What this article helps you do
Add multiple advisors to your Enterprise using a CSV upload in Brain. Learn how to prepare the file, choose an email verification option, resolve validation errors, and confirm that users and their Advisor Workspaces were created successfully.
Before you begin
- You must be an Enterprise Platform Administrator working in your own Enterprise.
- Download the current CSV template from the Bulk Insert Users window in Brain.
- Prepare 50 users or fewer per file. For large Enterprises, batches of 30 are recommended to reduce processing load.
- Confirm each advisor’s sign-in email and any applicable Broker-Dealer IDs.
- Decide whether users should receive verification emails before submitting the upload.
Bulk Insert Users creates new users with the Advisor Workspace role and an Advisor Workspace. It does not create Advisor Marketing Administrators or update existing users. Do not include Marketing Admin-only users or add a role column to the CSV.
How it works
Advisor rows vs. Marketing Administrator users
| What you need to add | Use this approach |
|---|---|
| New advisors with their own Advisor Workspaces | Bulk Insert Users; one advisor per CSV data row |
| Advisor Marketing Administrators | Use the Enterprise registration flow when Marketing Admin registration is enabled, or have an authorized administrator assign the role in Brain |
| Existing users who need another role or updated details | Manage the existing user rather than uploading them as a new user |
There is no role column in the bulk-upload template. Every successfully processed row creates an Advisor Workspace user by default.
Validation and creation are separate stages
- The entire CSV is validated first. If any row has a validation error, no users from that file are created. Correct every listed error and upload the complete corrected file again.
- After validation passes, users are created individually in the background. Processing usually takes a few minutes. A later failure, such as a logo that cannot be imported, can prevent one user from being created without affecting the others.
There is no completion confirmation message. Reload and check the resulting users after each batch.
What each new advisor receives
- A user with the Advisor Workspace role
- An Advisor Workspace containing the supplied profile details, plus the Enterprise’s Default Contact Groups and pipeline stages
- A Broker Dealer assignment from the CSV, or the Enterprise’s default Broker Dealer when one is configured
- No password; first-time sign-in is explained below
- An automatic default subscription for the Enterprise (if configured)
- This can happen when the user verifies their email, or immediately if accounts are marked verified
Do not assume that creating a user automatically activates every product subscription.
How to do it
Step 1: Open Bulk Insert Users and download the template
- Sign in to Brain.
- Open the correct Enterprise.
- Open its three-dot menu and select Bulk Insert Users.
- Download the CSV template from the window.
Step 2: Prepare the CSV in the exact required order
Keep every column, even when its values are blank. Headers are case-sensitive and must appear in this exact order. Remove extra columns and do not rename the headers.
| Column | What to enter |
|---|---|
account_email | Required. The user’s sign-in email; saved in lowercase. Must be unique within the Enterprise and within the file. |
first_name | Required. User’s first name. |
last_name | Required. User’s last name. |
company_name | Required. Advisor Workspace name. |
broker_dealer_id | An existing Broker-Dealer’s ID, not its name. Leave blank if no Broker Dealer applies or the Enterprise uses a default. The Enterprise default overrides this field. |
business_phone_number | Workspace’s main phone number. |
business_email | Workspace’s business email/default sender email. This is separate from the sign-in email. |
website_url | Workspace’s website address. Valid Format: https://www.URL.com |
address_line_1 | Street address. Must be filled in for any address fields to be saved. |
address_line_2 | Additional address information. |
city | City. |
state | State or province. |
zip | Postal or ZIP code. |
professional_designations | User’s designations; saved exactly as entered. Review punctuation and formatting. |
disclosure | Workspace disclosure. Check special characters for encoding issues. |
email_signature_html | User’s email signature HTML; saved exactly as entered. Check formatting and encoding. |
logo | A public URL pointing directly to an image. It must not require sign-in. Leave blank if you do not have a suitable URL. |
Before exporting the CSV:
- Remove duplicate
account_emailentries within the file. - Check whether the users already exist in the Enterprise. Resolve existing-user records rather than attempting to recreate them.
- Confirm Broker Dealer IDs in Brain; do not substitute Broker Dealer names.
- Confirm email domains have active DNS records. An invalid email or domain can block validation for the entire file.
- Check that logo links open the actual image without authentication—not a web page, file name, or local file path. Large images may fail to import.
- Keep each file to 50 users or fewer. Although larger files may not be blocked, they risk overloading processing. Use batches of 30 for large Enterprises.
Step 3: Upload the file and choose email verification
Upload the CSV in the Bulk Insert Users window, then choose:
| Option | Result |
|---|---|
| Send email verifications — default | Each user receives an email and must verify their address. If default subscription is added, it starts when the user verifies. |
| Mark all accounts as verified | Users are created already verified, and no verification email is sent. If default subscription is added, it starts immediately. |
Confirm the choice matches your Enterprise’s onboarding plan before proceeding.
Step 4: Submit and resolve validation errors
- Click Bulk Insert.
- If errors appear below the file field, correct every listed issue in the CSV.
- Export the corrected CSV and upload the whole file again.
Understanding row numbers: The number in an error refers to the data row, not the spreadsheet line including the header. For example, 20.account_email identifies the 20th advisor, which is line 21 when the header is line 1.
Step 5: Validate the results after each batch
- Allow a few minutes for background processing, then reload the page.
- Compare the created users with the batch list.
- Confirm the expected users and their Advisor Workspaces exist.
- Spot-check sign-in emails, names, Workspace names, Broker Dealer assignments, business details, logos, and address fields.
- Confirm verification status and any expected automatic membership behavior.
- Resolve missing users before uploading the next batch.
If some users were created and others are missing, do not resubmit the entire successful batch. Check which users already exist, investigate the missing rows, and prepare a file containing only confirmed missing users after correcting the cause.
What happens next
Users created in bulk do not have a password.
- Email/password sign-in: Users use Forgot password on the Enterprise sign-in page to set a password.
- SSO: Users sign in through the Enterprise’s configured SSO method.
- If verification emails were sent: Users must first click the verification link. Clicking it within one day signs them in automatically for that session; it does not create a password. Share the appropriate sign-in instructions with users.
- If accounts were marked verified: No verification email is sent. Share the appropriate sign-in instructions with users.
Confirm required subscriptions are configured before expecting access to subscribed products.
Troubleshooting
| Issue or error | What to check |
|---|---|
| “Header row is incorrect.” | Match all 17 headers exactly, including case and order. Include blank optional columns and remove extra columns. |
| “The 20.account_email must be a valid email address.” | Check the email format and whether its domain has active DNS records. Data row 20 is spreadsheet line 21. |
| “The 20.account_email field has a duplicate value.” | The same sign-in email appears more than once in the CSV. Confirm the correct record and remove the duplicate. |
| “The 20.account_email has already been taken.” | That email already belongs to a user in this Enterprise. Review the existing user and remove that row from the new-user upload. |
| “The 20.first_name field is required.” or another required-field error | Fill in account_email, first_name, last_name, and company_name for every advisor. |
| “The selected 20.broker_dealer_id is invalid.” | Use an existing Broker Dealer ID, not its name. Confirm whether the Enterprise uses a default Broker Dealer. |
| “The 20.logo format is invalid.” or a website URL error | Supply a valid URL. A logo must also be a public, direct image URL. |
| Validation passed, but one or more users are missing | Wait a few minutes and reload. Check the missing rows’ logo URLs: failed image imports prevent those users from being created and may show no on-screen error. |
| Address fields are missing | address_line_1 must be populated; otherwise the address is not saved. |
| Marketing Administrator permissions were not assigned | Bulk upload assigns Advisor Workspace only. Use the supported Marketing Admin registration or role-assignment workflow. |
| No completion message appeared | This is expected. Reload and compare the user list with the uploaded batch. |
When to contact Support
Contact Support if:
- An Enterprise Platform Administrator cannot find Bulk Insert Users for their Enterprise.
- Validation errors persist after the CSV is corrected.
- Users remain missing after processing and logo checks.
- Broker Dealer assignments, Workspace details, verification, or expected automatic memberships do not match your Enterprise configuration.
Provide your Enterprise name, upload time, affected sign-in emails, relevant data-row numbers, and the exact error text. Share only the information needed through your approved support channel; never include passwords.