Need a proper Excel workbook of your Ultimate Member users — not a CSV you open and re-save? UM Export Pro exports members directly to .xlsx, with the same filters, columns, presets, and background jobs you use for CSV.
Use Excel when you’re sending reports to non-technical stakeholders, preserving column types for board packs, or avoiding CSV encoding surprises in Microsoft Excel / Google Sheets uploads.
Free vs Pro — what you need
| Capability | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Export to CSV | Yes | Yes |
| Export to Excel (.xlsx) | No | Yes — required |
| Format picker on Download now | CSV only | CSV or Excel |
| Background export as .xlsx | No | Yes |
| Scheduled automatic Excel delivery | No | Yes (email / Dropbox; Sheets destination is CSV-only) |
| Export row limit | 2,000 | Unlimited |
Bottom line: Excel (.xlsx) export is a Pro-only feature. Free can export CSV (which Excel can open), but it cannot generate a native .xlsx workbook.
Upgrade: UM Export Pro
Before you start
- Ultimate Member is installed and active
- UM Export Pro is installed, activated, and Freemius-licensed
- You’re logged in as an administrator (
manage_options)
If both Free and Pro are installed, use the top-level UM Export menu — Free’s UI is disabled while Pro is active.
Export to Excel in 3 steps
Step 1 — Choose who to include
- Go to UM Export → Export.
- On 1. Target & filters, set filters as needed, for example:
- Account status = Approved
- Registration = Last 30 days
- Role, WooCommerce, FluentCRM, or custom meta rules (Pro)
- Leave filters empty to include all members matching no restriction.
Active filters show as summary chips at the top. Optional: load a saved preset or a suggested starter (All members, Incomplete profiles, WooCommerce customers).
📸 Screenshot 1 — Filters
Step 1 with Basics expanded (status + registration) and summary chips visible.
Step 2 — Choose columns
- Open 2. Columns.
- Select fields from Basic Details (ID, Name, Email, Role, Username, Display Name, Registered Date, Profile Photo, Cover Photo).
- Add Ultimate Member custom fields from the searchable list; drag to reorder on the right.
- If WooCommerce / FluentCRM are active, add commerce or CRM columns as needed.
- Optional: click Preview first 25 rows in the sticky footer to confirm the match count and sample data.
📸 Screenshot 2 — Columns
Step 2 with selected columns ordered on the right and the live preview available from the footer.
Step 3 — Download as Excel
- Open 3. Review & export and confirm the summary (who / columns / format).
- In the sticky footer, set the format dropdown to Excel (.xlsx).
- Click Download now.
Your browser downloads a native Excel workbook. Open it in Microsoft Excel, LibreOffice, or upload it to Google Drive.
📸 Screenshot 3 — Format + Download now
Sticky footer on step 3 with format set to Excel (.xlsx) and Download now highlighted.
Large lists: background Excel export
For thousands of members, prefer a background job instead of waiting on a browser download.
- On step 3, under Export now, set the background format to Excel (.xlsx).
- Click Background export (email when ready).
- Optional: enable Attach the file to the completion email (only when under the size limit; default ~15 MB).
- When the job finishes, open the secure link in the email (manual background links last about 7 days), or download from the Activity → Background downloads table.
Background exports process members in chunks (500 users per chunk) via Action Scheduler, so they are much less likely to time out on shared hosting.
📸 Screenshot 4 — Background Excel
Background format set to Excel, progress card showing rows processed.
Schedule automatic Excel reports
Send a repeating Excel file without logging in each month.
- Build your filters and columns, then Save preset with a clear name (e.g. “Board members monthly”).
- Expand Send this member list automatically.
- Enable the repeating schedule.
- Set File type to Excel workbook (.xlsx).
- Choose destinations:
- Email me a download link
- Email me the file as an attachment
- Save a copy to Dropbox (connect under UM Export → Deliveries)
- Pick frequency: every day, every hour, or once a week.
- Save the preset, then use Send now to test.
Note: Google Sheets destination accepts CSV schedules only (Excel is binary and cannot replace sheet cells the same way). For Sheets, schedule CSV; for a true .xlsx file, use email or Dropbox.
Also note: “Embed rows in webhook” is CSV-only. Webhooks still work with Excel schedules for metadata + download URL, but not inlined row JSON.
CSV vs Excel — when to pick which
| Use case | Prefer |
|---|---|
| Board / management report opened in Microsoft Excel | Excel (.xlsx) |
| Zapier / Make webhook with embedded rows | CSV |
| Update a Google Sheet destination | CSV |
| Re-import into UM Export later | CSV (round-trip friendly) |
| Meta / Google Ads hashed audience upload | CSV (+ Hash PII on Pro) |
| Dropbox archive of monthly workbooks | Excel (.xlsx) |
Example: monthly approved members workbook
- Step 1: Account status = Approved, Registration = Last 30 days.
- Step 2: ID, Name, Email, Role, Registered Date (+ first/last name from custom fields if needed).
- Step 3: Format = Excel (.xlsx) → Download now.
- Optional: save as preset “Monthly approved” and schedule weekly email delivery as Excel.
WP-CLI (Pro)
Generate Excel from a saved preset without using the admin UI:
wp um-export run --preset=monthly-approved --format=xlsx wp um-export run --preset=monthly-approved --format=xlsx --background
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Fix |
|---|---|
| No Excel option — only “Download CSV” | You’re on Free, or Free UI. Activate UM Export Pro and use UM Export → Export. |
| Download times out on large sites | Use Background export with format Excel. |
| Email arrives but attachment missing | File may exceed the attachment size limit; use the download link instead, or enable S3 storage. |
| Google Sheets destination won’t take Excel | Expected — Sheets sync is CSV-only. Schedule CSV for Sheets, or Excel for email/Dropbox. |
| Webhook has no embedded rows | Embed rows only works for CSV schedules. |
| File won’t open in old Excel | Use a current Excel / LibreOffice build that supports Office Open XML (.xlsx). |
Quick decision
| You want… | Use |
|---|---|
| CSV export for small lists | Free or Pro |
| Native .xlsx workbook | Pro |
| Excel for 5,000+ members | Pro + background export |
| Automatic monthly Excel email / Dropbox | Pro + saved preset + schedule |
Get Excel export: UM Export Pro
