Import people from a spreadsheet

Bulk Import adds many people to your directory from one spreadsheet. Only Organization Admins and Super Admins can use it.

Import a file#

1. Open People and choose Bulk Import.
2. Optional: choose Download Import Template for a file with the right columns.
3. Choose Choose file and pick a .csv, .xls or .xlsx file. The first row must be column headers.
4. On Map columns, match each NizamOS field to one of your columns, or leave it Unmapped. First Name is required.
5. Under If a row matches an existing person, choose Skip duplicates or Update existing records.
6. Choose Preview Import and review what will happen to each row.
7. Choose Confirm Import. NizamOS shows Import complete with the totals.

Fields you can map#

First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone, Division, Organization Status, Active / Inactive, Volunteer Interests, Volunteer Skills, Availability and Notes.

Rules for the data#

• Each row needs a first name and at least an email address or a phone number.
• Volunteer Interests, Volunteer Skills and Availability can hold several values separated by commas or semicolons.
• Availability uses "Day Slot" pairs, such as "Saturday Morning". The slots are Morning, Afternoon and Evening.
• Division must match the name of an active division (capital letters don't matter). See Manage divisions.

How duplicates are found#

A row is matched to an existing person by email first, then by phone. Update existing records only fills in fields that are currently blank. It never overwrites existing information.

Good to know#

• Rows with errors are skipped; the rest are imported.
• A division, interest or skill that isn't recognized gives a warning and is left out, but the row is still imported.
• An organization status that isn't recognized is left unset.
• If a phone number matches more than one existing person, that row is refused. Add an email to the row or review it by hand.

Troubleshooting#

• "This file could not be read." Save it as .csv, .xls or .xlsx and try again.
• "This file has no data rows to import." Add rows under the header row.
• "Map at least the First Name column before previewing." Choose the column that holds first names.