Adding multiple people at once using the import Excel function – Springly

Before starting

With Springly you are able to import multiple people at once to your contact database via Excel.

To start, set up your data fields so that they correspond exactly to the headings of your Excel columns. Do this by going to Community > Settings and editing each field accordingly.

The next steps will be covered in this article as outlined here:

Locate your import page
Step by step: Importing your contacts
Re-importing existing contacts

Locate your import page

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

Step by step: Importing your contacts

1. Prepare the import

This first step is important because it allows you to:

Take note of the recommendations in the import guide
Test the process by using dummy data

The key thing to remember when using your own file is that Springly will match the information fields created in the software (Community > Settings) with the column headings in your Excel file. Therefore, it is necessary to create an information field for each column of your Excel file and to ensure that they match exactly the way they are written and spelled.

Check this article for full information, plus tips and tricks to prepare your file for data import.

2. Copy and paste your Excel sheet

Copy all the data from your Excel spreadsheet including the column headers. Make sure that the column headings are exactly the same as the information fields in 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 that reads: You want to update existing contacts in your CRM using your "Unique Identifier".

3. Field identification

This step allows us to compare the name of each column heading to the name of the information field.

Remember that the column names must be strictly identical to the fields defined in the software, so if there are any discrepancies, make sure to adjust them. If necessary, you can decide to ignore certain columns.

Once you have verified all the fields, click Next.

4. Final check before Import

This step of the import process allows you to check your data. If there are any errors, they will appear in red and you will be able to modify them directly in the red box. Alternatively, you could always make the modifications in your original Excel table and redo step 2 (copy & paste your excel sheet).

If you are updating profiles that already exist in your CRM, they will be matched using their unique user ID.

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

5. Finalizing the import

When finalizing the import, you can decide to import your contacts as members, donors, or add them individually to one or more groups.

Re-importing existing profiles

If you want to update the information of multiple existing contacts, you can re-import them.

To do this, you first have to export their data to Excel. Then you can update any fields you need to and re-import the information in the same way as indicated earlier.

During your import, the software will verify if the people already exist, which will avoid duplicate profiles being created.

The software uses each contact's unique user ID to do this.