Introducing the bulk insert action
We're launching bulk insert into public beta. Bulk insert is a new action that adds many rows to an Input Table in a single step. Teams use it to snapshot data, model financial scenarios, and stand up new plans from data they already have.
Until now, Sigma actions could update or delete multiple rows, but every new row had to be inserted one at a time. With bulk insert, there's no cap on how many rows you can insert at once. For example, you can:
- Copy an existing scenario
- Snapshot a table from your data platform
- Submit several records from one form
All those rows then land in an Input Table in a single action.
For finance and planning teams building models directly in Sigma, this removes the need to rebuild a baseline by hand every time you need a new version of it (one of the most repetitive parts of the job).
What workflows does bulk insert support?
Bulk insert supports plenty of workflows. Today, we'll walk through three: reusing a scenario as a baseline, snapshotting data at a point in time, and submitting multiple records through a form.
Model a new scenario from an existing baseline
While your warehouse holds today's numbers, most of the work happens outside because it's inflexible for running multiple scenarios. As a result, most teams export a spreadsheet at close and build one scenario per spreadsheet.
Each new file starts from scratch, even though most of the assumptions carry over from the last one untouched. Once you've built more than a handful, it's hard to track where any one scenario actually changed.
bulk insert copies every assumption from Scenario A into a new Input Table, so Scenario B starts as an exact clone of the last one.
Now you spend your time on the few assumptions that actually changed instead of rebuilding the ones that didn't. Because each version is a governed Input Table instead of a file, you can look back later and see how good your planning really was.
Snapshot data at a point in time
Your warehouse only shows you today, so if you want to know what the pipeline looked like at the end of last quarter, you're out of luck. Most teams handle this by exporting a spreadsheet at close and hoping nobody messes with it.
The problem is that the only record of last quarter is in a spreadsheet outside of your warehouse and Sigma.
Bulk insert copies a live table into an Input Table in a single action, capturing a snapshot that remains fixed even as the source data changes. Run it on a schedule and each period stacks a new dated snapshot in the same table.
This means teams can keep a historical record they can report on or compare against later, without exporting data outside Sigma to preserve it.
Submit multiple records from one form
Forms in Sigma submit one row at a time. So if a marketing manager is splitting a budget across five channels, that's five trips through the same form. It's slow, and it's where mistakes creep in: a channel gets skipped, a number gets fat-fingered, and the plan ends up running on bad numbers.
With bulk insert, a multi-select form element treats each selection as a row.
By the way, five updates are the easy case. When this scales up to 40 stores or 200 SKUs, nobody wants to be hand-entering an allocation, so that work either goes to a developer to script or it doesn't get done.
Whether it's 40 stores or five channels, you fill out the form once.
How does bulk insert work?
- Choose a source. Pick where the rows come from: a table or dataset from your data platform, an existing or linked Input Table, a pivot table, or a multi-select form element.
- Map the columns. Align source columns to the destination Input Table's columns, or match on primary key where relevant.
- Set the trigger. Configure the action to run on click or on a schedule, depending on the source.
- Run it. Sigma inserts all mapped rows into the destination Input Table in a single action.
How Sigma's finance team uses bulk insert for planning
Our own finance team ran into this building, Sigma's headcount planning app. A full-year plan runs to thousands of rows before anyone asks a single what-if question: 10 accounts across 20 departments across 12 months is 2,400 rows. The old process was two days of stitching spreadsheets together, and by the time the rollup was finished, three of the inputs had already changed.
Now bulk insert copies the current roster and its assumptions into a new Input Table in a single step, so every plan starts from the same baseline rather than one built by hand.
What's next
Bulk insert is in public beta on Input Tables today. As Sigma Tables move toward general availability, we plan to bring bulk insert to Sigma Tables as well.
Get started
Bulk insert is in public beta today. If you're already a Sigma customer, look for the new bulk source options the next time you configure an Insert row action. The documentation walks through each source type.
New to Sigma? Request a demo to see how bulk insert fits into the planning and reporting workflows you're building.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a limit to how many rows I can insert at once?
No. Bulk insert doesn't limit the number of rows per action.
What sources can I insert from?
You can insert rows from tables and datasets from your data platform, existing Input Tables, linked Input Tables, pivot tables, and multi-select form elements.
Does this work with Input Tables I already have, or only new ones?
It works with any Input Table where the Insert row action is available, new or existing.
Will this work with Sigma Tables?
The need to bulk insert data doesn't change with Sigma Tables. We expect the underlying implementation to evolve as Sigma Tables reach general availability, and we'll share more when that's ready.
