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Import, export and views

How to prepare a CSV file before importing contacts

Build a sheet with a header row, one column per field (First Name, Email, Phone, Tags, Company…) and one row per contact; every row needs at least a name, email or phone. Save it as .csv (single sheet, up to 30 MB) and import it in Contacts › Import.

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Before you start

  • Have your list in a spreadsheet program (Excel, Google Sheets or similar).
  • If you will fill custom fields, create them first in Settings › Custom Fields, with the same name and the right type.
  • If you will update existing contacts, include a column that identifies them (Contact ID, email or phone).
Where to find it

Contacts › Import › Contacts › upload the .csv file

Step by step

Build the sheet

  1. In the first row, type each column's name (the header). Use the same names as the Elooo System fields so mapping is automatic: First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone, Company, Tags, Owner, Date of Birth, plus the names of your custom fields.
  2. From the second row on, one row per contact. Every row needs at least one of: name, email or phone.
  3. Don't leave the first row blank and don't use more than one sheet in the file.
  4. Delete the columns you won't import: it simplifies mapping.

Format each data type

  1. Phone: international format with the country code, for example +12125551234. No spaces, dashes or parentheses. Format the column as text so the + doesn't disappear.
  2. Email: name@domain.com. For extra emails, create an Additional Emails column with the addresses separated by commas.
  3. Extra phones: an Additional Phone Numbers column, comma-separated.
  4. Dates: a single format across the whole column, for example YYYY-MM-DD or MM/DD/YYYY. You'll tell the import which one you used.
  5. Tags and multi-select fields (checkboxes): several values separated by commas or semicolons (for example vip, lead). Don't use slashes. The values must exist with exactly that name in the field.
  6. Dropdown (single option): one value only, matching one of the field's options.
  7. Owner: full name or email of a user in your account (email avoids mix-ups between identical names).
  8. Followers: full names separated by commas.
  9. Numbers and money: digits and a decimal separator only (for example 1234.50).
  10. Country and time zone: must match the exact name the system accepts (for example United States or US, America/New_York). Abbreviations or variants cause errors.

Save and import

  1. Save the file as .csv (in Excel: Save As › CSV UTF-8). Make sure it has a single sheet and is under 30 MB; split it if it's larger.
  2. In Contacts, click Import, choose Contacts, upload the file and review the column mapping.
  3. After importing, check the result in Contacts › Bulk Actions.

Tips

  • Run a test import with 10 to 20 rows before uploading the whole list.
  • To update contacts without duplicating, use the Contact ID (from an export) or the email as the primary column.
  • Save the file with UTF-8 encoding so accented characters display correctly.

Common problems

  • The + in phone numbers disappears on save → The column is in number format. Format it as text before typing the numbers, or use quotes.
  • Tags came in as a single tag "vip/lead" → You separated them with a slash. Use a comma or semicolon.
  • The country column errors out → Type the name exactly as the system accepts it (for example United States, Canada, United Kingdom) or the two-letter code (US, CA, GB).
  • My custom field isn't available for mapping → It doesn't exist yet. Create it in Settings › Custom Fields and import again.

Frequently asked questions

Can I import an Excel file (.xlsx) directly?

No; only .csv. Save the sheet as CSV before importing.

What happens if a contact already exists?

It depends on the mode you pick during the import: Create only adds new ones, Update only changes existing ones, Create & update does both. Matching is done by Contact ID, email or phone.

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