Importing Contacts

Importing contacts lets you add many people to Resool at once from a CSV or Excel (.xlsx) file, for example a customer list exported from another system or a spreadsheet of event sign-ups. Resool matches each column of your file to a contact field, updates contacts that already exist (by email or phone) instead of duplicating them, and can create tags and companies from your file as it goes. You can import companies the same way.

#Before you begin

• You need Create and edit contacts to import people, and Create and edit clients to import companies.
• Your file needs a header row (column names in the first row).
• CSV or Excel (.xlsx), up to 5 MB and 10,000 rows.
• Each person needs at least a name, email or phone number. Each company needs a name.
• Create any custom fields you want to fill before you import. See Contact fields.

#How to prepare your file

• Put one contact per row and one field per column.
• Write phone numbers in international format with the country code, for example +966501234567.
• For Language, use en or ar.
• For Country, use the 2-letter country code, for example SA or EG.
• For WhatsApp marketing, use yes or no (opted in, opted out, نعم and لا also work).
• For Tags, separate several tags with commas, for example VIP, Wholesale.
• For Company, write the company name exactly as it is in Resool.

#How to import contacts

#Step 1: Upload

1. Go to Contacts.
2. Open the menu next to Add contact and choose Import CSV.
3. Drop your file in the Import contacts dialog or click to choose it.

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Contacts › Add contact menu › Import CSV

The Import contacts dialog on the Upload step, with the steps Upload, Map columns, Done at the top and the drop area "Drop a CSV or Excel file here or click to choose".

File: screenshots/importing-contacts-upload.png

#Step 2: Map columns

Resool shows each column of your file with an example value from the first rows. Columns whose names match a field are matched automatically and marked Auto.

1. Check the field in Maps to for each column. You can map to:
   • Full name, First name, Last name
   • Email, Phone
   • Language (en / ar), Country (2-letter code)
   • WhatsApp marketing (yes / no)
   • Company (linked by name)
   • Tags (comma separated)
   • any custom field, listed under Custom fields
2. Choose Don't import for columns you want to skip, or click Skip all and pick only the ones you need. Auto-match re-applies the automatic matching.
3. Check the summary ("{mapped} of {total} columns will be imported") and click Import.

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Contacts › Import CSV › Map columns

The Map columns step with five rows (name → Full name, mobile → Phone, email → Email, city → custom field City, labels → Tags), the Auto badge on matched rows, example values, and the Import button.

File: screenshots/importing-contacts-map.png

#Step 3: Done

The Done step shows how many contacts were Added, Updated and Skipped. If some rows were skipped, the list shows the row number, column and reason so you can fix them and import those rows again.

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Contacts › Import CSV › Done

The Done step with counts Added 412, Updated 37, Skipped 3, and the list of skipped rows with "Row 18, column "phone": …" messages.

File: screenshots/importing-contacts-done.png

#How existing contacts are handled

• A row with the same email or phone as an existing contact updates that contact instead of creating a duplicate. Phone numbers are compared by digits only.
• Empty fields on the existing contact are filled in; name, email, phone, language and country that already have a value are kept.
• Custom field values from the file are written to the contact.
• Tags from the file are added to the contact's existing tags.
• WhatsApp marketing is updated when your file gives a clear yes or no.
• Every update is listed in the contact's History as "updated it from an import".

#How tags and companies are created

• Tags in your file that don't exist yet are created automatically.
• A Company that doesn't exist yet is created if you're allowed to add companies; otherwise the link is skipped. The person is linked to the company, as their primary company if they don't have one.

#How to import companies

1. Go to Contacts and switch the side panel to Companies.
2. Open the menu next to Add company and choose Import CSV.
3. Upload your file and map the columns to Name, Legal name, Industry, Country (2-letter code), Website, Email, Phone, Address, Tax ID, Notes or company fields. Name is required.
4. Click Import.

Existing companies with the same name or email are updated instead of duplicated.

#FAQ and troubleshooting

#Why is the Import button disabled?

What you can do:

• To import people, map at least one column to a name, email or phone.
• To import companies, map a column to Name.

#I get "This spreadsheet couldn't be read."

What you can do:

• Open the file and save it again as CSV or .xlsx.
• Make sure it isn't password-protected.
• Check that the first row holds the column names.

#My file is bigger than 5 MB or 10,000 rows.

Split it into several files and import them one after another. Existing contacts are updated, not duplicated, so overlapping rows are safe.

#Will imported contacts receive a message?

No. Importing doesn't send anything. To message them, add them to a segment and send a broadcast with an approved template. See Creating a broadcast.

#What's next?

• Merging contacts
• Segments
• Contact fields
• Importing from other platforms