📝 Overview

The Import Tool lets you upload contact and company information from other sources into Marketing Suite using a CSV file. It's designed for contacts you'd like to market to without syncing them to your TeamUp Customer List.

This guide walks you through preparing your file, setting the right Lifecycle Stage, running the import, and checking the results.

🧠 When to Use the Import Tool

The Import Tool works best for contacts who aren't in your TeamUp Customer List, such as:

Customers who signed up to an email list but are no longer engaging with your business.
Customers who have gone inactive since using your previous system, who you'd like to market to without adding them to your TeamUp Customer List for now.

💡 If you're looking to import contacts into your TeamUp Customer List, or want imported contacts to exist in both your TeamUp Customer List and Marketing Suite, please reach out to [email protected] and the team will help you find the best path.

🔑 Authorizations

To use the Import Tool, you need access to Marketing Suite. Depending on their role, Staff Members may need the Marketing Suite permission.

To grant the permission, head to Staff ➜ click Options next to the Staff Member ➜ click Edit details and permissions, then tick Marketing Suite and click Save.

🛠️ Setup

Importing contacts takes a few steps. You download the CSV template, fill in your contacts and their Lifecycle Stage, then upload, map and review your file from the Import page in Marketing Suite.

⚠️ Step 4 is the most important step.

Setting the Contact Lifecycle stage to Lost (or your renamed equivalent) is what keeps imported contacts separate from your TeamUp Customer List. If it's left empty or doesn't match exactly, imported contacts are created in your TeamUp Customer List as Leads.

Click the arrow to learn how to import your contacts

1️⃣ Access the Import Tool

The Import Tool lives in the CRM area of Marketing Suite. To open it:

From your TeamUp Business Dashboard, click the waffle menu next to your business name and select Marketing Suite. If you're already in Marketing Suite, skip to step 2.
From the left menu, go to CRM ➜ Contacts.
Click Import in the top-right corner.
Click Start an import.

2️⃣ Download & Prepare Your CSV Template

The template gives you the correct column layout for your import. Click Download CSV Template ➜ open the file in Excel, Google Sheets or your preferred spreadsheet tool.

3️⃣ Fill Out Your Data

Add your contacts to the template, one contact per row. At a minimum, include:

First name
Last name
Email
Phone number
Contact Lifecycle stage, set to Lost (see Step 4)

You can also add optional details such as address, zip code and date of birth.

💡 If you're adding tags, they need to match your existing tags exactly, including capital letters.

4️⃣ Set the Contact Lifecycle Stage

The Contact Lifecycle stage column (Column F in the template) is the most important part of your import. Setting it to Lost keeps these contacts in Marketing Suite only, separate from your TeamUp Customer List.

To find your exact status name, go to CRM on your TeamUp Business Dashboard ➜ look at the second-to-last column on the right ➜ use the status name shown there exactly as it appears.

🧠 If you've renamed Lost to something like "Inactive", enter "Inactive" in Column F, spelled and capitalised exactly as it appears in your CRM.

⛔️ The status name must match exactly. If Column F is left empty or doesn't match, imported contacts are created in your TeamUp Customer List as Leads.

5️⃣ Clean Up Unnecessary Columns

The template contains many columns, and unused ones can cause import errors. For each column you're not using, you can:

Delete the entire column (recommended).
Fill the field with "N/A" or "None".

Deleting unused columns is the easiest way to prevent errors.

6️⃣ Save Your File

Once your data is ready, save your spreadsheet as a CSV file of up to 5 MB ➜ make a note of where you saved it.

7️⃣ Upload Your File

Back in the Import Tool, click Choose File ➜ select your saved CSV file ➜ click Next.

8️⃣ Map Your Fields

The next screen shows how each of your columns will be imported. Check that:

First name matches First name.
Last name matches Last name.
Email matches Email.
All other columns, including Contact Lifecycle stage, are correctly mapped.

If you didn't rename any columns in the template, these should match automatically. Correct any mismatches before continuing.

9️⃣ Review & Finish

The review screen shows how many contacts you're adding before you confirm. Click Next ➜ review your import ➜ click Finish.

If you tick Update existing customers, any duplicates are updated with the new information from your file. Contacts are matched by email address, and if the box is left unticked, duplicates are skipped.

⚠️ Updating existing contacts during an import will overwrite the mapped fields on matching records. If you're unsure, export a backup of your contacts first.

⚠️ Before importing, check any automations that start when a new contact is created. These can also run for imported contacts, which could email your whole imported list.

📊 Understanding Your Import Status

After you click Finish, your import appears on the Import page in CRM ➜ Contacts ➜ Import. Each import is listed with the following details.

Name	The file name of your import.
Status	Complete means all records imported with no errors. Complete with errors means some records imported, but errors were found in others.
Processed	The number of records successfully imported.
Errors	The number of records that failed to import.
Import date	The date the import was completed.

Downloading Your Files

You can download a copy of your uploaded file, or a report of any records that failed. Click the three-dot menu button ( ⫶ ) next to an import ➜ select Download original file or Download error file.

💡 For your security, uploaded files and error files are deleted after 30 days, so download anything you need before then.

💡 For more on managing, organising and exporting your contacts once they're imported, see the contacts guide here.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Find answers to common questions or additional details that may not be covered in the main instructions.