Bulk Import Customers from CSV

Moving from another system? Import all your customers at once using a CSV file. Works with exports from QuickBooks, Excel, Jobber, ServiceTitan, or any software that can export to CSV. Import hundreds of customers in seconds.

Quick Import Steps

1. Go to Customers → Import
2. Download our CSV template
3. Fill in your customer data
4. Upload the CSV file
5. Review and confirm import
6. Done! Customers appear instantly

Step 1: Download Template

1. Navigate to Customers section
2. Click Import button (top right)
3. Click Download CSV Template
4. Save file as customer_import_template.csv
5. Open in Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet app

Step 2: Prepare Your Data

Required Fields (Must Have)

• name: Customer's full name or company name
• email OR phone: At least one contact method

Optional Fields

CSV Format Examples

name,email,phone,address_line1,city,postcode "John Smith",john@example.com,07700900123,"123 High St",London,SW1A 1AA "ABC Plumbing Ltd",info@abc.co.uk,02071234567,"45 Business Park",Manchester,M1 2AB "Sarah Jones",sarah@email.com,,"10 Oak Avenue",Birmingham,B1 1AA

Step 3: Export from Other Software

From QuickBooks

1. Go to Customers → Customer Center
2. Click Excel → Export Customer List
3. Save as CSV
4. Match columns to our template

From Excel

1. Arrange columns to match template
2. File → Save As
3. Choose "CSV (Comma delimited)"
4. Click Save

From Jobber/ServiceTitan

1. Export customers from their system
2. Open exported file in Excel
3. Rename columns to match our template
4. Save as CSV

Step 4: Upload and Import

1. Return to Customers → Import in Toolfy
2. Click Choose File or drag CSV file onto page
3. Wait for validation (usually 1-2 seconds)
4. Review the preview:
   • • Number of customers to import
   • • Any validation warnings
   • • Sample of first 5 customers
5. Fix any errors if shown (see below)
6. Click Import Customers
7. See success message with count

Handling Import Errors

Duplicate Handling

When importing, you can choose how to handle duplicates:

• Skip duplicates: Don't import if email/phone matches existing
• Update existing: Overwrite old data with new
• Create anyway: Make duplicate customer records

After Import

Verify Import Success

1. Check customer count increased correctly
2. Search for a few imported customers
3. Verify contact details imported properly
4. Check addresses formatted correctly

Undo Import (If Needed)

1. Within 24 hours, go to Settings → Data
2. Find your import in Recent Imports
3. Click "Undo Import"
4. Confirm removal
5. All imported customers are removed

Tips for Large Imports

• Test with 10 customers first: Ensure format is correct
• Split huge files: Import 500 at a time for 2000+ customers
• Clean data first: Remove test customers, fix formatting
• Backup original: Keep your original export safe
• Check encoding: Save as UTF-8 for special characters
• Remove formulas: Paste as values only in Excel

Common Issues and Solutions

File Won't Upload

• Check file is .csv (not .xlsx or .xls)
• Ensure file size under 10MB
• Close file in Excel before uploading
• Try different browser if issues persist

Characters Display Wrong

• Save CSV with UTF-8 encoding
• In Excel: Save As → Tools → Web Options → Encoding → UTF-8
• Special characters (é, ñ, etc.) need UTF-8

Phone Numbers Format Wrong

• Don't worry about format - we clean it automatically
• 07700900123, 07700 900 123, +447700900123 all work
• International numbers supported with country code

Import Seems Frozen

• Large files (1000+ customers) take 10-30 seconds
• Don't refresh page during import
• Progress bar shows status
• If frozen over 60 seconds, try smaller batch

Related Articles

• Add Customers Manually
• Edit Customer Information
• Export Customers to CSV
• Merge Duplicate Customers