You can import non-member contacts into Hello Club from a CSV file. The import process is smart enough to import not only the basic contact details, but also additional information like custom fields or groups.
Read on to find out how to prepare your import file to achieve the best results.
Step 1 - Cleaning up your spreadsheet
The first step is to make sure that the file you are importing is up to date and accurate. This way you'll avoid importing unnecessary or incorrect data.
Follow these guidelines to clean up your spreadsheet as needed:
Before making changes, create a backup of your spreadsheet so that you don’t lose any information by accident.
Ensure all columns have a header above them to indicate what information the column contains, for example Name, Email, Organisation, Mobile, etc.
Remove any columns that you don’t need to import.
Ensure that all rows are consistent and contain the expected data in each column. Sometimes information can get mixed up in different columns.
Remove any empty rows in between your data.
Ensure each row contains at least a Name. All other fields are optional.
Take note of any special columns that you’d like to import which are not available as standard fields in Hello Club.
Example of a cleaned up spreadsheet with basic contact details:
Step 2 – Set up custom fields
The next step is optional. You can create custom fields in Hello Club for all the information that you want to import which we don’t have standard fields for.
Go to the Settings module
Open the Custom fields card and select Contacts
Create as many custom fields as needed to capture all the information from your import file
You can find more details on how to set up and manage your custom fields in our dedicated help article.
An example of custom fields in your import spreadsheet:
Note: Custom fields are available on all of our paid plans.
Step 3 - Import your contacts
Once you are happy with your spreadsheet data, you are ready to do your import.
Go to go to your Contacts in the People module and hover over the green plus button in the bottom right. Find and click on the contact import button:
This will prompt a dialog where you can drag your CSV file to. Once you have selected your file, Hello Club will automatically detect your columns and try to match them to the default and custom fields that you have set up:
Hover over the little grey question mark symbol for more information about specific formatting requirements for that field.
Once you're satisfied with the mapping of your columns to the Hello Club fields, click on Import to start the import process. If any errors occurred during the import, these will be displayed at the end of the process.
The confirmation screen will highlight the outcome of the import. Any errors occurred or data duplication will also be displayed here.
Step 4 - Verify your import
Once the import is complete, please review all imported contacts and ensure that everything looks in order. If you encounter any issues that cannot be corrected easily, please let us know and we should be able to help.
Frequently asked questions
Can I import Excel files (e.g. XLS, XLSX) directly?
We currently only allow import of CSV files (Comma Separate Values). However, you should be able to convert your Excel file to a CSV file using Excel or any other spreadsheet editor in one or two simple steps.
Instructions on how to do that vary depending on the application, but in general you should be able to either find an option to Save as and choose CSV, or an option to Export your data to a CSV file.
Help, something went wrong! Can I undo the import?
Yes, if you notice something didn’t go as expected during the import, you can undo your import for up to three days after the import.
Simply click on the link in the banner that appears on your member overview page after you’ve done an import to remove all recently imported members:
A confirmation dialog will appear asking you to confirm you action.
If you’ve done multiple imports, the banner will show your most recent import, and it will remove contacts for that import only. If needed you can remove multiple imports one by one.
If you need a hand removing contacts from an import that’s older than three days, please get in touch with us and we’ll remove the imported contacts for you.