Bulk importing asset data

Importing an existing device list, and why cleaning the file matters more than the import itself.

Importing an existing device list, and why cleaning the file matters more than the import itself.

Import assets

1. Set up your types, fields, locations and statuses first. Importing into a structure that does not exist yet does not work.
2. Prepare a CSV with one row per asset.
3. Open the asset management settings in Admin Center and choose to import.
4. Map your columns to the asset fields.
5. Import twenty rows first and check the result.
6. Import the rest.

Clean the file first

Most device lists have grown over years and carry the marks of it.

• Duplicate serial numbers. Usually the same device entered twice by different people.
• Assigned users who left. Import those and your first useful report is a list of ghosts.
• Free-text statuses. "In gebruik", "in use" and "active" are three values meaning one thing.
• Devices that no longer exist. Every register carries some.

Fixing this in a spreadsheet takes an afternoon. Fixing it record by record afterwards takes a week.

Import the truth, not the file

A migration is the one moment when leaving something out is easy. Devices you know are gone, and equipment nobody can account for, do not have to come across. A smaller register that is right is worth far more than a complete one that is not.

Check the count

Assets count against your plan's allowance. Look at how many rows you are about to import against what you are entitled to, before rather than after.

See also

• Turning on IT asset management
• Setting up asset types, fields, locations and statuses
• Importing your existing users and organisations