then make the necessary corrections and upload the file again. Alternatively, you can download an error report for easier reference.

Confirming new accounts to be created

On the New tab, you'll be able to preview the data that will be imported and confirm the number of accounts that are about to be created.

Turning on the "Update" function (Optional)

Upload 2.0 can intelligently detect whether user accounts already exist in Cialfo by checking the Email Address column. If matching accounts are found, you can choose whether to update the existing records by selecting the toggle "Update the data for the existing entries"

Note: Enabling Update will overwrite any existing data with the information in your uploaded file.

Step 5 - Confirming your upload

Last but not least, click Finish Import and voilà—your import is complete!

Once the import is finished, you'll see the upload status turn green. If you ever need to review the import details, you can find them on the Upload History page by navigating to Upload & Integration History.

That's the end of Upload (Users)! Happy uploading !


To move on to Upload (Tests) - click here

To move on to Upload (Student Data) - click here

Troubleshooting & FAQ's

Why isn't the full address being uploaded during a bulk upload?

Address information is processed during bulk uploads and is captured across student records. For the best results, keep each address field within 60 characters. If an address is longer, split it between the Address 1 and Address 2 fields before uploading.

How can I ensure my bulk upload is processed successfully?

To ensure a successful bulk upload:

  • Use the latest bulk upload template available on the Upload page.

  • Do not modify the column headers in the template.

  • Include all required fields, such as Email, First Name, and Last Name.

  • Verify that the data is correctly formatted before uploading.

  • If the upload fails or displays an error, review the error message, make the necessary corrections, and upload the file again.

If the issue persists after checking the above, contact Chat with Cialfo with the error message and a copy of your upload file

Need Help?


Our Client Support team is available via Live Chat 24 hours a day, Monday through Friday, so you can get help anytime during the work week through Chat with Cialfo.

If you’re unable to find a solution in our help articles or need further assistance, you can contact the Cialfo Support team via Live Chat or email us at [email protected]

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