The Import Tool: Importing Contacts and Contributions

Import Templates

An import template saves the mapping between your spreadsheet columns and your CRM fields. Instead of remapping every time you import from the same source, you select the template and your columns are already pointed at the right fields.

Templates are optional. You can import a file without one at any time by choosing Don't Use Template.

Step 1: Choose or create a template

When you open the Import tool you will see two options:

• New Template:  create a saved mapping before you import
• Don't Use Template: skip templates and go straight to uploading your file

If no templates have been created yet, you can create your first one or choose Don't Use Template to import right away.

Creating a new template

Click New Import Template to open the template setup screen. Fill in the following fields:

Template name Enter a descriptive name that identifies this mapping (for example, "Annual Gala Donations" or "Newsletter Signups").

Import type Choose one of:

• Contacts and contributions
• Contacts only

If contact already exists Controls what happens when a row in your file matches a contact already in the databank.

• Keep existing contact as-is (recommended):  the contact's details stay unchanged. The contribution is still imported and attributed to that contact.
• Update existing contact with new data : overwrites the contact's details with the values from your file. The contribution is still imported.
• Stop import and report the error : halts the entire import on the first duplicate found.

If no email or zip Controls what happens when a row has no email address and no ZIP code, making reliable duplicate detection impossible.

• Do not import the row (recommended): those rows are reported as errors and skipped.
• Match on name only: matches on first name and last name, or on company name when first and last are blank on both the file row and the existing record. 

Default campaign number and default segment Used when your import file has no campaign column, or when a row's campaign cell is blank. Set these to apply a fallback campaign and segment to those rows.

Click Save Template when finished. The template is added to your template list.

Managing your templates

From the template list you can:

• Import: start an import using that template
• Edit: update the template's properties
• Delete:  permanently remove the template

Step 2: Map fields

Select the file you want to upload, then map your spreadsheet columns to the corresponding CRM fields.

A few things to keep in mind on this screen:

• Fields marked * are required.
• Fields marked + require at least one to be mapped for duplicate detection to work.
• ✓ means a column has been mapped.
• Auto-mapped means dBot made a guess, review these before continuing.
• Some fields show additional detail below the dropdown once selected, and on hover in supported browsers.

Once you have reviewed your mapping, choose one of the following before proceeding:

• Save this mapping: updates the template you selected with this mapping
• Don't save; use this mapping for this import only: applies the mapping now without saving it
• Save as a new template named:  creates a new template from this mapping

Click Preview Import to move to the next step.

Step 3: Preview and run

The preview screen shows a summary of what the import will do:

• Number of contacts to create
• Number of contribution records to create
• Number of rows where the contact already exists
• Number of rows with errors that will be skipped
• Number of rows beyond the preview limit that will be processed during the full import

Before running, you can also set or update the Source(s) tag that will be applied to new contacts.

When you are satisfied with the preview, click Run Import to complete the import.