Use a bulk update to:
Change profile details for many users at once (for example, correcting job titles after a restructure)
Add users to Teams and Communities in bulk
Before you begin
You need to be an Organisation Admin. Bulk updates aren't available to other roles.
If your organisation uses SCIM, you can't bulk update profiles, because profile data is controlled by your identity provider. You can still update Team and Community access.
✅ You can update | 🚫 You can't update |
Teams, Communities, First name, Last name, Job title, Employee ID, Department, Line manager, Company name, Location, Contact information | A user's role in Blink (for example, promoting a Basic User to Org Admin) |
Decide what you're doing
The setup step works differently depending on your goal, so decide before you start:
Updating profile fields. You need the affected users' profiles in the export file.
Updating Team or Community access. You need the affected users' profiles in the file, plus the destination groups added as columns.
You can do both in a single update.
Step 1: Start the update
In the Admin portal, open Users.
Select Bulk Update.
Click New Update.
Under Update Users.
Click Begin update.
You'll land on the Setup page.
Step 2: Choose which groups to include
ℹ️ This step causes most failed updates, so it's the one to get right.
Every group you add appears in the export file. The Include team member profiles toggle controls how:
Toggle | Icon | Result in the export file |
On | 
| The group's members are included as rows, one row per user, with their profile fields. |
Off | 
| The group appears only as a column, so you can assign users to it. Its existing members aren't added as rows. |
If you're updating profile fields
Add the group or groups containing the users you want to update.
Set every toggle to on, so their profiles appear as rows you can edit.
Click Next.
If you're updating Team or Community access
Add the group containing the users you want to move, and set its toggle to on. This gives you their rows.
Add the destination group or groups you're adding people to, and set those toggles to off. This gives you the columns without pulling in everyone who's already a member.
Click Next.
Remove the Default Team. It's added automatically and contains everyone in your organisation. Unless you're updating every user, take it out, or you'll export far more rows than you need.
Tip: export every user instead. If you'd rather work from a complete list, go to Users in the Admin portal, click Actions, and select Export users. This file uses the same format as the bulk update template, so you can edit and upload it the same way.
It includes deactivated accounts. To filter them out, look at column U (is_disabled) and remove any row marked with an x.
Step 3: Download the template
Once setup is complete, Blink generates your file. Large exports can take a few minutes.
Click Download, then open the file and enable editing.
Step 4: Edit the file
To update profile fields, edit the relevant cells directly.
To add users to a group, scroll right to find the columns for the groups you added, and type an x in each user's row under the correct group.
Warning. Don't edit the first column or the group names in the top row. Blink uses these to match records, and if either is changed, the import will fail.
For formatting rules, including how to enter start dates, see the related formatting articles.
Save the file with a name you'll recognise.
Step 5: Upload
Enter a name for the update. You can't continue without one.
Click Browse and select your saved file.
Click Upload.
Large files can take a while to process. You don't need to keep the page open. Blink emails you when the update finishes.
Fix a failed update
Go back to the Bulk Update page.
Click the failed import. You'll see every error listed line by line.
Open your file, correct those rows, and save.
Re-upload the file and click Next.
Blink emails you the result. If it fails again, repeat these steps using the new error list.
Warning: your file overwrites newer changes. Blink applies the file exactly as written. If a user is added, or a profile is edited directly in Blink, between your download and your upload, your file will overwrite those changes without warning. If time has passed since you exported, start again with a fresh file rather than reusing the old one.
💡 Helpful Hint 💡
If any users are added onto Blink or if their details are amended in the time period between downloading the excel file and re-uploading the same excel file in the upload portal, those amendments that have been made outside of the excel file in that timeframe (i.e. changes made directly in Blink or via a different upload) won't be reflected on Blink.