Importing Contacts (CSV)

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

email,first_name,last_name,phone,city,company
[email protected],John,Doe,+1-555-0123,New 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 values in quotes)

Data Formatting #

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 are shown. Manually map any unmapped columns:

CSV Column → PloverCRM Field
fname → First Name
organization → Company (Custom)
notes → -- Skip --

4. Configure Options #

Duplicate Handling:

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

Assign Lists/Tags: Optionally assign all imported contacts to specific lists or tags.

5. Review & Start #

Review the summary, then click Start Import:

Total rows: 1,250
Mapped fields: 8
Duplicate handling: Update Existing

6. Monitor Progress #

Import runs in batches of 50 at a time. Don’t close the browser.

Progress: 250/1,250 (20%)
Created: 180 | Updated: 65 | Skipped: 5 | Errors: 0

7. Review Results #

✓ Import completed!
Total: 1,250 | Created: 1,100 | Updated: 120 | Errors: 5

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

Advanced Options #

Custom Fields #

1. Create the fields first (PloverCRM → Custom Fields)
2. Use the exact field slug as the CSV column header
3. Ensure values match the field type

Lists and Tags #

In CSV:

email,lists,tags
[email protected],"Newsletter, VIP","Hot Lead, Enterprise"

Or: Assign during the 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 during off-peak hours
4. Consider using WP-CLI for very large datasets

Duplicate Handling #

• Skip: Safest option — leaves existing contacts unchanged
• Update: Updates only the fields present in the CSV; does not clear empty fields
• Create Anyway: Use with caution — can result in duplicate contacts

Troubleshooting #

Best Practices #

Before importing:

1. Back up the database
2. Clean your data (remove duplicates, validate emails)
3. Test with a 10–20 row sample file
4. Create any required custom fields first

During import:

• Monitor progress
• Don’t interrupt — 1,000 contacts takes approximately 2–3 minutes

After importing:

1. Review the error log
2. Re-import any failed rows
3. Spot-check a sample of contacts
4. Verify list and tag assignments

Export-Edit-Reimport #

For bulk updates and corrections:

1. Export contacts to CSV
2. Edit the CSV
3. Re-import with the Update Existing duplicate option

Last updated: February 3, 2026