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Import clients from a spreadsheet

Who can do this

Anyone with CRM Access.

Importing has three steps — Upload, Preview and Import — and you can check everything before any client is created.

1. Fill in the template

  1. Open Clients and click the arrow next to New Client, then Bulk Import.
  2. Click Download Template (.xlsx) and open the file in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers.
  3. Fill in one client per row, starting on row 9. Keep the headings on row 8 exactly as they are, and don't reorder or delete columns.
  4. Save the file as CSV. The import accepts .csv and .txt files up to 25 MB.
Column What to enter
COMPANY/CLIENT NAME Required.
STATUS Required. A status name or ID, such as Quoted.
MANAGER Required. The person's first name, surname, full name or user ID.
ORIGIN Optional. Left blank, the client's origin is Import.
NOTES, ADDRESS 1–5, BILLING ADDRESS 1–5 Optional.
CONTACT NAME / SURNAME / EMAIL / CELL / TEL Up to two contacts. To add more, add columns after CONTACT TEL 2 named CONTACT NAME 3, and so on.
Your custom fields One column per field. For dropdowns, use the option's name.

Not sure what to type for a status or manager?

Click Options Reference in the import window to see every valid status, origin and manager, or Download as .txt to keep the list next to your spreadsheet.

Some formats matter:

  • Phone numbers need a country code, such as +1 312 555 0123. A row with a phone number BaseCloud can't read is skipped.
  • Dates use YYYY/MM/DD.
  • Multiple choices in one cell are separated with |, for example Gold|Referral.
  • Checkboxes take yes, y, true or 1.

2. Upload and check

  1. Drop your file onto the window, or click to browse for it.
  2. Click Validate & Continue.

BaseCloud checks every row and shows how many are ready (approved) and how many have errors, with a preview of the first few clients.

The Preview step of the Import Clients window. Badges show 38 approved and 2 errors. A preview lists the first three clients — Jack Sprat Butchers (New Lead), Little Jack Horner Pies (Quoted) and Lucy Locket Purses (Scheduled), each managed by Tiger Lily — with their contact email, then "...and 35 more clients". The Errors box lists one line per row: line 12 has no client status, and line 27 has an invalid cell phone number. With it are a Download All Errors link and a Continue to Import button

If there are errors, click Download All Errors for the full list. Rows with errors are skipped — fix them in your file and import those rows again later, or go Back and upload a corrected file now.

3. Import

  1. Click Continue to Import.
  2. Check the summary — You are about to import N clients — and click Import N Clients.

The window closes and the import runs in the background. Follow its progress under the notifications bell at the top of the page, where it says Successfully imported N clients when it's done.

Duplicates aren't detected

The import doesn't check whether a client already exists, so importing the same row twice creates the client twice. If that happens, merge the duplicates.

Imported contacts don't receive quotes and invoices by default, and are subscribed to bulk messages. You can change both per contact on the Contacts tab.