require 'roo'

def fetch_excel_data
      ex = Roo::Excel.new("public/your_spreadsheet.xls")
      ex.default_sheet = ex.sheets[0]              #Mention the sheet number (0 is the first sheet, 1 is second sheet, etc.)
      2.upto(500) do | line |                              #Start and end of rows you want to include
      db_column1 = ex.cell(line,'A')                   #Column A in spreadsheet   
      db_column2 = ex.cell(line,'B')
      db_column3 = ex.cell(line,'C')

      x = Class.create(:db_column1 => db_column1, :db_column2 => db_column2, :db_column3 => db_column3)

end

I had a spreadsheet with a ton of data on it that I wanted in my seeds file. Using example columns in your database titled db_column1, db_column2, db_column3. Place your .xls file into your public folder and run 'gem install roo'

Seeding database from .XLS file

rails, ruby

Ruby