Why teams import
- Onboard entire customer lists in minutes with no manual retyping.
- Keep historical notes and addresses together from day one.
- Validate data before it hits the live database so mistakes are caught early.
- Undo a batch if something looks wrong—Toolfy logs every import.
Five-step process
- Customers → Import.
- Download the CSV template so your headers match Toolfy’s fields.
- Copy or paste your customer data into the template.
- Upload the file and review the preview table for errors.
- Confirm import. Toolfy shows a success summary and emails you the results.
Tip: keep a copy of your original CSV in case you want to re-run the import later.
Template fields
Required
- name — either a contact name or a company.
- email or phone — at least one contact method so reminders can send.
Optional
- company, mobile, secondary phone, and additional email.
- address_line1/2, city, county/state, postcode, country.
- notes, tags (comma separated), tax_exempt (TRUE/FALSE).
- custom fields you have defined in Settings → Customers → Custom fields.
Validation before import
- Duplicate detection highlights customers with the same email or phone.
- Invalid emails or phone numbers are flagged so you can fix them before import.
- Missing required fields appear in red—edit inline or re-upload after fixing.
- Large files: we recommend batches of up to 5,000 rows to keep previews fast.
After the import
- Use the success summary to spot rows that were skipped and why.
- Assign tags or account managers in bulk using the multi-select tools.
- Send a welcome email or invite customers to the portal using the new list.
Troubleshooting
Import finished but some rows failed
Download the error CSV from the success screen. It lists the exact row and reason so you can re-upload just those customers.
Characters look garbled
Save your CSV in UTF-8 format (Excel → Save As → CSV UTF-8).
Columns mapped incorrectly
Make sure you keep the headers from our template. Toolfy auto-maps them to the right fields.
Need to roll back
Go to Settings → Data tools → Recent imports and click Remove batch. Toolfy deletes only the customers from that upload.