Import Contacts

Bring contacts in from another tool or a spreadsheet. The import wizard guides you through uploading a CSV, mapping columns to fields, and choosing how to handle duplicates — in four steps.

Before you start

Save your contacts as a CSV file (.csv format)
Maximum file size: 10 MB
Maximum rows: 10,000 contacts per import
Include a header row with column names

Import your contacts

Go to Contacts and click Import Contacts.

1. Upload your file

Drag and drop your CSV into the upload area, or click to browse for it. The importer reads the file and shows a preview of the data it found.

2. Map your fields

Match your CSV columns to Cloodot contact fields.

Required:

Name — Every contact needs a name

Optional standard fields:

Email
Phone

Custom fields: Any custom fields you've created in your organization also appear as mapping options, with their field type (text, number, date, etc.).

The importer auto-detects common column names. Headers like full_name, email_address, or phone_number (and similar variations) are matched automatically.

You'll see a preview of the first few rows for each mapped field, so you can verify everything before continuing.

3. Choose duplicate handling

Choose how to handle contacts that already exist in Cloodot:

Skip duplicates (default)

Only creates new contacts
Skips existing contacts matched by phone or email
Falls back to name matching when a contact has no phone or email

Update existing

Updates existing contacts with the new data from your CSV
Creates new contacts that don't already exist
Matches by phone or email first, then by name

4. Review and import

Review your settings and click Import. Real-time progress shows:

Processed — Total rows handled so far
Imported — New contacts created
Updated — Existing contacts updated (if you chose "Update existing")
Skipped — Duplicates that were skipped
Errors — Rows that couldn't be imported (with details)

Data validation

Cloodot validates each row during import:

Name is required — rows without a name are skipped
Phone numbers are normalized to a consistent format
Email addresses are validated for correct format
Custom field values are checked against their field type (numbers, dates, booleans, etc.)

Rows with issues are skipped and counted as errors. The import continues with the remaining rows. After it finishes, you can review the first 100 errors.

Tips for a smooth import

Clean your data first — Remove blank rows, fix formatting issues, and make sure phone numbers include country codes.
Use clear column headers — Headers like name, email, and phone are auto-detected, saving you time on mapping.
Test with a small file first — Import a handful of contacts to verify your mapping.
Pick the right duplicate strategy — Use "Skip" when you only want to add new contacts; use "Update" when your CSV has fresher data than what's in Cloodot.

All Contacts — View and manage your imported contacts
Custom Fields — Create custom fields before importing so they're available for mapping
Segments — Organize imported contacts into segments for campaigns

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