Unit Import: FAQ

Does importing send emails to residents? Yes. Every person in the file who is new to URBI and has an email address receives a Welcome to URBI invitation the moment the import runs. This is the single most important thing to know about the importer. See What Happens When You Import.

Can I import without sending anything? Import unit only rows: the unit number filled in, name, email and occupant type left blank. That creates the units and contacts nobody. Add the people later when you are ready.

Can I schedule an import for later, or hold the invitations? No. Invitations go out as the import runs. The control you have is when you press the button.

Can I undo an import? No. Units and people are removed one at a time afterwards, and an invitation already delivered cannot be recalled.

What happens if I run the same file twice? Nothing bad. Existing units are left alone, and anyone already invited to a unit is reported as an existing invite with no second email. Their original link still works. This makes re running a corrected file the normal way to fix a partly failed import.

How many rows can one file have? 2000. Split a bigger building into two files and import them one after the other.

Do I need one row per unit or one row per person? One row per person. A unit with an owner and two tenants is three rows, all with the same unit number. A unit with nobody in it is one row with everything but the unit number blank.

Can the same email address appear more than once? On different units, yes, and that is the normal case for someone who owns two units. On the same unit twice, no: the second row is refused as a duplicate invite.

Two people share one email address. What do I do? Only one of them can be invited at that address, because an URBI account is the email address. Import the one who should hold the account, and either get a second address for the other person or leave them out.

What if I do not have somebody's email? Leave the email blank. The unit imports correctly and the person is skipped, with a note in the report. Add them later from the unit.

Can I import an Excel file? No, the uploader reads CSV only. Use Save As or Export in Excel or Numbers to produce a real CSV. Renaming an XLSX to .csv does not work and gives a parse error.

My export has five title rows above the header. Do I have to remove them? Yes. The importer treats the first line as the header row.

Do my column names have to match URBI exactly? No. URBI matches common names automatically, so Suite, Apt, Surname, Mobile and Role are all recognised. Anything it cannot place you set by hand on the mapping screen, and columns you leave unmapped are ignored, so you do not have to strip extra columns out of an export.

What are the valid occupant types? OWNER, RESIDENT, TENANT, PROPERTY_MANAGER, DEPENDENT and EMERGENCY_CONTACT, written in capitals. Anything else is flagged on the Review step and, if you leave it, the unit is treated as owner occupied.

What is the difference between OWNER and RESIDENT? OWNER is an owner who lives somewhere else. RESIDENT is an owner who lives in the unit. Both set the unit's status to Owner, so the difference is about the person's record rather than the unit's.

Why did my building come out as Rented when most of it is owner occupied? TENANT and PROPERTY_MANAGER both set a unit to Rented, and on a unit with several people a tenant row always wins. Check the occupant types in your file. Re importing with corrected types does not undo it, because an owner row never pulls a rented unit back to Owner. Fix those units from the Units list.

What does an EMERGENCY_CONTACT row actually do? It creates no account and sends no email. It writes an Emergency Contact entry on that unit's wiki with the name, email and phone from the row. If a unit only has an emergency contact row, add a unit only row for it as well, or the unit is never created.

Somebody says their invitation link does not work. Use Resend Invite on their member record. It re delivers the same link rather than issuing a new one.

Does the importer check that an email address is real? It checks the address is well formed, not that the mailbox exists. A typo in the domain passes and the invitation goes nowhere, so proofread addresses before you import.

Can I import leases, rent or condo fees with this? No. This file creates units and people. Leases and fees are a separate import.

How long does an import take? Rows are processed one at a time, so a full building takes minutes rather than seconds. You can close the panel and carry on working. The report email arrives when the last row is done.

Who gets the report? Only the person who ran the import.