How to import your customer list from Excel or phone contacts

Importing from an Excel file

The file can be xlsx, xls or csv. The first row holds the column names: name (customer name) and phone_number (phone number) are required; debt_amount (current debt) and due_date (repayment date) are optional. If you fill in the debt column, the customer’s debt is recorded along with the customer.

After you pick the file, the app checks the columns. If a required column is missing, the import does not start and you are told which column is absent. The web version has a ready-made template: download it and fill it in, and the column names will be right. The mobile app has “Import from file” as well — you choose the file on your phone, and the columns are explained in the instructions window.

• name — customer name, required
• phone_number — phone number, required
• debt_amount — current debt, optional
• due_date — repayment date, optional

Importing from phone contacts

In the mobile app you can also pull customers from your phone contacts. Grant access to contacts and the list opens; use the search to find the people you need and tick them. Anyone who is already a customer is shown separately as “Existing customers” — so you will not add them a second time.

For a small shop this is the fastest way: your customers are already saved in your phone anyway. The name and number come from the contact; the debt you record later on the customer’s card.

You can combine both methods. For example, load the debtors from your old notebook with their amounts via Excel, and add the regular buyers with no debt from contacts. The main thing is that one customer does not get in twice by two different routes — the “Existing customers” mark in the contacts window helps with exactly that.

Preparing the file before importing

One customer per row, and the header row only in the first line. Write phone numbers in full; to keep the leading “+” or zero from being lost, leave the column in text format. Write the debt as a number and the date in a single format. Remove blank rows and extra columns with notes from the file — they confuse the list.

Test a large list on a small batch first: import a file of 10–20 rows and check the result in the customer list. If the name, number and debt amount came through correctly, load the rest in one go.

What happens after the import

In the web version the import runs in the background and shows its status: uploaded, processing, completed. In the mobile app you can stop the process with “Cancel import”. When it finishes, the customers appear in the main list. A customer imported with a debt amount already has the debt record on their card, and reminders work just as they do for any other debt.

After that you sort the customers into folders and send the history link to the ones who need it. Importing is a one-time job — from then on, new customers are added the usual way, one at a time.

Frequently asked questions