Using the Import Users function in the Users & Teams page in Backstory is a great way to add users in bulk and edit existing users in bulk.

However, there may be times when a file fails to import as expected.
There are a few reasons for this, which are outlined below.

When importing a .csv into Backstory, you must include the correct column headers. The import will fail if headers are misspelled or in the incorrect order.

The best practice to ensure a successful import is to use the Export Users feature via the Users & Teams page to generate a .CSV of current users.
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This exported file will include all columns that Backstory is expecting to receive once the file is re-imported.

From there, the Status and Suspended At columns must be removed before importing the file.

When adding or editing users via .csv, the file you’re importing must include an operator in the Operation column that indicates your action with each row.
Accepted operators include:

For example, if you’d like to change the configuration profiles for three users from the default profile to one that enables intake and sync, like the example below, make that change in the appropriate column and include Edit in those users’ Operation column.

Uploading user edits via .csv is a quick way to make a large number of changes without having to do so one by one.

For large organizations, however, it’s not uncommon to have thousands of users active in Backstory at one time. In the rare event an admin needs to make changes to hundreds or thousands of users at a time, it’s currently recommended to make edits to no more than 500 users per upload.

In other words, if you’re making edits to 800 users, the best practice is to separate the file into two 400-user uploads.

Once Salesforce Role Hierarchy is enabled, certain user attributes like job title and team cannot be edited within Backstory.

You can verify if Salesforce Role Hierarchy is enabled via the Users & Teams page. If enabled, you’ll see Manage Mode: Auto in the bottom-left corner of the page, like so:

These user attributes are pulled directly from Salesforce and thus must be edited in Salesforce. Once an edit is made to a user’s profile in Salesforce, that change will be automatically pulled into Backstory.
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With that, any attempted edits to ‘locked’ user attributes, such as job title, will result in the following validation error:
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For best results, we recommend saving your file as CSV UTF-8.