This article lists error messages you might see if a data import fails. It explains why each error happens and offers ways to fix them.

Employee data import

Errors when attributes and columns are assigned

Error	During the upload, an attribute/column title that has been newly created in the Excel file, such as Address details, cannot be selected in Personio.
Cause	The selected Excel file contains attributes/column titles that have not yet been created in Personio.
Solution	First go to Settings > People > Employee information and make sure to create all sections and their corresponding attributes as per the data in the Excel table. For more information on how to manage the different sections and attributes, see our Help Center article Create custom sections and attributes. Once this has been done, you will be able to assign all attributes to the predefined columns without any issues.

 

Error	Each attribute can only be mapped to one column in your uploaded file. You assigned the attribute First name more than once. Please correct the problem and try again.
Cause	During step 2 of the import process (Configure columns), certain attributes have been assigned multiple times.
Solution	When assigning attributes, make sure that each attribute is only allocated once. The attributes from the Excel file (on the left) have to match the correct attributes in Personio (on the right).

 

Errors in the imported file

If an import file has errors, the import is aborted and a revision file offered for download.

In the revision file, errors are identified in red, including details on the value that is expected by Personio. This will always be displayed in the language version that you are using. 

Since the revision file has the same structure as the original import file, you can fix the errors directly in the revision file and then re-import it. 

To do this, start from the beginning and select the revision file for your import. 

 

Error example 1: Attribute type List of Options or Tags
Cause	In Personio, the attribute Emergency contact was created in the example above as the attribute type List of options, with the following restrictions/selection options: available, not available and hand in later. In the import file, however, the column Emergency contact contains values that differ from these restrictions. Consequently, the data cannot be imported.
Solution	Make sure that the data in your Excel file matches the options in Personio. Only then can the data import be completed.

Note
Even for certain system attributes, which are predefined in Personio as a selection list, you must specify the value in the Excel template. One example is the system attribute Status. An overview of the possible options for these attributes is available under the Download section of the employee data import templates.

 

Error example 2: Hierarchy loop
Cause	In the Excel file, an employee is recorded as being their own supervisor, or two employees are recorded as each other's supervisors.
Solution	Ensure that in the column Supervisor, no employee has their own email address entered, or that no two employees have each other as being their supervisors. If an employee has no supervisor, such as the CEO, just leave the respective field blank.

 

Incorrect format for the attribute name in your file

Error	Personio doesn't recognize the attribute from your Excel file during the import (see 20-year anniversary).
Cause	The attribute name in your file is not in Default format.
Solution	Set the format of the attribute name in your Excel file to Default. Personio will then automatically recognize the attribute.

 

Deactivation of Administrators

Error	The last active administrator has not been updated.
Cause	In the import file, the status of the last administrator is set to Inactive.
Solution	Make sure that there is always an active administrator stored in the account. Download the revision file, correct the error and repeat the import.

 

Salary data import

Inconsistencies between Personio and the import file

Error	Employees could not be found.
Cause	With imports, the email address usually serves as the unique ID that is needed to identify the employee profiles and to assign the data correctly. If the message above appears, your Excel file contains email addresses that cannot be found in Personio. This can be due to typing or spelling errors, or because the employee profile does not exist.
Solution	Verify that the email addresses in both Personio and in the Excel file are correct, and that all employees whose salaries you want to import are in the system.

 

Error	During column assignment, an additional compensation is not found.
Cause	The salary list is imported, but not all compensation types that are required have been created in Personio before the import.
Solution	Before doing the import, first go to Settings > Payroll > Additional Compensation and set up all recurring compensation types / one-time compensations that are paid to your employees. Find out more about how to add Recurring compensation types in Personio and Create and manage one-time compensations.

 

Cause	If in the column Month, values are outside 1-12, or if values for the column Year are smaller than 1, the import is not possible and an error message is shown.
Solution	Enter values between 1-12 for the months, and bigger than 1 for the year to the import file.

 

Error	Rows with no salary/bonus entered.
Cause	The salary list Custom Bonuses Upload is imported, but the custom bonus has not been activated in the employee profile before the import.
Solution	Before importing the Custom Bonuses Upload template, the custom bonus must be activated in the employee profile. To find out more about this, read our Help Center article on Importing Salaries.

Errors in the weekly hours entry

Error	The weekly hours that are stored in Personio are automatically overwritten with the number of weekly hours in the full-time work schedule. Originally stored weekly hours: Imported Excel file: Details in the employee profile after the import:
Cause	When you set up a new employee, you also enter their weekly working hours in the employee profile. In a second step, you imported the Salary History Upload Excel list, but left its Weekly hours column blank. Due to the weekly hours missing from the Excel file, Personio automatically overwrites the weekly hours of all employees affected by the import with the 40 hours full-time weekly hours. Note: If you then manually correct the weekly hours in the employee profile, the employee's salary will automatically be reduced proportionally as well!
Solution	Enter the employees' weekly hours in the Excel file that you use for the salary import. The hours must match those stored in the employee profile in Personio. If they do, both the weekly hours and the fixed salaries will be correctly reflected in Personio.

 

Time off periods import

Errors in the imported file

Error	Not all the time off that are contained in the Excel file are imported. Imported Excel file: Preview Import:
Cause	Some time off periods in the Excel file are missing the email address that is needed to allocate the data to the desired employee's profile. Personio only imports those time off for which an email address has been assigned.
Solution	Add the missing email address for the employee matching the time off in your Excel file. All time off types and periods will then be displayed as such: Import Preview:

Inconsistency between Personio and the import file

Error	Time off types not found.
Cause	This error message can have two possible causes: The first cause could be that the name of the time off type in the Excel file (such as special leave) is not identical with the name of the time off type in Personio. The second possible cause is that the required time off types were not created in Personio before the import was attempted.
Solution	Give the time off types in Excel and those in Personio identical names. Make sure that the spacing is correct, too, as missing or double spaces can also result in errors. Ensure that all time off types that exist in your company have been set up in Personio before you import the Excel file. Click here to learn how to add time off types in Personio.

A substitute is required for the time off

Error	Substitute not supported.
Cause	Time off periods are imported for a time off type that requires a substitute.
Solution	Time off cannot be imported if, under Settings > Work Hours & Time off >  Time off > Time off type (for example Paid vacation), the option Substitute required? has been set to Yes. If this is the case, Personio will assume that every time off entry needs to have a substitute entry. To work around this error and import the data successfully, first change the status in the settings to Optional or No. After the import, you can change it back to being required.

 

Departments and teams import

The import process checks your data in the import file to ensure accuracy when importing departments and teams in Personio. This section offers solutions for these issues.

Ensure each entry in your import file has a unique name

Issue:

Your import file contains duplicate names in the "department" or "team" list.

Solution:

Check your import file for repeated names and update each entry to make them unique.

Ensure new names don’t conflict with existing ones

Issue:

Conflicts occur when new names match existing ones in Personio.

Solution:

Verify the names in your import file and Personio. Choose different names to avoid overlaps.

Ensure department and team codes are unique

Issue:

The department and team codes you've entered match ones already in use.

Solution:

Search your import file and existing Personio entries for duplicate abbreviations. Change duplicates to unique ones.

Ensure all parent references exist

Issue:

Your import file refers to a parent that doesn't exist in Personio.

Solution:

Make sure each parent has its own entry in the import file. You can create these entries during the import if they don't already exist in Personio.

Ensure entries don’t exceed character limits

Issue:

Entries like abbreviations exceed the allowed character limit.

Solution:

Make sure department and team codes are no more than 10 characters. Ensure other fields stay within 255 characters.

Ensure names do not include invalid characters

Issue:

Invalid characters like <, >, or emojis violate naming rules.

Solution:

Remove invalid characters from names in your import file.

Ensure resource entries are valid URIs

Issue:

Invalid resource entries cause errors.

Solution:

Check your import file for resource entries and adjust them to meet URI formatting standards.

Ensure there are no circular references in the hierarchy

Issue:

Your import file creates a circular reference in the hierarchy.

Solution:

Rework the hierarchy setup in your import file to remove loops.

Ensure the hierarchy doesn’t exceed 10 levels

Issue:

The hierarchy in your import is more than 10 levels deep.

Solution:

Simplify your hierarchy to keep it within 10 levels.

Ensure you fill all name fields

Issue:

Blank name fields cause import errors.

Solution:

Fill every name field with appropriate data before importing.

Ensure text fields don't contain emojis

Issue:

Emojis in text fields violate format requirements.

Solution:

Remove emojis from text fields in your import file.