Many schools already plan their programme in a spreadsheet — assigning teachers, locations, days, and times to sports, trips, and clubs before any of it goes into SchoolsBuddy. Groups CSV Import means that planning doesn't have to be done twice: upload the spreadsheet you've already built, and your Standard, Instant Book & Pay, and Preference groups are live in SchoolsBuddy in one go.

This article walks through choosing the right template, filling it in correctly, and reading the Review page so nothing gets imported by mistake.

Overview

Groups Import is a general-purpose tool for Teachers, Activity Administrators, and Operations Directors coordinating a school's programme — whether that's onboarding a new school with a full activity offering, refreshing groups for a new term, or making a batch of changes mid-year. It isn't tied to one fixed point in the year; use it any time you need to bulk-create or bulk-update groups instead of building them one at a time.

The upload itself is done from Settings > Import / Export > Groups, which is visible to Admin users, and covers all three group types used in SchoolsBuddy:

• Standard Group — Sports, Trips, or Quick charge groups that don't sit inside a signup programme.
• Instant Book & Pay (IB&P) Group — groups inside an Instant Book & Pay container/signup.
• Preference Group — groups inside a Preference container/signup, with defined days, times, and places.

Groups CSV Import has been one of the most-requested additions from schools and our Sales team, and it's built to save real time back for the parts of the job that aren't data entry.

What's New

• Self-service bulk create/update for Standard, IB&P, and Preference groups — no more building groups one at a time in the UI.
• Separate downloadable CSV templates per group type, each with a sample row and mandatory columns marked with an asterisk (*).
• A dedicated Look Up Values page so you can check accepted values (Activity Category, Staff Names, Location, Years, Group, Subject Classes) before you fill in your file.
• A Review page with a clear red/amber/green alert, a breakdown of groups to be created vs updated, and a full table of errors and warnings by row.
• An Import Status & History page giving you an audit trail of every file submitted, with status and a downloadable copy.

Step-by-Step Navigation

Downloading and choosing your template

Settings > Import / Export > Groups

1. Go to the Import/Export page and decide which group type you're importing — Standard, IB&P, or Preference. Each uses its own template and its own set of columns.
2. Download the CSV template for that group type. It arrives with one sample row filled in, so you can see the expected format.
3. Note the columns marked with an asterisk (*) — these are mandatory and the import will be blocked if they're left blank.
4. If you're updating existing groups rather than creating new ones, download a SchoolsBuddy export first so you have the correct SC Group Id for each group. Leave this column blank when creating new groups.

What each template looks like

Every template arrives with one sample row already filled in, so you can see the expected format before you start. Columns marked with an asterisk (*) are mandatory.

• Check the Look Up Values page before you start filling in your file — it saves a second upload if a column doesn't match an existing value.
• When updating existing groups, pull SC Group Ids from a fresh SchoolsBuddy export so they're guaranteed to match.
• Staff name matching is forgiving: it ignores case, spaces, and commas, and accepts "First Last", "Last First", and "Last, First" formats — so small formatting differences won't block your import.
• If you're renaming an active group by creating a new one rather than updating it, archive the old group first to avoid two active groups with the same name.
• For Preference groups, if you're using a second day (Day 2), fill in all three of Day 2, Day 2 Start Time, and Day 2 End Time together, or leave all three blank.
• Enter Cost as numbers only — currency symbols will block the import.

Warnings & Important Notes

• Errors block the import until fixed. Warnings let the import continue, but usually mean a value will be defaulted, skipped, or changed from what you expected — always check these before confirming.
• On a new-group import, the SC Group Id column is ignored even if it's filled in — leave it blank unless you're updating an existing group.
• Group names must be unique within the file itself; duplicated names in the same upload will block the import.
• Bulk deletion of groups isn't supported through this import — use the bulk archiving features in the Signups UI instead.
• This import creates and updates groups only; it doesn't assign group members. Use your existing signup methods to enrol students.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if my Activity Category doesn't match an existing value?

You'll see a warning, but the import will still go ahead — the group's Activity Category is set to "Other" instead of blocking the file.

Can I use this import to delete groups?

No, bulk deletion isn't part of this feature. Use the bulk archiving options in the Signups UI to archive groups you no longer need.

Can I add students to groups through this import?

Not currently — this import only creates and updates the groups themselves. Group membership is still managed through your existing signup methods.

What's the difference between an error and a warning on the Review page?

Errors block the import entirely until you fix them. Warnings let the import continue, but usually mean SchoolsBuddy will default, skip, or change a value from what you entered — so it's worth checking each one before you click Import.

I'm not sure which template to use for my group — where can I check?

Standard Group is for Sports, Trips, or Quick charge groups outside a signup. IB&P Group is for groups inside an Instant Book & Pay container. Preference Group is for groups inside a Preference container with set days, times, and places. If you're unsure which container a group belongs to, check with your SchoolsBuddy administrator or contact Support.

Who can access Groups Import?

Import/Export pages are only visible to Admin users, under Settings > Import / Export > Groups.

In Summary

• Download the right template for your group type — Standard, IB&P, or Preference — and keep its columns exactly as provided.
• Check the Look Up Values page before filling in your file, then upload it and read the Review page carefully before confirming.
• Track every submission on the Import Status & History page, and contact help@schoolsbuddy.com if you get stuck.

Groups Import gives your school a faster, self-service way to build and maintain your SchoolsBuddy group structure — use it whenever you need to, whether that's onboarding for the first time, refreshing your programme each term, or making changes mid-year.