Importing Businesses (Entities) Open the import screen From Entities , choose Import . Select the import type, CSV or Excel , choose your file, then Import . Use Download Templates for the correct column headers. Create an entity manually Go to Entities → Add entity (or from a user’s profile, Add entity to tie an owner). Fill in the form and save. Use a file import when you have many rows or spreadsheet data already prepared. Import entities only (one sheet) For entity rows only (no separate business-profile sheet). Import type: Entities Format: CSV or Excel Download the Entities template, fill it, upload, then Import Matching: Each row matches on name . The same name as an existing entity updates that record. Columns name — required owner_first_name , owner_last_name — optional; both must match an existing user’s first and last name to attach that user as owner description , dbas , email , website_url , import_context — optional text phone_number — optional; numeric (10-digit style) type , tax_classification — optional; use enum keys from Allowed enum values (not the display labels) naics_code — optional; must be a code that already exists in RISE (see note under that section) state , locality , town — optional; see State, locality, and town under Allowed enum values Social URLs — optional; one column each: facebook_url , twitter_url , instagram_url , linkedin_url , youtube_url , meetup_url (valid URLs) comments — optional; creates a comment on the entity Import entities and business profiles (two worksheets, Excel) One workbook for entities plus business profiles . Download Entities and Profiles (Multiple Sheets) Import type: Entities and Profiles (Multiple Sheet) Format: Excel ( .xlsx ), upload, then Import Worksheet 1 — same columns and behavior as Import entities only . Worksheet 2 — one business profile per row. entity_id — optional; RISE entity ID (used first if present) entity_name — optional; exact entity name if entity_id is not used (must match sheet 1 or an entity already in RISE) entity_stage — optional; enum key (see Entity stage ) registered_on_va_scc — optional; 0 or 1 chamber_link — optional; URL target_market — optional; text import_context — optional; text If neither entity_id nor entity_name resolves to an entity, that row does not create a profile. Business profiles only If entities already exist, use the Business Profiles shortcut on the entity import page and its single-sheet templates. Errors Failed rows may list on the screen with a short message; fix the file and import again. Allowed enum values for imports Imports expect the key (left column). Labels are for reference when reading the UI or exports. Entity type ( type ) Key Label sole-proprietorship Sole Proprietorship s-corp S-Corporation c-corp C-Corporation b-corp B-Corporation corporation-type-unknown Corporation (Type Unknown) llc Limited Liability Company (LLC) partnership Partnership pllc Professional Limited Liability Company (PLLC) llp Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) pc Professional Corporation (PC) cooperative Cooperative 501c3 Nonprofit - 501(c)(3) nonprofit-other Nonprofit - Other not-yet-formed Not yet formed government Government other Other Tax classification ( tax_classification ) Key Label disregarded-entity Disregarded Entity partnership Partnership c-corp C-Corporation s-corp S-Corporation 501c3 Nonprofit - 501(c)(3) llc Limited Liability Company (LLC) trust Trust estate Estate exempt Exempt not-applicable N/A Entity stage ( entity_stage , worksheet 2) Key Label ideation Ideation startup Startup growth Growth expansion Expansion mature Mature NAICS code ( naics_code ) Not a fixed list in this manual: the value must match a NAICS code already stored in RISE. If import fails on naics_code , use a code from the app’s NAICS list or leave the column empty. State, locality, and town ( state , locality , town ) These follow RISE region configuration (states such as VA and NC , with locality and town keys under each—for example county keys like halifax , mecklenburg , and town keys nested under the locality). The importer may normalize some human-readable county or town names to the correct keys when state is set. When in doubt, use the same keys as on an exported entity or as shown when editing an entity in the UI. In this project, entities import does not use a separate “county” column. The spreadsheet column locality is validated and normalized against config('enums.region_localities') for the given state ( EntitiesImport maps either the enum key or the display label case-insensitively to the stored key). Counties, cities, and other places all live in that same region_localities list. Below are markdown tables you can paste into docs or a PR. Virginia — locality enum ( state = VA ) Stored enum key ( locality ) Import/display label Typical kind halifax Halifax County County mecklenburg Mecklenburg County County brunswick Brunswick County County lunenburg Lunenburg County County charlotte Charlotte County County prince_edward Prince Edward County County cumberland Cumberland County County buckingham Buckingham County County nottoway Nottoway County County amelia Amelia County County pittsylvania Pittsylvania County County henry Henry County County patrick Patrick County County fairfax Fairfax County County danville_city City of Danville City martinsville_city City of Martinsville City charlottesville Charlottesville City centreville Centreville Place dumfries Dumfries Town North Carolina — locality enum ( state = NC ) Stored enum key ( locality ) Import/display label Typical kind durham Durham City / locality garner Garner Town greensboro Greensboro City chatham Chatham Locality (label as in config) Import behavior (short) Column Role state Must match a key in region_localities (e.g. VA , NC ). locality Use the stored enum key (e.g. halifax ) or the display label (e.g. Halifax County ); import lowercases and resolves labels to keys when they match that state’s map.