diff --git a/invoice_az/amas_api.py b/invoice_az/amas_api.py
index 967fc4e..5fe37e3 100644
--- a/invoice_az/amas_api.py
+++ b/invoice_az/amas_api.py
@@ -2731,10 +2731,15 @@ def on_delete_employee(doc, method):
 
 
 @frappe.whitelist()
-def import_bulk_employees(asan_login_name, employees_data, company, create_designation=0):
+def import_bulk_employees(asan_login_name, employees_data, company, create_designation=0, queue="default"):
     """Enqueue bulk employee import as a background job with realtime progress via Socket.IO.
 
     Refuses to enqueue if an import for the same Asan Login is already running.
+
+    ``queue`` lets callers pick a less-contended RQ queue. The setup wizard passes
+    "short" so the import isn't stuck behind the pile of post-setup jobs on the
+    default queue (a single `bench worker` drains queues short→default→long, so
+    "short" jumps the line and starts as soon as the worker frees).
     """
     if isinstance(employees_data, str):
         employees_data = json.loads(employees_data)
@@ -2774,7 +2779,7 @@ def import_bulk_employees(asan_login_name, employees_data, company, create_desig
         company=company,
         create_designation=create_designation,
         user=user,
-        queue="default",
+        queue=queue or "default",
         timeout=1200,
     )
 
@@ -2948,6 +2953,16 @@ def _process_bulk_employees_import(asan_login_name, employees, company, create_d
     updated_count = 0
     errors = []
 
+    # First tick the instant the worker picks up the job: flips the bar from the
+    # "queued" seed to "connecting" so the user can tell the job actually started
+    # (vs. still waiting in the queue) even before the first detail fetch lands.
+    _set_import_progress(asan_login_name, 0, total, "connecting", None, 1)
+    frappe.publish_realtime(
+        "amas_import_progress",
+        {"current": 0, "total": total, "phase": "connecting", "percent": 1},
+        user=user,
+    )
+
     try:
         # Refresh the plaintext CSRF token from /core.dashboard once before going
         # parallel. The DB may have a stale (or previously-corrupted) token; the
diff --git a/invoice_az/client/employee.js b/invoice_az/client/employee.js
index 5216bb8..b7a5e32 100644
--- a/invoice_az/client/employee.js
+++ b/invoice_az/client/employee.js
@@ -730,6 +730,8 @@ function attach_amas_import_listeners(listview, asan_login_name, total_hint) {
     const phaseLabel = function(phase) {
         if (phase === 'save') return __('Saving employees');
         if (phase === 'fetch') return __('Fetching details');
+        if (phase === 'connecting') return __('Connecting to ƏMAS...');
+        if (phase === 'queued') return __('Waiting to start...');
         return __('Preparing import...');
     };
 
@@ -754,7 +756,7 @@ function attach_amas_import_listeners(listview, asan_login_name, total_hint) {
 
         const label = phaseLabel(phase);
         let detail;
-        if (phase === 'queued' || !(total > 0)) {
+        if (phase === 'queued' || phase === 'connecting' || !(total > 0)) {
             detail = label;
         } else if (employee_name) {
             detail = label + ': ' + employee_name + '  (' + current + '/' + total + ')';
@@ -1461,7 +1463,7 @@ function show_amas_accounts_dialog(asan_login_name, accounts, retry_callback) {
     // Build accounts table
     let table_html = '<div style="max-height: 400px; overflow-y: auto;">';
     table_html += '<table class="table table-bordered table-hover">';
-    table_html += '<thead><tr><th style="width: 50%;">Organization Name</th><th style="width: 25%;">VOEN</th><th style="width: 15%;">Role</th><th style="width: 10%;">Action</th></tr></thead>';
+    table_html += '<thead><tr><th style="width: 60%;">Organization Name</th><th style="width: 30%;">VOEN</th><th style="width: 10%;">Action</th></tr></thead>';
     table_html += '<tbody>';
 
     accounts.forEach(function(account, index) {
@@ -1473,7 +1475,6 @@ function show_amas_accounts_dialog(asan_login_name, accounts, retry_callback) {
         table_html += `<tr>
             <td>${frappe.utils.escape_html(name)}</td>
             <td>${frappe.utils.escape_html(voen)}</td>
-            <td>${frappe.utils.escape_html(role)}</td>
             <td>
                 <button class="btn btn-xs btn-primary select-amas-account"
                         data-oid="${frappe.utils.escape_html(oid)}"