Excel file upload

For early-stage estimates, refurbishments, or any project where you don’t have a BIM model, you can upload an Excel workbook with materials or types and their quantities. Real-Time LCA turns each row into an item in the project’s Inventory that you can map to a material or construction.

When to use Excel upload

Concept and feasibility studies before a model exists.
Renovation and refurbishment projects driven by quantity take-offs.
Filling gaps when the BIM model is incomplete (e.g., MEP, finishes).

Open the project’s Materials page and choose New → Excel in the Inventory header.

Inventory New menu open with file upload options for IFC model and Excel, and create manually options for Material and Type. — The New menu on the Inventory

Download the template

The Upload Excel file modal opens. Click Download Template to get the official spreadsheet — it has the columns Real-Time LCA expects and a few example rows to copy.

Upload Excel file dialog with a Download Template button, an Upload to model dropdown, an Overwrite existing materials checkbox, and an XLSX drop zone. — The Upload Excel file dialog

materials-template.xlsx

Download the latest template directly.

Filling in the template

The template has two sheets:

ImportData — the sheet Real-Time LCA reads when you import. Put your real data here.
Example — a worked example you can copy from. It is ignored on import.

Import only reads the ImportData sheet. Anything you add to other sheets — including renamed copies of Example — is ignored.

Step 1: Pick a classification system

Cell A1 is a dropdown. Open it and choose the classification system you want to use for column A across the whole sheet.

ImportData sheet with cell A1 open showing the classification system dropdown listing BIMTypeCode, BSAB96, CCI, CCS, NS34512022, and Uniclass. — Classification system dropdown in cell A1

Supported systems:

Short name	Long name
`BIMTypeCode`	—
`BSAB96`	Klassifikationssystemet BSAB
`CCI`	Construction Classification International
`CCS`	Cuneco Classification System
`NS34512022`	Norsk Standard NS 3451:2022
`Uniclass`	Uniclass 2015

Pick the system that matches the one set in the project’s Classification settings — otherwise the rows will not group into types correctly.

Step 2: Enter a code per row

Cells A2 and below become validated dropdowns scoped to the classification system from A1. Pick the code for each row.

ImportData sheet with the cell below A1 open showing Uniclass codes like EF_15, EF_15_10, EF_15_30, EF_20, EF_20_10, EF_20_10_16. — Code dropdown for the chosen classification system (Uniclass)

Step 3: Fill in the remaining columns

Each row describes one material layer. To build a multi-layer type, repeat the same Classification Code and Type on consecutive rows and change only the Material and quantities — that tells Real-Time LCA those layers belong to the same construction.

Column	Header	Required	What to type
A	Classification System / Code	Yes	A1 sets the system (dropdown). A2+ pick a code from that system.
B	Label	Yes	A human-readable group, e.g., External walls.
C	Type	Yes	The construction’s type name, e.g., Exterior Wall 588 mm. Repeat across rows that belong to the same multi-layer type.
D	Material	Yes	The material in this layer, e.g., Brick, Insulation, Concrete. One material per row.
E	Meters	Optional	Linear quantity in metres.
F	Square meters	Optional	Area in square metres.
G	Cubic meters	Optional	Volume in cubic metres.
H	Pieces	Optional	Count of discrete items.
I	Weight	Optional	Mass in kg.

Use only the quantity columns that apply to the layer — leave the rest at 0 or blank.

Example: a three-layer external wall

A (Uniclass)	B (Label)	C (Type)	D (Material)	F (m²)	G (m³)	I (Weight)
`EF_25_10_25`	External walls	Exterior Wall 588 mm	Brick	1.00	0.11	1
`EF_25_10_25`	External walls	Exterior Wall 588 mm	Insulation	1.00	0.30	1
`EF_25_10_25`	External walls	Exterior Wall 588 mm	Concrete	1.00	0.18	1

The three rows share the same classification code and type, so Real-Time LCA stacks them as layers of one Exterior Wall 588 mm construction.

Import does not accept duplicates — rows with the same Type and Material combination will be rejected. Each material may only appear once per type, even if the quantities differ.For example, the following rows would be rejected because both share Exterior Wall 588 mm and Concrete:

Uniclass	Label	Type	Material	Meters	Square meters	Cubic meters	Pieces	Weight
`EF_25_10_25`	External walls	Exterior Wall 588 mm	Concrete	1	0.18	1
`EF_25_10_25`	External walls	Exterior Wall 588 mm	Concrete	2	0.18	6

Merge the quantities into a single row instead.

Save the workbook when you are done.

Upload the file

Back in the Upload Excel file dialog:

Pick the model under Upload to model — the rows are attached to it, so choose the discipline the take-off belongs to.
Choosing the model
Tick Overwrite existing materials to replace what was previously imported for that model. Leave it clear to add to what is already there.
Drop your .xlsx file in the drop zone, or click to browse.
Click Import — Cancel or × aborts without changes.

Upload Excel file dialog importing, with a toast confirming three materials were imported to architecture. — Importing

A toast confirms how many materials were imported and which model they went to.

After the import

Imported rows appear in the Inventory tagged Excel upload, so it is obvious which items came from a spreadsheet rather than a model.

Inventory with rows tagged Excel upload, and the filters panel open on Datasource offering Excel upload and Speckle. — Imported rows, and filtering by source

The Datasource filter separates Excel upload from Speckle, which is the quickest way to review just what you brought in. From there, map the rows exactly as you would model geometry — see Material Mapping.

Correcting a quantity

Open an imported item and switch to its Quantity tab. The panel is badged Imported from Excel upload and shows the quantity alongside the original value from the sheet, so an edit never hides what was uploaded.

Material detail panel on the Quantity tab, badged imported from Excel upload, showing unit, quantity, and original columns. — An imported quantity

Updating quantities in bulk

Re-uploading the workbook creates a new version of the rows. Existing mappings carry over for items whose identifier is unchanged.

If you re-upload a corrected sheet for the same model, tick Overwrite existing materials so the previous import is replaced rather than duplicated.

Learn the basics

When to use Excel upload

Open the upload menu

Download the template

materials-template.xlsx