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Excel to system

Turn your Excel staff sheet into an employee and HR tracker

The staff sheet holds your most sensitive data, and yet it travels by email. Upload it and Fanann proposes a system with a file per employee, departments, leave balances and requests approved by a manager, and permissions so each person sees only what concerns them. Your employee data comes with it.

Start with your fileThe steps
Excel and CSV up to 10 MBYour data is imported with the buildPart of the paid plans
Why now

When does the Excel file stop being enough?

1

Sensitive data in an open file

Whoever receives the file sees everyone’s data, and you cannot show a column to one person and hide it from another.

2

Leave requests live in messages

The request arrives by WhatsApp, the approval is verbal and the balance is edited by hand, if someone remembers.

3

Important dates pass unnoticed

A contract or document expiring does not show in the file unless you look for it yourself.

Sample columns

What does each column in your file become?

These are common columns in a file like this, what Fanann reads from them and how they show up in the system.

Column in your fileRead asBecomes in the system
Employee nameText

The title of the employee file and the first search field.

Employee IDText

The unique identifier that links leave and attendance sheets to the employee.

DepartmentCategory

A departments module, a filter and a headcount-by-department report.

Job titleText

A text field shown in the employee file.

Hire dateDate

A date field, and from it length of service.

Leave balanceNumber

The opening balance, which changes with every approved leave request.

EmailEmail

An email field you can use to invite the employee to their account.

Upload only the columns you want in the system. You can switch off any column on the review screen so it is not imported.
The proposed system

What does Fanann propose for a file like this?

A proposal you see before the build and can adjust: switch off a module, rename a field, or add what is missing in a sentence.

Screens

  • A staff directory with search and a department filter
  • An employee file with details, balance and requests
  • A leave-request form and an approval screen
  • A list of dates about to expire

Reports

  • Headcount by department
  • Who is on leave this week
  • Remaining leave balances

Roles

  • An HR admin who sees everything
  • A department manager who approves their team’s requests
  • An employee who sees their own file and submits requests
The steps

Five steps to turn your Excel staff sheet into an employee and HR tracker

  1. 1

    Prepare the staff file

    One employee per row and one column per piece of information. Delete the columns you do not want to move, and make department names and date formats consistent.

  2. 2

    Upload it in “Excel to App”

    Open “Excel to App” in Fanann and upload the .xlsx or .csv file, up to 10 MB.

  3. 3

    Review what Fanann read

    Check the column types: dates as dates, balances as numbers and departments as categories with the right values. Switch off any column you do not want in the system.

  4. 4

    Set the roles and permissions

    This is the step that matters most in a staff system: who sees every file, who approves leave, and what an employee sees about themselves. Adjust the proposed roles before the build.

  5. 5

    Build it and invite your team

    After the build review the system as the admin, then invite managers and employees and give each one their role from the Control Center.

An example description to send with the file

A staff system for a small contracting company. Employees request leave from their phones, the department manager approves and the balance is deducted automatically. Only the HR admin sees everyone’s files, and I want a list of contracts ending within 60 days.

Plainly: the limits you should know

.xlsx · .csvExcel and CSV files. From Google Sheets: download it in either format, then upload.
10 MBThe maximum size of one file.
5,000rows per sheet, roughly, are imported at build time; bring in the rest later from the Control Center.
Paid plansExcel to App is part of the paid plans. The Control Center you manage your data with is in every plan.
FAQ

Questions people ask

How do I turn my Excel staff file into an HR system?
Upload the staff file in “Excel to App”. Fanann reads the columns and proposes a system with employee files, departments, leave and roles, then builds it with your employee data inside.
Who can see employee data after the move?
Whoever you decide. The system is built with roles and permissions: an admin who sees everything, a manager who sees their team, an employee who sees their own file. Review the proposed roles and adjust them before and after the build.
Does the system run payroll?
This page is about the staff record, leave and tracking. Payroll and labour rules differ by country: ask for what you need explicitly in the description, and check the official requirements in your country before relying on it.
Can an employee request leave from their phone?
Yes. The system works in a phone browser and each employee has an account. Describe the approval path you want, such as the department manager and then HR.
How many employees can I import from the Excel file?
Fanann accepts Excel and CSV files up to 10 MB. About 5,000 rows per sheet are imported at build time, and Fanann tells you what was left out. Any employees beyond that can be imported later as a CSV from the Control Center.
Is turning my employees file into a system free?
Excel to App is part of Fanann’s paid plans. Signing up is free, and you can try Fanann and plan mode before deciding. After the build you manage your employees from the Control Center, which is included in every plan.
Excel to system

Other files that become systems

Excel to App

The feature page: how Fanann reads your file, what it proposes and how it builds the system with your data inside.

See the feature

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Customer namePhoneCitySourceSteps and columns

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Item nameItem code (SKU)QuantityReorder pointSteps and columns

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Invoice numberCustomerInvoice dateDue dateSteps and columns

Reservations and booking system

Your appointment sheet becomes a booking system: a clear calendar, no double bookings and a history per client.

Client namePhoneServiceStaff memberSteps and columns

How to turn an Excel file into a complete system

The full step-by-step guide: preparing the file, uploading it, reviewing what Fanann proposes, building, then the day you move from the file to the system.

Read the guide
How to turn an Excel file into a complete systemHow to build an attendance and HR appControl Center: manage your data after the buildPlans and pricing

Your file is ready. Your system is one upload away.

Upload the Excel file, review what Fanann proposes and get a system running on your data. Excel to App is part of the paid plans, and signing up is free.