Create buildings and organizations with a spreadsheet

Setup spreadsheets save time and let you create multiple items at once.

  • The menu displays spreadsheets matching your permissions.
  • Always download a new spreadsheet before you begin adding data because the spreadsheet is populated with information from your database. 
  • To avoid errors when creating different objects refer to the required upload order.
  • To save time when creating many objects, select from the drop-down menu and then copy and paste the value into the other rows.

Format rules

  • Enter all information as text or dates.
  • You can add sheets to the notebook,  only the sheet named DataEntry is processed.
  • Do not rename, remove, or rearrange columns.

If you are unsure of where a building should be placed, use NO_PARENT as a temporary parent.

Download the create buildings and organizations spreadsheet

On the Create page, choose Setup Spreadsheets.

  1. From the Setup Spreadsheets Log, click Download.
  2. Under Create Spreadsheets, choose Buildings and Organizations.
  3. Download the spreadsheet.
  4. The name format is yyyymmdd-CREATE_BuildingsAndOrganizations.xlsx.
  5. Add your information and save.
  6. Use Import to upload your spreadsheet.
  7. The Setup Spreadsheets Log reports the results and any errors. You can download the error (kickout) spreadsheet from the hyperlink, fix any errors, and upload the error sheet.

The spreadsheet creates two different objects:

  • Organizations in column B through F.
  • Buildings in column F through X.
  • Column F is populated for every row.
  • Each object is a separate line.

Permissions

The ability to create objects is determined by user role and any limits placed on the user's topmost place or topmost cost center.

Prerequisites

Before creating an organization, the following must exist:

  • (parent) organization - if you are creating multiple levels of organizations the parent organization must exist in UtilityManagement or be created in a row before being referenced as a parent.

Maximum length for codes and names

The column header lists the maximum length for each attribute. When entering data, a red cell indicates the name or code exceeding the specified length. If you upload the spreadsheet without fixing the cell, the row fails to process and an error spreadsheet is created.

Create organizations and buildings spreadsheet details

To save time when creating multiple objects, after you choose an entry from a drop-down you can copy and paste it into subsequent rows rather than access the drop-down each time.
Column Rules

Organization Code

Must be unique. See the list below for accepted characters in codes. Your organization may have a naming standard in place or your name and code can be the same.

Organization Name

 The name does not need to be unique but keeping names unique makes searching and reporting much clearer.

Organization Type

Type is most useful in place type reports, for comparing and grouping similar organizations. If you are unsure use the type Organization.
Organization Description Add a description for this organization.

Parent Organization Code

Select where you want to place this organization.

If this field is blank the building is created at the root or at the user's topmost place.

This column is used for creating both an organization AND a building.

 

Allowed characters for codes

  1. A-Z, no lower case letters
  2. 0-9
  3. &
  4. _
  5. /
  6. -

Prerequisite

Before creating a building, the following must exist in UtilityManagement:

  • (parent) organization - the organization where the building is attached (or if you aren't sure use NO_PARENT).

Column

Rules

Parent Organization Code

Choose where you want to create the building. If you leave this blank the building is created at the root or at the user's topmost place.

Enter the code for the parent organization. Your new building is placed under this organization.

Building Code

This code must be unique and the upload fails if a duplicate is found in your database.

You organization may have building codes you can use or you can use the code presented.

See above for allowed characters.

Building Name

The name does not need to be unique but keeping names unique makes searching and reporting much clearer.

Building Address Street 1

Not required. The address is used to place the building on the map if latitude and longitude are not provided.

Building Address Street 2

 
Building Address Street 3  
Building Address City Defaults based on the postal code for the United States and Canada.
Building Address State/Province/Region Defaults based on the postal code for the United States and Canada.

Building Address Postal Code

Postal code is used to assign the weather station.

Postal code is required if the country is United States or Canada.

Code format is xxxxx-xxxx (xxxxx is accepted) for United States OR xxx xxx for Canada.

Can consist of numbers and dashes. Enter as text.

 

In the US and Canada the postal code is used to assign the weather station to a building, in all other countries the latitude and longitude are used to assign the weather station and the application shows AUTOMATIC as the weather statioin.

Building Address Country

If blank, defaults to United States.

Latitude

Used by the map dashboard to accurately place buildings.

If these values are not entered, UtilityManagement may populate latitude and longitude with a best guess based on the provided address. These entries may be replaced or removed at any time. If they are removed they are not automatically updated a second time.

Longitude

Used by the map dashboard to accurately place buildings.

If these values are not entered, UtilityManagement may populate latitude and longitude with a best guess based on the provided address. These entries may be replaced or removed at any time. If they are removed they are not automatically updated a second time.
Building Weather Station

Defaults based on the postal code for the United States and Canada. For other countries the weather station is based on the latitude and longitude.

Report-03 lists the weather station abbreviation and location.

Construction date

When using a spreadsheet, the oldest date available is 1/1/1901. In the application you can select 1/1/1900. (Blame Microsoft for that one.)

If your building is older than either of these dates, enter the date of the last major retrofit.

Floor Area

Enter whole numbers. Negative numbers cause an error.

Floor Area Unit

Choose square feet or square meters.

Floor Area Effective Date

Enter the date for the current floor area. This date can be updated as the floor area is updated. The most recent floor area and date are displayed and used in energy calculations.

Primary Use Code

Primary function used for reports and benchmarks.

Automatic system groups are created for each primary use and can be used as filters.
Building Description Enter a description for the building.

Example

sample spreadsheet