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Import a tour via CSV

Already routing a run in a spreadsheet? Bulk-import every show into Advance from a CSV instead of forwarding advances one at a time.

Updated June 8, 2026

Forwarding advances one at a time is the right move once a run is booked and venues are sending details. But if you’ve already got the whole tour routed in a spreadsheet, you don’t need to wait for emails. Bulk-import every date at once and advance each show later.

Import early, advance later

Importing a tour and advancing its shows happen at different points on the calendar. Routing comes together months out; advancing happens as each date gets close.

  • Early, while you’re routing: you’ve got a spreadsheet of the whole run: dates, venues, cities, maybe deal terms. Import it and every date lands on your dashboard at once, long before the first advance email.
  • Later, show by show: as each date approaches and the venue sends details, forward the advance into the show that’s already there. The schedule, contacts, and hospitality fill in the skeleton you imported.

The CSV is the skeleton of the whole tour, and each advance puts the detail on one show when the time comes.

1. Prepare your spreadsheet

One row per show, headers in the first row. Don’t have a spreadsheet yet? Download the template CSV and fill it in. It has every column in the order Advance expects, and the same template is in the import dialog at step 3. Already routing in a sheet of your own? Make sure your headers match the columns below.

Only three columns are required:

  • date: the show date (any normal format works: 2026-09-10, Sep 10 2026, 9/10/2026)
  • venue_name: the venue
  • city: the city, plus the state

Everything else is optional, and you can add it later in the app. If you do have it in the sheet, Advance brings it in:

  • venue_address, venue_capacity
  • ticket_price, guarantee, backend_deal, walkout_potential, hospitality, artist_comps

Headers are forgiving: case and spacing don’t matter (Venue Name, venue_name, and VENUE NAME all land in the same place), and a couple of common shorthands are understood (venue → venue name, cap → capacity). You don’t group the shows into a tour with a column. You pick the tour inside the app at step 3.

2. Export as CSV

From Google Sheets: File → Download → Comma-separated values (.csv). From Excel: Save As → CSV UTF-8. Keep it to one tab, since exporting a multi-tab workbook saves only the active sheet. A few stray header or title rows above your real header row are fine. Advance finds the row that starts with date and ignores the preamble.

3. Import into Advance

Open Shows (or the Dashboard) and click Import CSV. On a tour’s page it lives in the tour’s ⋯ menu, where it pre-files the import into that tour.

In the dialog, set Assign to Tour first, then drop in your file:

  • Standalone leaves the shows ungrouped.
  • Pick an existing tour to add these dates to it.
  • + Create new tour names a new tour on the spot. This is how a CSV becomes a tour.

Then drag your CSV onto the drop zone, or click to browse. (First time? Download template CSV here for the exact columns.)

4. Review the preview

Advance matches your headers to its fields automatically, so there’s no column-mapping step. Every row from your sheet shows up as a card before anything is saved, so you can confirm it read things correctly. The header shows which tour the run will import into. Each new card shows the actual values it picked up (capacity, ticket price, guarantee), so you can spot-check the numbers before you commit.

Each card carries a status badge:

  • New: a show that doesn’t exist yet, so Advance creates it.
  • Update: the date and venue match a show you already have, so Advance updates it instead of making a duplicate. Re-importing an edited sheet is safe: your post-show settlement numbers stay untouched.
  • Probable match: a near-match, like a venue spelled two ways. Advance won’t guess. You Confirm match or Import as new on that card before the import button unlocks.

Advance flags any row missing a required field as Invalid and skips it. The card shows what went wrong, like a bad date or a missing venue, so you can fix the sheet and re-import.

When the preview looks right, click Import.

5. Review the imported shows

Every imported show lands unreviewed, the same as a parsed advance, so the “New” flag behaves the same way. Open each one, fill in the logistics (or forward the venue’s advance into it later), then Mark advanced when it’s confirmed with the venue.

The whole run is now on your dashboard and tour views:

What’s next