When you're setting up Lebra (or keeping it in sync with your HR system), you don't want to add people one at a time. The CSV Roster Import lets you upload your entire employee list from a spreadsheet in a single step. Lebra reads your file, helps you match up the columns, lets you review everything, and then creates or updates every person for you. This guide walks you through the whole process from start to finish — no technical know-how required.
What is a CSV import, and what is it for?
A CSV is just a simple spreadsheet file — the kind you can make in Excel, Google Sheets, or Numbers. Think of it as a plain table: one row per person, one column per piece of information (name, email, title, and so on).
The CSV Roster Import takes that spreadsheet and brings everyone into Lebra at once. It's the fastest way to:
Add your whole organization when you're first getting started.
Update lots of people at the same time — new titles, new departments, address changes.
Set up your reporting structure so Lebra knows who reports to whom.
Keep Lebra in sync with your HR or payroll system on a regular basis.
Here's the helpful part: Lebra matches people by their email address. So you can run the import as often as you like:
If an email is new, Lebra creates that person.
If an email already exists, Lebra updates that person's details instead of creating a duplicate.
That means you never have to worry about importing the same list twice — re-uploading simply refreshes everyone's information.
When should you use it?
Reach for the CSV import any time you have more than a few people to add or update. It's built for bulk work — onboarding a whole staff, refreshing your roster at the start of a school year, or syncing changes after a hiring round.
Note: The CSV import lives in your Settings, and it's available to administrators. If you don't see it, your account may not have admin access or the feature may not be turned on for your organization — your Lebra contact can help.
Step-by-step: importing your roster
Step 1 — Open Import & Integrations
From the left-hand menu, go to Settings, then choose Import & Integrations. You'll land on a page titled Import & integrations.
Under the CSV Import heading you'll see a short description and a row labeled CSV file with an Import CSV button on the right.
Note: If Career Ladder is enabled for your district, a separate Career Ladder Import is also available on this same Import & Integrations page.
Step 2 — Click "Import CSV"
Click Import CSV. A guided import window opens and walks you through the rest in a few simple screens. You can close it at any time and start over — nothing is saved until the very end.
Step 3 — Download the template (recommended)
On the first screen of the import window, click Download Template. This gives you a ready-made CSV with all of Lebra's column headings already in place, so you never have to guess what goes where.
Open that file in your spreadsheet app and fill in one row per person. Here's what each column means:
Column | What goes here | Required? |
First Name | The person's legal first name | ✅ Required |
Last Name | The person's legal last name | ✅ Required |
A valid work email (this is how Lebra matches people) | ✅ Required | |
Employee ID | Your internal ID for the person | Optional |
Middle Name | Legal middle name | Optional |
Preferred First Name | The name they go by, if different | Optional |
Title | The person's job title | Optional |
Position | Their position or role | Optional |
Date of Birth | Format: MM/DD/YYYY | Optional |
Start Date | Format: MM/DD/YYYY | Optional |
Supervisor Employee ID | The Employee ID of their manager | Optional |
Supervisor Full Name | Their manager's full name (used if no ID) | Optional |
Home Department | Their department or team | Optional |
Address Street1 | Street address | Optional |
PO Box Address | PO box, if any | Optional |
Address City / State / Zip | The rest of their address | Optional |
Years of Service | A number | Optional |
A few tips to make your import go smoothly:
Only three columns are truly required: First Name, Last Name, and Email. Everything else is optional — fill in as much or as little as you like.
Email is the key. Make sure each person has a valid, correctly spelled email, since that's how Lebra decides whether to update someone or add them fresh.
Use dates in MM/DD/YYYY format (for example, 09/01/2026) for Date of Birth and Start Date.
Want someone in more than one department? In the Home Department column, separate each one with a double semicolon — for example, Math;;High School;;Grade 11. Lebra will create those groups and add the person to each.
Setting up reporting lines? Fill in Employee ID for everyone, then use Supervisor Employee ID (or Supervisor Full Name) to point each person to their manager. Lebra connects the dots for you.
Save the file in CSV format when you're done.
Step 4 — Upload your file
Back in the import window, drag your finished file into the upload area or browse to select it from your computer.
Step 5 — Match your columns
Lebra shows you the columns from your file next to its own fields and lets you confirm that everything lines up — your "Email" to Lebra's Email, your "Title" to Title, your "Position" to Position, and so on. If you started from the template, these will usually match automatically. Adjust anything that doesn't look right, then continue.
Good to know: If you leave a column out entirely, Lebra keeps whatever information it already has for those people. If you include a column but leave a cell blank, Lebra treats that as "clear this field." So only include the columns you actually want to set or change.
Step 6 — Review and fix any issues
Next, you'll see a preview of your data with any problem cells flagged so you can correct them right there before importing. This is your chance to catch typos — a misspelled email, a date in the wrong format — without leaving the window.
Step 7 — Finish the import
When everything looks good, submit the import. Lebra gets to work:
Creates anyone whose email is new.
Updates anyone whose email already exists.
Builds your departments and groups from the Home Department column.
Connects managers to their team members using the Employee ID and supervisor columns.
Once it finishes, your roster is live in Lebra and ready to go.
School ID and Staff ID
Alongside your internal Employee ID, a person's record can hold two additional identifiers used for state reporting:
School ID — the identifier for the school the person belongs to
Staff ID — the person's state or district staff identifier
These flow into your state reporting exports, so filling them in ahead of your submission window saves a lot of manual cleanup later.
To add or update them on a person's record:
Open the person's page.
Edit their profile.
Fill in School ID and Staff ID.
Save.
[Screenshot: Edit person form showing the School ID and Staff ID fields]
Checking When Your Data Last Synced
If your district sends Lebra an employee data file on a schedule, you can confirm it's actually arriving — rather than finding out mid-year that your roster went stale.
Steps
Go to Settings > Organization.
Find the Sync Status card, which shows the status of the most recent employee data sync.
Check Last Synced for the date and time of the most recent sync.
The status badge tells you how that sync went:
Success | The sync completed normally |
Partial | Some records synced and some didn't |
Failed | The sync did not complete |
No Files | No file was available to sync |
[Screenshot: Settings → Organization showing the Sync Status card with Last Synced]
The stale data warning
If your employee data file hasn't been refreshed in a while, administrators see a warning banner telling you how old the file is and asking you to upload an updated one to keep your roster in sync.
The banner appears once your file is more than 30 days old, and only for administrators — so your wider team isn't alarmed by it.
What to do when you see it: run a fresh CSV import using the steps above, or check with whoever manages your automated file delivery. The banner clears once newer data arrives.
Tip: A stale roster quietly causes downstream problems — new hires missing from pathways, departed staff still receiving reminder emails. It's worth checking Sync Status at the start of each school year and after any hiring round.
If something goes wrong
If Lebra runs into a problem it can't import, you'll see a window titled "Error while importing CSV" with a short explanation. The most common ones are easy to fix:
"Email(s) have invalid format." — One or more emails are missing the @ or have a typo. Correct them in your spreadsheet and re-upload.
A date format message — A Date of Birth or Start Date isn't in the expected format. Switch those cells to MM/DD/YYYY and try again.
A "self-manager" message — Someone is listed as their own supervisor. Remove their own ID from the Supervisor column and re-upload.
The window will remind you: "If you can take action on this error, try re-uploading your file. Otherwise, please contact Lebra support for further help." You can run the import as many times as you need — fixing and re-uploading never creates duplicates, because Lebra matches on email.
A couple of things Lebra quietly handles for you:
Duplicate emails in your file? Lebra keeps the first one and skips the rest, so you won't get two copies of the same person.
Accidental self-managers? If someone's supervisor ID matches their own, Lebra clears it automatically.
Quick reference
You want to… | Do this |
Open the importer | Settings → Import & Integrations → Import CSV |
Get the starter file | Click Download Template on the first screen |
Add or update people in bulk | Fill in the template, then upload it |
Avoid duplicates | Just re-import — Lebra matches on email |
Set up reporting lines | Use Employee ID + Supervisor Employee ID |
Put someone in multiple departments | Separate them with ;; in Home Department |
Fix a flagged row | Correct your spreadsheet and re-upload |
Check your roster is current | Settings → Organization → Sync Status |
Add state reporting identifiers | Edit the person and fill in School ID and Staff ID |
Required columns: First Name, Last Name, Email Matched by: Email (existing people are updated, new people are created) Date format: MM/DD/YYYY