If you have been managing your project work in another tool, you do not have to recreate it in Rentman. Export your tasks from your current software and import them into Rentman, complete with their deadlines, assignees, statuses, and subtasks.
In this article, you will learn what to prepare before you import, how to build your file, how Rentman matches your data to what is already in your workspace, and what to do when rows fail.
Before you start
Importing tasks creates tasks and subtasks. It does not create anything else. Everything a task points to has to exist in Rentman before you import, or the row will fail.
That means setting up, at minimum:
- Your task statuses. Rentman matches the status in your file against the statuses in your workspace by name, and does not create new ones. Learn more about setting up task statuses.
- Your crew members. Assignees are matched against people who already exist.
- Anything you want to link the tasks to, such as projects, equipment, or vehicles.
Prepare your import file
Use a .xlsx or .csv file. If you do not have one, you can download a sample file from the import window in Rentman.
- Put clear headers in the first row.
- Do not import more than 64 columns at once.
- Make sure the file has only one sheet.
- Enter everything as plain text, without bold, italics, or background colors.
- Do not insert images.
How Rentman matches your data
Three columns are matched against data already in your workspace rather than taken at face value.
Status is matched on the status name. If no status with that name exists in your workspace, the row fails. Statuses are never created by an import.
Assignee is matched on any of these, so use whichever your export file contains:
- Email address
- Full name
- External reference
If no crew member matches, the row fails.
Priority works differently: instead of matching automatically, you tell Rentman during the import which value in your file corresponds to which priority. So a file using P1, P2, and P3 is fine, as long as you map them when prompted.
Linking tasks to a project or another item
A task can be imported already linked to the item (crew, equipment, project, and so on) it belongs to. Rentman looks up that item using the columns below, so include whichever one your export file has.
| Link the task to | Match on |
|---|---|
| Project | ID, name, or number |
| Equipment | ID, name, or code |
| Serial number | ID, serial number, or brand |
| Contact | ID, code, or email |
| Crew member | ID, full name, email, or external reference |
| Vehicle | ID, name, or license plate |
| Quotation | ID or number |
| Contract | ID or number |
| Invoice | ID or number |
| Purchase order | ID or number |
| Subrental | ID, name, or number |
| Repair | ID, internal name, or number |
| Lost equipment | ID |
| Inspection report | ID |
| Inventory count | ID or name |
| Statistic | ID or name |
Import your task file
- Navigate to the Tasks module.
- Click on Import.
- Select the type of import you want to do and click on Next step.
- Upload your file.
- Select whether your file has a header row. If it does, the first row is not imported.
- Check the column matching. Rentman matches your headers to its own fields where it can, and you can correct the rest.
- Click Next step and check the preview. Only the first ten rows are shown.
- Click Import.
Importing subtasks
Subtasks are imported together with their parent task, in the same way serial numbers are imported with equipment or contact persons with contacts.
Give each subtask its own row. On every one of those rows, repeat the parent task's details exactly as they are, and change only the two columns that describe the subtask: its description and whether it is completed.
Example of a task with three subtasks:
| Name | Deadline | Assignee | Subtask | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design main stage | 2026-08-07 | Mike Sander | Rough sketch | 1 |
| Design main stage | 2026-08-07 | Mike Sander | 3D render | 1 |
| Design main stage | 2026-08-07 | Mike Sander | Technical drawing | 0 |
This creates one task called Design main stage, with three subtasks attached: two completed and one not completed.
Keep the parent details identical on every repeated row. If they differ, Rentman cannot tell that the rows belong to the same task.
During the column matching step, map your two subtask columns to the subtask's Description and Completed fields, so Rentman knows they describe the subtask rather than the task.
After the import
When the import finishes, a window shows the result: which rows were imported, which failed, and why. You can close it, or click through to see the tasks you have just imported.
If rows failed, download the file of failed rows at the bottom of the result window. It contains each failed row together with the reason, so you can correct those rows and import just that file again.
Common reasons an import fails:
- A status that does not exist in your workspace.
- An assignee who does not exist, or whose email or name does not match what is in Rentman.
- Wrong formatting - text with markup, or values that are not plain text.
- Multiple sheets in an .xlsx file.
- Too much data in one go. Split a very large file into smaller ones.
Undo an import
Every import creates a tag in the format import-date-hour. If an import went wrong, filter on that tag, select the tasks, and delete them. Then correct your file and import again. Learn more about tags.
What you cannot import
- Private tasks. Imported tasks are always assigned to specific crew members.
- Tasks assigned to all crew members. Assign these after importing, or create them in Rentman directly.
- New task statuses. Statuses must already exist in your workspace before you import.