# Import & export

> Data operations at organization scale - the import wizard, list exports, per-entity exports, and choosing between files and the API.

Source: https://app.assetlab.ca/docs/manage/import-export

Your data enters and leaves AssetLab through three doors: the import wizard, exports, and the API. This page is the Administrator's map of all three.

## Importing

The [import wizard](/docs/start/importing-data) (**Settings → Import**) handles spreadsheet-shaped data - assets, locations, parts, and some twenty other record types - with column mapping and row-level validation. That page covers the workflow in detail; the operational notes:

- **Start with the onboarding workbook** - Settings → Import offers a downloadable Excel workbook with one tab per record type in import order; fill it and upload the .xlsx directly (the wizard also accepts plain CSV files).
- **There is no rollback.** Imports write rows directly; a row that matches an existing record (by its natural key) **updates it in place**, and new rows are created. The safety net is the same mechanism: pilot with a small file, inspect, then re-import a corrected file - matching rows update rather than duplicate.
- **Pilot first** - a small batch, inspect, fix the source file, run the real thing.
- **GIS data has its own door** - [Esri sync](/docs/infrastructure/esri-sync) for infrastructure, which stays continuously current instead of one-shot.
- **Sources the wizard can't shape** - a condition study PDF, several inconsistent exports, or an environment you're still designing: a connected AI assistant can read them and create the records over MCP, in the same dependency order. See [Set up & import with AI](/docs/ai/set-up-with-ai).

## Exporting

### List exports (everyone, role-permitting)

Every list view exports its current filtered columns to CSV/Excel - the everyday "get me this in a spreadsheet."

### Reports (Manager+)

The [report builder](/docs/asset-management/reporting) exports any of its 30 data sources to CSV or Excel with your choice of columns and filters.

### Per-entity exports (Administrator)

The **Settings → Import** tab doubles as the export surface: each record type in its grid has a CSV export - the door for consultant hand-offs, board audits, or your own archival copy, one entity at a time. Your data is yours; getting it out is never a support ticket.

**Settings → Data** is a smaller, older surface: it exports Assets, Work Orders, and PM schedules (the button is labelled "Maintenance History") only, and its Import button is not yet functional - use Settings → Import for imports.

> [!danger] Settings → Data also hosts a **Danger Zone** that permanently deletes ALL work orders, PM schedules, and assets in your organization. There is no undo. Treat that button as what it is - a reset for trial data, never a cleanup tool on a live organization.

## Files vs. API

| Situation | Better door |
|---|---|
| One-time migration in | Import wizard |
| Continuous system-to-system sync | [REST API](/docs/reference/rest-api) + [webhooks](/docs/manage/webhooks) |
| BI warehouse refresh | API (scheduled pull) |
| "Send the auditor the asset register" | Report or list export |
| Conversational bulk edits | [MCP tools](/docs/ai/tools-and-scopes) with bulk endpoints |

The rule of thumb: **files for moments, API for pipelines.** A monthly manual export that someone re-uploads somewhere is a pipeline wearing a file costume - wire it properly once.

## Related

- [Importing your data](/docs/start/importing-data) - the wizard walkthrough
- [Security & data residency](/docs/manage/security) - where all this data actually lives