As you complete your Lease File Audit (LFA), you may want to review and refine data across multiple units to ensure your final reports are clear, consistent, and accurate. Reviewing and editing each individual audit manually can be time-consuming — but with Bulk Updates, you don't have to.
The Bulk Update feature lets you export audit data into a spreadsheet, make edits in one place, and re-import the file to apply changes across multiple audits at once.
What This Article Covers
- When to use Bulk Updates
- How to export your audit data
- Understanding the exported spreadsheet
- Making edits and the critical rules to follow
- Importing your updated spreadsheet
- Verifying your changes
- Best practices and when to contact Support
What Are Bulk Updates Used For?
Bulk Updates are designed for post-audit cleanup and standardization, not for replacing the audit process itself.
Common use cases include:
- Standardizing employer names across occupants (e.g., collapsing "Navy," "US Navy," and "USN" into a single value)
- Correcting income frequency selections so annual income calculates correctly (e.g., flipping from Annual to Monthly for rows where monthly amounts were entered)
- Applying a multiplier to income values to convert between frequencies (e.g., multiplying by 12 to convert monthly figures to annual)
- Filling in missing values for Yes/No fields
- Making small text or selection-based corrections after audits are complete
If you find yourself repeating the same correction across many units, Bulk Updates are usually the right solution.
Exporting Your Audit Data
- Navigate to your Lease File Audit.
- Click the three-dot menu at the top of the screen.
- Select Export Audit Data.
A spreadsheet will download with a filename that begins with "corrected".
Understanding the Exported Spreadsheet
When you open the spreadsheet, you'll see only the data that was entered or changed during the audit.
Important details to keep in mind:
- Data that was pre-loaded from the rent roll will not appear unless it was modified during the audit.
- This is expected behavior — do not assume the data is missing.
- Only editable audit fields are included in the export.
Making Edits in the Spreadsheet
You can edit values directly in the spreadsheet. A few examples of common edits:
- Updating the Comments field for a specific unit (e.g., Unit 212)
- Standardizing a field value across multiple rows (e.g., normalizing "Navy," "US Navy," and "USN" to a single preferred value)
- Applying a formula to convert values (e.g., multiplying an income column by 12 to convert monthly figures to annual)
Be sure to save the spreadsheet after making your changes.
Critical Rules for Bulk Updates (Read Before Editing)
To ensure your import succeeds and your data remains intact, the following rules must be followed.
1. Spreadsheet Structure Cannot Change
Do not:
- Rename column headers
- Reorder columns
- Delete required columns
- Modify row identifiers
- Change unit numbers (including leading 0s)
Any structural changes will cause the import to fail.
2. Field Values Must Match Field Types
Each column only accepts valid values for its field type:
- Yes/No fields: must contain only "yes" or "no"
- Dropdown fields: must match an existing option exactly
- Currency and numeric fields: must contain numbers only
- Text fields: cannot be entered into numeric or currency fields
Invalid values may prevent the import or cause fields not to update.
3. Blank Cells Will NOT Overwrite Existing Data
Cells that already contain information can only be updated to another valid value. If you change a populated cell to blank, the Lease File Audit will not be updated for that field.
This behavior is intentional — it's designed to prevent accidental data loss (such as unintentionally wiping out large portions of an audit).
What this means in practice:
- Changing "Weekly" to "Bi-Weekly" will update correctly.
- Leaving a previously populated cell blank will not remove or overwrite the value.
- Existing audit data remains unchanged when the uploaded cell is empty.
If you need to remove a value entirely (rather than replacing it with a different valid value), that has to be done manually in the individual audit file — the Bulk Update flow can't clear values.
Importing Your Updated Spreadsheet
- Return to your Lease File Audit.
- Click the three-dot menu again.
- Select Import Audit Data.
- Upload your saved "corrected" spreadsheet.
Once the upload is complete, you'll see a confirmation message indicating the import was successful, along with a count of how many Lease Audits were updated.
Verifying Your Changes
After importing:
- Open one or two of the units that you edited (for example, Unit 212).
- Confirm that the updated fields reflect your changes.
If the data appears correctly, your bulk update is complete.
Once you've verified the update, don't forget to regenerate your LFA reports so the corrected data flows through to your final outputs.
Best Practices
- Make a copy of your spreadsheet before editing, especially for large audits — that way you always have the original as a fallback.
- Test updates on a small set of rows first if you're unsure whether your edits will work.
- Reach out to Support if an import fails rather than attempting repeated uploads with structural changes — a failed import can leave you unsure whether partial changes went through.
When to Contact Support
Contact the Due Diligence team if:
- Your import fails and you're unsure why
- Values appear not to update after a successful import
- You're unsure whether Bulk Updates are the right approach for your situation
Related Articles
- Due Diligence: LFA Reporting Overview & Details — the full reference for what appears in your LFA reports, including how key calculations work.
- Due Diligence: Running Reports — how to generate reports.
- Due Diligence: Updating Data and Regenerating Reports — how to refresh reports after your data changes.
- FAQ: Due Diligence Unit Walks — common questions about DD unit walks and LFAs.
Need Help?
The Due Diligence team is happy to assist:
- Submit a Service Request
- Email us at dd@happy.co
- For emergency, day-of support, give us a call at 447-427-7926 x2
Hours of operation: M–F, 7 AM – 5 PM PST