Running the production
Add shifts to your event rota from a spreadsheet
Crew managers and suppliers often plan a festival's shifts in a spreadsheet long before the rota is set up. Bringing that spreadsheet in as it is, with Fai matching its columns, saves typing hundreds of shifts again and keeps every rota rule applied to them.
Drop the event rota spreadsheet your team already keeps, in CSV or Excel, and Fai reads which column holds the day, the times, the department and the role. You check every row and fix any column before up to 500 shifts are added to your rota in one go.
- For
- Bringing a rota you planned in a spreadsheet into your event
- Takes
- 5 minutes
Before you start
- You are an owner, admin or producer on the event. The event's Operations page opens for those roles only.
- Your spreadsheet has a heading row and one shift a row, with the day, the start and end times, and a department or role.
-
Open the import
Open the event, select Operations, select Shifts, then select Import from a spreadsheet.
Note: If an import is still being checked, the dialog offers Carry on to go back to it.
Adding shifts from a spreadsheet. -
Add the spreadsheet
Drop the file on Drop the spreadsheet here, or choose it, or paste the rows and select Read the rows.
Note: A file can hold up to 500 shifts and 2 MB. Only the first sheet of an Excel file is read.
-
Check what each column holds
Under What each column holds, change any column Fai read wrongly.
Note: Fai reads the headings and the first rows, and the rows update as you change a column. Choose Leave out for a column you do not need.
The rows Fai read from the spreadsheet. -
Choose the date order
Above the rows, choose whether the dates start with the day, the month or the year.
Note: This matters for dates in numbers only, such as 03/10/2026.
-
Fix the rows with a problem
Read the problem under each row, then fix it in your spreadsheet and add it again, or leave the row out.
Note: A row without a day, a time or a department or role cannot be added. An end time before the start time is the next morning.
-
Add the shifts
Select the button that counts the rows ready to add, such as Add 3 shifts.
Note: The shifts are added to the rota ready for people, with every rota rule applied. Pressing Add again on the same import never adds them twice, but uploading the same file again adds them again.
Try these steps on your own event
Create a free account, build your event and follow the steps above in your own dashboard. It takes a few minutes and you do not need to book a sales call.
No setup fees. No required monthly ticketing fee. No credit card required.
Or have it done for you
Fai reads rows you paste into the chat as a spreadsheet, shows you each shift and its problems, and adds the ready rows after you confirm. For an Excel file, use the dialog in Shifts.
In your dashboard, with Fai
Add these shifts to the rota at <EVENT NAME>: <PASTED ROWS WITH A HEADING ROW>
Let Fai do it for you
Fai works inside your Ticket Fairy dashboard. Create your account, open Fai and paste the prompt above.
No setup fees. No required monthly ticketing fee. No credit card required.
Questions you might have
- Does Fai read my whole spreadsheet?
- Fai reads the headings and the first five rows to match the columns. If Fai is not available, the columns are matched by their headings, and you can change any of them.
- Can I stop halfway through?
- Yes. Close the dialog and the import waits for you. Select Carry on next time, or Close without adding to drop it.
- What if two of us add the same import?
- The shifts are added once. The second person sees
These shifts were already added.
- Are formulas in my spreadsheet worked out?
- No. The import reads the values saved in the cells. Save the file with its values if a column is worked out by a formula.
- Can a row be a night shift?
- Yes. A shift whose end time is earlier than its start ends the next morning, up to 24 hours long.
Still have a question?
Book a demo and we will answer it on a call, on your kind of event. Or create your account and see it for yourself.
No setup fees. No required monthly ticketing fee. No credit card required.
Related guides
Do this on your own event
Create your account, build your event and follow the steps in your own dashboard. You do not need to book a sales call.