{"id":155136,"date":"2026-11-01T13:53:51","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T13:53:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/docs.daftra.com\/?post_type=faq&p=155136"},"modified":"2026-11-01T14:41:57","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T14:41:57","slug":"how-does-the-system-decide-whether-to-create-a-new-employee-or-update-an-existing-one","status":"publish","type":"faq","link":"https:\/\/docs.daftra.com\/en\/faq\/how-does-the-system-decide-whether-to-create-a-new-employee-or-update-an-existing-one\/","title":{"rendered":"How does the system decide whether to create a new employee or update an existing one?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

When you import employees from a file, the system relies only on the Employee Code<\/strong> column to decide what happens to each row in the file:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Code value in the row<\/th>\nWhat happens<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Code exists in the system<\/td>\nUpdates<\/strong> the details of the employee with this code.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Code does not exist in the system<\/td>\nCreates<\/strong> a new employee.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cell is empty<\/td>\nCreates<\/strong> a new employee, and the system generates their code automatically.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The system does not use the Official ID, email address, or phone number to decide whether to create or update. To update an existing employee, enter their code in the file exactly as it appears in the system, because any difference in the code creates a new employee instead of updating the existing one.<\/p>\n

\n

\ud83d\udec8<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • When updating, you can edit all fields except the status, since the import file has no status column. New employees are created with an active status.<\/li>\n
  • If the same code is repeated in the file, the first row is imported and the following rows fail.<\/li>\n
  • When updating, if the Official ID in the row belongs to another employee, the row fails with the message Official ID already belongs to another employee.<\/strong> When creating, if the Official ID already exists in the system, the row fails with the message Official ID already exists in the system.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Only creation rows count against the employee and user slots available in your subscription; update rows do not.<\/li>\n
  • The activity log records Employee Created (Import)<\/strong> or Employee Updated (Import)<\/strong>, depending on the operation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"template":"","categories":[2201,2197],"tags":[27169,27173,26689,26843,27171,4970,23128,26721,26688,27170,27172],"class_list":["post-155136","faq","type-faq","status-publish","hentry","category-employees","category-hr","tag-create-a-new-employee-or-update-an-existing-one","tag-does-the-system-use-the-official-id-for-updates","tag-employee-code","tag-employee-import-file","tag-how-to-update-existing-employees-by-import","tag-human-resources","tag-import-employees","tag-import-employees-from-excel","tag-official-id","tag-update-employee-data-by-import","tag-why-the-system-created-a-new-employee-instead-of-updating"],"yoast_head":"\nHow does the system decide whether to create a new employee or update an existing one? - Daftra Knowledge Base<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how the system decides whether to create a new employee or update an existing one when importing employees from a file, using only the employee code, and the Official ID rules.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.daftra.com\/en\/faq\/how-does-the-system-decide-whether-to-create-a-new-employee-or-update-an-existing-one\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How does the system decide whether to create a new employee or update an existing one? 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