How to Request an Attendee Bulk Upload for the Check-In Tool

Need to add or update a large number of attendees before your event? This guide walks you through how to request a bulk upload for the Check-In Tool, helping you save time and stay organized.

Important Notes About Bulk Uploads

You can use the bulk upload to add new attendees and edit existing ones in the same spreadsheet.
Each upload creates offline checkouts, which affect your gross totals, thermometers, and exports. No credit cards are charged.
Trellis accounts will be created for every unique email.
This feature supports single tickets only. If you need to group attendees, use the Sales Entry System.
If you're using the Raiser's Edge integration, bulk uploads may sync based on your integration settings.
Attendees do not automatically receive their event tickets.
Custom Fields should be entered into the Notes column of the template.
Mailing addresses are required to issue tax receipts to donors.

What Is an Attendee Bulk Upload?

A bulk upload allows you to:

Add multiple attendees to your Check-In Tool at once
Update existing attendee information
Create offline checkouts (for reporting purposes only—no credit cards are charged)

How to Prepare the Bulk Upload File

Download the Attendee Bulk Upload Template here.
1. Please do not change the template headers - they are used to identify your data during upload.
In the template, skip columns A: Upload ID and B: Ticket ID. We will complete these for you during upload.
Fill in the mandatory columns:
1. Ticket Name: The event ticket that the attendee purchased or received. See the next section for help on selecting an event ticket.
2. First Name and Last Name: The full name of the attendee. Should only be one attendee per line.
3. Email: The unique email address for the attendee. Will be used to create their Trellis account so they can bid in a silent auction and make faster purchases.
If you do not have all the mandatory information for each attendee:
1. If you know the name and email of the head guest of the party, use their info for each guest. For example, if Jane Smith is bringing a guest but you don't know who, create two attendees with Jane Smith's information and you can reassign at check-in.
2. If you do not know any information for anyone in the party (for example, a sponsor table who has yet to tell you guest details), or you don't have the email address for any attendees, use a dummy or filler content. For example, use "Guest [Sponsor Name]" as the full name, and "attendees@[YourOrgDomain].com".
Complete the optional fields if desired: middle name, phone number, mailing address, table number and paddle number.
Save the file as "Checkin Attendee Bulk Upload <fundraiser name>.csv". This will help us identify the specific event and ensure proper processing.
Email the .csv file to support@trellis.org. Include the fundraiser’s name, date, and start time in the email.

Please Note: Bulk uploads require two business days turnaround time.

Choosing an Event Ticket for Bulk Uploaded Attendees

Every bulk uploaded attendee needs to be linked to an event ticket in your Trellis fundraiser.
If you choose a paid ticket, each attendee will create an offline checkout for that amount, which will add to your gross totals and thermometer. This is helpful if you want your Trellis fundraiser to show the total amount raised across all sales channels.
If you don't want bulk uploaded attendees to contribute towards your gross total, choose a free ticket.

Pro Tip: We recommend creating a dedicated hidden event ticket for bulk uploaded attendees. For example, if you are bulk uploading sponsors, create a new hidden ticket called "Sponsors - Bulk Upload". This will make it easy to identify bulk uploads in your check-in tool and exports.

How to Update your Existing Attendees

Download your All Transactions Export. Click here to learn how
Delete all sheets in the file except for the Attendees sheet.
Please do not change the sheet headers - they are used to identify your data during upload.
Skip Column A: Upload ID. This is used to match with existing attendees and should not be changed.
Make any desired changes to the attendees.
1. If you make changes to existing information such as name, email, or mailing address, this will replace information in the Check-In Tool. This is useful if you need to reassign attendees with updated guest information.
2. You can also add any notes, paddle numbers or table numbers.
Save the file as "Checkin Attendee Bulk Upload <fundraiser name>.csv". This will help us identify the specific event and ensure proper processing.
Email the .csv file to support@trellis.org. Include the fundraiser’s name, date, and start time in the email.

Please Note: Bulk uploads require two business days turnaround time.

Overview of Bulk Upload Fields

Use this table to learn more about each field available in the bulk upload, and what format our system needs to upload properly.

Checkin Attendee Bulk Upload
Field Name	Description	Mandatory?
Upload ID	Please leave this empty, we will fill this out for you.	Yes
Ticket ID	Please leave this empty, we will fill this out for you.	Yes
Ticket Name	Make sure this matches the ticket name you have in your event settings.	Yes
First Name	First Name	Yes
Middle Name	Middle Name	Optional
Last Name	Last Name	Yes
Email	Email	Yes
Phone	Phone	Optional
Notes	If you have specific notes for a guest, you may indicate it here.	Optional
Paddle Number	If you are assigning paddle number to a guest, you may assign them here.	Optional
Table Number	If you have a table number designated to a guest, you may enter it here.	Optional
Mailing Address Line 1	Address Line	Optional
Mailing Address Line 2	Unit Number	Optional
Mailing Address City	City	Optional
Mailing Address Province	AB, BC, MB, ON, SK, etc.	Optional
Mailing Address Postal Code	Zip Code/Postal Code	Optional
Mailing Address Country	CA or US	Optional

Did this answer your question? If not, please reach out to our Product Engagement Team via the blue chat icon or email support@trellis.org.