Spreadsheet template

The spreadsheet template is an empty workbook for your activities, organization, and impact inputs. Download it from Add data on any Collect page. This page explains how the template relates to the app, what the importer accepts, and every column.

One schema, three uses

The template, the importer, and the Collect grids share one schema: the same sheets, columns, dropdown lists, and checks. That gives you a few guarantees:

• A file that follows the template imports without mapping any columns.
• The checks Nios runs on import are the same checks it runs when you edit a cell.
• An export uses the same sheets and headers, so you can edit it and import it again.
• The template guides you with dropdowns and notes, but it doesn't enforce them. Pasting values bypasses the dropdowns. Nios checks every row on import and lists problems in Issues.

File layout

The template has an Overview sheet with a quick start, followed by four input sheets in the order you fill them in:

• Activities: One row per purchase.
• Impact inputs: Your own results and factors.
• Organization entities: Your group companies, subsidiaries, and sites.
• Organization hierarchy: Where each entity sits in your organization.

Under its headers, each sheet shows every column's description and input type, as in the tables below. On Activities, a row above the headers groups the columns into sections, such as Activities and Matching. Dropdowns cover 40,000 rows on Activities and 5,000 on the other sheets. More rows still import.

What the importer accepts

• Files: .xlsx and .xls. You can drop several files at once.
• Sheets: Nios recognizes a sheet by its column headers, not its name. A sheet that isn't in the file stays as it is in the app.
• Headers: Case doesn't matter, and the columns can be in any order.
• Incomplete rows: Every row that isn't empty imports, even with missing or invalid values. Nios lists them as issues. For what an activity needs to be matched and calculated, see What Nios needs.
• Your own columns: A column Nios doesn't know imports as a custom column. Use it to keep your own data in the same file, such as a region you can group your impacts by. On Activities, add it in the Activities section, after Comment and before Entity name. On the other sheets, add it at the end.

Activities

One row per purchased good or service.

Each metric column lists the impact inputs for that metric first, then the same sectors as Base sector.

Impact inputs

One row per result or factor. See Impact inputs.

Organization entities

One row per entity. See Organization.

Organization hierarchy

One row per path from the top of your organization down to one entity. The columns are Entity name for level 1, then Level 2 to Level 15. Each cell names an entity from Organization entities. The last filled cell in a row is the entity the row places.

For deeper organizations, add Level 16 and further columns to the right. Nios places up to 50 levels.