Moving your race volunteer spreadsheet into software

Keep a source copy and choose who owns changes

Save a dated copy of the current roster before importing. Decide who is responsible for the migration and when the old working sheet stops being the place people edit. If two coordinators continue updating different systems, no import tool can keep the two versions consistent without an agreed reconciliation process.

Separate people from assignments

A volunteer is a person; an assignment is the job they are doing at a particular event and shift. Do not turn every repeat appearance into a new person without review. Equally, do not assume that two people with the same name are the same volunteer. Check contact details and use the import review to resolve uncertain matches.

• Keep first and last names in clearly labelled columns where possible.
• Review email addresses and phone formats rather than guessing missing values.
• Keep role preferences separate from a confirmed shift.
• Move location instructions into the course point rather than copying them into every volunteer row.

Build the course and shifts before allocating people

Set up the event, route where available, course points and required shifts first. A useful naming pattern is a short point name plus a recognisable location. Enter headcounts independently of the names already on your list: otherwise a short-staffed point can look complete simply because the sheet never recorded how many people it needed.

Import a small sample and review the result

mrshl supports bringing an existing volunteer list across from a spreadsheet. Start with a small representative sample, including a returning volunteer and a person with more than one planned duty. Map the columns, review the proposed matches and check the saved records before bringing across the rest. Keep notes on any rows you deliberately leave out for follow-up.

Check the personal brief, not just the roster row

Allocate your sample volunteers and inspect their briefs on a phone and in print. Confirm the reporting time, course position, access notes, event-control contact and release instructions. A shift ending at a fixed time is not the same instruction as staying until an organiser authorises release. Correct the shared source information before distributing briefs.

Switch over and reconcile once

Compare the migrated list against the saved source: people brought across, confirmed duties, flexible volunteers and unresolved rows. Explain where coordinators should now make changes. Keep the old sheet as an archive, not a second live roster. Share the event sign-up link only after the public role descriptions and shift choices have been checked.