Bulk Upload Work Orders
How to import dozens or hundreds of work orders at once from an Excel spreadsheet.
When to Use Bulk Upload
Bulk upload is designed for situations where you need to create many work orders at once — for example, when loading a week's production schedule from a planning system, migrating from another platform, or entering a batch of customer orders received simultaneously. For one or two orders, the standard creation dialog is faster.
Downloading the Template
From the Queue page, click the upload icon (arrow pointing up) and select "Download Template." This downloads an Excel (.xlsx) file with pre-formatted column headers. The template includes required columns (Work Order Number, Quantity) and optional columns (Part Number, Customer, Due Date, Priority, and routing step fields). Do not rename or reorder the columns — the importer relies on the header names to map data correctly.
Filling Out the Spreadsheet
Enter one work order per row. Work Order Numbers must be unique — the system will reject duplicates. Dates should be in YYYY-MM-DD format (e.g., 2026-03-15). Priority values must match exactly: Low, Medium, High, or Rush (case-insensitive). Quantity must be a positive whole number. Leave optional columns blank if not applicable — do not enter placeholder values like "N/A" as they may cause validation errors.
Uploading and Validation
Return to the Queue page, click the upload icon, and select "Upload File." Choose your completed spreadsheet. JobLine.ai parses the file and displays a preview table showing all rows, with any validation errors highlighted in red. Common errors include: duplicate work order numbers, invalid date formats, non-numeric quantities, or unrecognized priority values. You can fix errors in the spreadsheet and re-upload, or dismiss individual rows to import only the valid ones.
Confirming the Import
After resolving all errors (or dismissing problematic rows), click "Confirm Import" to create all work orders at once. The system provides a summary: X orders created, Y orders skipped due to errors. All created orders start in "Queued" status. The import event is logged in the activity log with the total count and your user ID.
Tips for Large Imports
For very large imports (100+ orders), the upload may take a few seconds to process. Do not close the browser tab during processing. If the upload appears to stall, check your network connection and try again. There is no strict row limit, but imports exceeding 500 rows may benefit from being split into multiple files to keep the preview manageable.