Importing Contacts (CSV)

Bulk import contacts from spreadsheets, other CRMs, or databases with intelligent duplicate handling.

Prerequisites #

• CSV file with UTF-8 encoding
• Unique identifier field (email, phone, or custom)
• Administrator permissions
• Database backup (critical for large imports)

Preparing Your CSV #

Format Requirements #

• UTF-8 encoding
• Comma-separated (.csv)
• Headers in first row
• One contact per row

<span class="hljs-selector-tag">email</span>,<span class="hljs-selector-tag">first_name</span>,<span class="hljs-selector-tag">last_name</span>,<span class="hljs-selector-tag">phone</span>,<span class="hljs-selector-tag">city</span>,<span class="hljs-selector-tag">company</span>
<span class="hljs-selector-tag">john</span>@<span class="hljs-keyword">example</span>.<span class="hljs-keyword">com</span>,<span class="hljs-keyword">John</span>,<span class="hljs-keyword">Doe</span>,+<span class="hljs-keyword">1</span>-<span class="hljs-keyword">555</span>-<span class="hljs-keyword">0123</span>,<span class="hljs-keyword">New</span> York,Acme Inc

Supported Fields #

• Standard: email, first_name, last_name, phone, city, state, country, postal_code
• Custom: Any custom field slug
• Special: lists, tags (comma-separated in quotes)

Data Formatting #

Field	Valid	Invalid
Email	[email protected]	john@example
Phone	+1-555-0123	555-CALL-NOW
Dates	2026-02-03	03-Feb-2026
Lists/Tags	“Newsletter, VIP”	Newsletter\	VIP

Import Process #

1. Access Import Tool #

PloverCRM → Contacts → Import/Export → Import tab

2. Upload CSV #

Click Choose File → Select CSV → Upload and Analyze

3. Map Fields #

Auto-detected mappings shown. Manually map unmapped columns:

CSV <span class="hljs-keyword">Column</span>    →  PloverCRM Field
fname         →  <span class="hljs-keyword">First</span> Name
organization  →  Company (Custom)
notes         →  -- <span class="hljs-keyword">Skip</span> --

4. Configure Options #

Duplicate Handling:

• Skip: Don’t import if exists (safest)
• Update: Update with new data (most common)
• Create Anyway: Not recommended

Assign Lists/Tags: Optionally assign all imports to specific lists/tags

5. Review & Start #

Review summary → Click Start Import

<span class="hljs-string">Total:</span> <span class="hljs-number">1</span>,<span class="hljs-number">250</span> rows
Mapped <span class="hljs-string">fields:</span> <span class="hljs-number">8</span>
Duplicate <span class="hljs-string">handling:</span> Update Existing

6. Monitor Progress #

Import runs in batches (50 at a time). Don’t close browser.

<span class="hljs-keyword">Progress: </span>250/1,250 (20%)
Created: 180 | Updated: 65 | Skipped: 5 | Errors: 0

7. Review Results #

✓ <span class="hljs-keyword">Import</span> completed!
Total: <span class="hljs-number">1</span>,<span class="hljs-number">250</span> | <span class="hljs-type">Created</span>: <span class="hljs-number">1</span>,<span class="hljs-number">100</span> | <span class="hljs-type">Updated</span>: <span class="hljs-number">120</span> | <span class="hljs-type">Errors</span>: <span class="hljs-number">5</span>

View error log for details. Fix and re-import failed rows.

Advanced Options #

Custom Fields #

1. Create fields first (PloverCRM → Custom Fields)
2. Use exact field slug as CSV header
3. Match field types

Lists and Tags #

In CSV:

<span class="hljs-selector-tag">email</span>,<span class="hljs-selector-tag">lists</span>,<span class="hljs-selector-tag">tags</span>
<span class="hljs-selector-tag">john</span>@<span class="hljs-keyword">example</span>.<span class="hljs-keyword">com</span>,"<span class="hljs-keyword">Newsletter</span>, VIP<span class="hljs-string">","</span>Hot Lead, Enterprise<span class="hljs-string">"</span>

Or: Assign during import wizard Or: Use IDs: "1,3,5"

Large Imports (10,000+) #

1. Split into 5,000-row files
2. Contact your hosting provider to increase server limits if needed
3. Import off-peak hours
4. Consider using WP-CLI for massive imports

Duplicate Handling #

• Skip: Safest, leaves existing unchanged
• Update: Updates only fields in CSV, doesn’t clear empty fields
• Create Anyway: Use with caution

Troubleshooting #

Problem	Solution
Import fails	Check field mapping, verify required field, test small file
Invalid format	Check UTF-8 encoding, headers in row 1, remove blank rows
High errors	Review error log, check email formats, verify field slugs
Timeout	Split file, increase PHP limits, import off-peak
Duplicates created	Verify unique field mapping, check value matches

Best Practices #

Before:

1. Backup database
2. Clean data (remove duplicates, validate emails)
3. Test with 10-20 row sample
4. Create custom fields first

During:

• Monitor progress
• Don’t interrupt (1,000 contacts ≈ 2-3 min)

After:

1. Review error log
2. Re-import failed rows
3. Spot-check contacts
4. Verify lists/tags

Export-Edit-Reimport #

1. Export contacts
2. Edit CSV
3. Re-import with “Update Existing”

Useful for bulk updates and corrections.

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Last updated: February 3, 2026