Adding Multiple People at Once Using the Import Excel Function

Before Starting

Filling in your contacts details one by one can take up a lot of time! Luckily, you can speed up the process by importing multiple people at once via Excel.

The next steps in importing your contacts are summarized in these points:

• Your import page
• The steps to importing your contacts
• Importing existing profiles

Your Import Page

To add multiple people using an Excel file, head over to Community > Contacts > +Add > Import multiple contacts. 

 The Steps to Importing Your Contacts

Below, you'll find the different steps that will guide you in the process of importing contacts. 

Preparing the Import

This first step is decisive because it allows you to: 

• Take note of the recommendations via the import guide 
• If needed, try out the process by importing fictional profiles (to do so, download the dummy data) 

We recommend using dummy data to reduce the risk of import errors. An empty file is also available on the page Community > Contacts > Add multiple contacts > Read the import guide. 

Are you using your own file? Make sure you read how to prepare your file for data import.

When importing, our system will match the information fields, created in the software from the Community > Settings page, with the columns in your Excel file. 

It is therefore necessary to create an information field in the software for each column of your Excel file. See these articles for more detail on setting up the fields. 

Copy & Paste Your Data in the Software

Copy your data from your Excel spreadsheet including the column headers. Make sure that the column labels are exactly the same as the information fields on the Community > Settings page.

Paste them under "Copy & Paste Your Excel Sheet" and click Next.

If this is not your first import, and you are actually updating the information of existing members, check the box You want to update existing contacts in your CRM using your "Unique Identifier". 

Field Identification

This step allows you to match each column in your Excel with the fields configured in the Community > Settings page.

To do this, the column names must be strictly identical to the fields defined in the software. If necessary, you can decide to ignore certain columns.

Then click Next.

Preview Before You Start the Import

If there are errors, they will appear in red. You can modify them directly in the red box, or you can modify them in your Excel table and redo the copy & paste.

If you are updating already existing profiles in your CRM, these profiles will be matched using the unique user ID.

The unique user ID allows to differentiate each user, and to therefore avoid duplicates when profiles are updated.

Finalizing the Import

You can then decide to import these contacts as members, donors, or add them individually to one or more groups, possibly specifying the end date of the group membership.

Importing Existing Profiles

If you already have contacts registered in your CRM, you can first export their profiles, then re-import them to update their information. 

This type of import is done at the same place as indicated earlier in this article. 

During your import, the software will verify if the people exist already, in order to avoid duplicates and to update the information created or modified.

How the software does this depends on which unique user ID you select in your settings.