Our import tool helps you add contacts to Givebutter. You can upload a comma-separated value (CSV) file, copy and paste contacts from a spreadsheet like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, or type info directly into the import table.
Givebutter needs some basic information about your contacts to create new files for them. Data formatting is traditionally a time-consuming step. To help you prepare your data, you can download a customized template from your dashboard that automatically includes any custom fields you have created.
Preparing data for import 🧮
There are two types of templates you can use for importing contacts. We recommend the following steps to download a personalized, dynamic template specific to your account, but you can also view and download a generic template. The generic template will not include contact custom fields from your account.
In your Givebutter dashboard, click on Contacts (located under Track).
Click on Actions in the upper right corner of the page.
Click Download Template from the dropdown menu and choose the format you prefer. Click Download.
The file will be saved to your computer, usually in your downloads folder or on your desktop. Open the template with the software of your choice, such as Excel, Numbers, or Google Sheets, and enter your own data.
If you've downloaded a personalized template, it will include one row of example data for John Doe. Be sure to delete that info before you upload your finished file!
The file must contain the following columns (in any order):
First Name
Last Name
At least one contact method (email, phone, or address)
The file may contain the following columns (in any order):
Middle Name
Primary Email
Emails – Enter additional email addresses separated by a comma.
Phone Number – Formatted as a ten-digit phone number
Alternative Phone – Formatted as a ten-digit phone number
Address Line 1
Address Line 2 – Optional
City
State
ZIP Code
Country Code – 3-digit or 2-digit country code allowed. (You cannot write an entire country name here, ie. "United States of America" must be "USA". This does not refer to a phone number area code.)
Important address information: If one address field has a value, then all address fields must have a value. For example, if Country Code and ZIP Code have a value, then Address 1, City, and State must also contain a value. Incomplete addresses will be deleted. Only contacts with complete address information will successfully import.
Household Name – Group contacts under a single Household name. Read more about using Households →
Household Envelope Name
Is Household Primary Contact? – Insert "YES" to set this contact as the primary contact for this Household. Insert "NO" if not.
Tags – Apply tags to your contacts, separated by a comma
Date of Birth – Use MM/DD/YY or MM/DD/YYYY format
Company – The company associated with this contact
Title
X (formerly Twitter) URL – Two formats are acceptable: the entire URL or /handle
Linkedin URL – Two formats are acceptable: the entire URL or /handle
Facebook URL – Two formats are acceptable: the entire URL or /handle
Notes
Email Subscription Status – Use
true/on/yes/1to subscribe, andfalse/off/no/0to unsubscribe. (If left blank, contacts will import as subscribed by default.)Phone Subscription Status – Use
true/on/yes/1to subscribe, andfalse/off/no/0to unsubscribe. (If left blank, contacts will import as subscribed by default.)Contact custom fields – The contact import template download is dynamic, which means it will include any contact custom fields you created prior to download. Enter custom field answers under the relevant columns. The answer format will vary depending on the type of contact custom field:
Text – Text input of either short answers or paragraph style
Number – Numeric value, as a whole number or a percentage
Date – A single date (
YYYY-MM-DD), or a range (YYYY-MM-DD,YYYY-MM-DD)Toggle –
yes/noOption – Multiple choice list, which can be restricted to one choice (
example), or allow multiple selections (example1|example2).
Worried about creating duplicates? Our system identifies existing contacts using first and last names, plus a matching email or phone number.
Uploading your data ⬆️
Under Account in the menu on the left side of your dashboard, click on Imports.
Click on the blue New Import button and select Contacts.
You can also import contacts directly from the Contacts page! It's the same process. Click Actions in the upper right corner of the Contacts page, and select New Import.
Choose Upload file, and select the correct file from your computer.
Confirm mapping for each field. Mapped data from the incoming fields should match the data for the destination fields.
If you need to assign data to a different column, click the drop-down arrow. For example, your First Name column should automatically map to First Name, but if it's mapping to Email Address, you'd want to edit that to match.
Click Continue when you're done, then click Submit to import your data.
After your import is complete, you will receive an email confirmation from Givebutter.
If the import failed, follow the directions provided in our email to reconcile any errors. To track the status of your import, navigate to Account in the left-hand menu on your dashboard and click on Imports.
Viewing imports 👀
In your dashboard, go to Account, then click Imports. You'll see a list of your import history.
If there are failed rows, click the dropdown arrow on the left side of the Import to see why they failed. Reasons will be listed in reference to the specific line item that failed.
If you'd like to download your entire import file or just the failed records (for the purpose of correcting them and re-uploading), click the three dots [...] to the right side of the import Status.
Deleting imports ❌
If you make a mistake, you can delete entire imports from your account. This will remove all data from this import – proceed with caution. We cannot restore deleted import data.
In your Givebutter dashboard, navigate to Account, and click Imports.
You'll see a list of all previous imports in the History section. Click the three dots [...] on the right side of the import you'd like to delete.
Click Delete imported contacts to delete this import.
You can also delete transaction imports the same way!
If the contact import you're about to delete is associated with transactions, you'll also be given the option to remove these transactions. Click the checkbox to also remove the transactions from your account.
Click Delete Data to confirm the deletion.
FAQ 🤔
Can contact household information be imported?
Yes! It is possible to include household and relationship information when importing contacts.
I don't want to import a spreadsheet. How do I manually add contact import data?
You can manually enter data following the same steps listed above – instead of selecting a file to import from your computer, click Manually enter data.
I am importing an Excel file, but the data doesn't look correct in the importer.
Excel has many formatting options for text or numbers. Make sure your data isn't formatted in any particular way that will be confusing for the system. "General" is a good category to default to if you can. Below is an example of a format that could cause issues:
