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Import Contacts

Reach allows you to import Contacts (Clients or Agents) from a CSV file directly or from Google Contacts.

caution

If working on a team, make sure to import Contacts for the correct owner. Ownership cannot change after items have been created. While an Admin user can choose who they are "Acting As" to specify the owner, an Agent user can only import Contacts for themselves.

Importing Contacts from a CSV​

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Click here to download a sample CSV file

The first method of importing Contacts into Reach is via a CSV file. Make sure the following below are true about your CSV file(s) before you continue:

  • Your Clients and Agents are in 2 separate files (i.e. not the same CSV file)
  • The first and last names of your contacts are in 2 separate columns (e.g. First Name, Last Name)
  • Address information is split across 4 separate columns for street address, city, province, and postal code data (up to 3 different addresses are supported)
  • Phone numbers of different types are in separate columns (i.e. "home" and "work" phone numbers should not be mixed)
  • Any birthdays are in an unambiguous format so that they can interpreted correctly (e.g. April 8, 1990 as opposed to 4/8/90)
  • If you have a column for tags, that you know the delimiter (the character used to separate your tags. For example: a comma, semicolon, or space are the most common)

Once you have made sure your CSV file is in a good state, let's import it into Reach!

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  1. In the sidebar, click on Contacts
  2. Click on Import
  3. Select either Clients or Agents depending on what you are importing
  4. Click on CSV File
  5. Click on Upload File and select your file
  6. Double check that the Summary is correct (you may need to fix your CSV file if there are warnings displayed and then re-upload the file)
  7. Click Next
  8. For each column in your CSV, select 1 of 3 options: Map to Field, Add to Notes, or Ignore

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tip

By default, all columns will be set to Add to Notes unless there is no data in the entire column in which case it will be set to Ignore

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If you have secondary contact information in the same row, two contacts will be created for each of them, and they will be placed in a group.

  1. Once you have mapped your fields, cycle through the Contact Preview to verify that the Contact information is coming through correctly
  2. Click on Next
  3. Select which Contacts you wish to import. Select the checkbox in the table header to select all
  4. Click Import

You now have your Contacts imported and ready to be used in Reach!

Importing Contacts from Google​

The second method of importing Contacts into Reach is via Google Contacts. These instructions specify how to get Contacts from a CSV file into Google Contacts and then how to get the Google Contacts into Reach.

If you already have your contacts in Google, skip down to the Importing Google Contacts into Reach section.

Import Contacts into Google​

  1. Reach provides a .csv file (excel file) that contains sample Client information. In a .csv file, the first row is always the heading information and every subsequent row is the data. You can either edit the Reach .csv file directly by removing the sample data and inputting your own data or you can export all of your contacts from the program you are currently using into a new .csv file. If you choose to use a new .csv file, the headings in the first row must be edited so that they match exactly the headings in the Reach provided .csv file or the import will not work.

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  1. Not sure how to export your contacts from your current program? Try a simple Google search (e.g. "Export contacts to csv from Outlook 2018").

  2. We encourage you to spend the time to ensure you import into Google a clean, correct file with all of your contact details in the beginning. Working in Reach will be much easier if your contact information is correct.

  3. Open up Google Contacts (https:) and sign in with the same account as the account you used to sign up for Reach.

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  1. We suggest importing your csv. file into a "Label" which is Google's way of creating a sub-category of Contacts. This is useful if you want to keep these contacts separate from your other Google Contacts. Select "+ CREATE LABEL" and label it anything you want (e.g.: "Import for Reach"). Now Select "Import" and a dialog box appears. Make sure your new label "Import for Reach" is selected and click "Import"

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Now your Contacts have been successfully imported into Google!

Importing Google Contacts into Reach​

  1. In the sidebar, click on Contacts
  2. In the top right corner, click Import

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  1. Select either Clients or Agents, depending on the kind of Contacts you wish to import and then select Google Contacts as the source.
  2. Click the Filter button beside the Search All Columns input box above the table.
  3. If the Tags column is not visible, click the eye icon above and to the right of the table to select it.
  4. Click the Tags Filter button in the Tags column.
  5. In the Included Tags, select the label you created (e.g. "Import for Reach")
  6. Click the checkbox in the table header to select all rows and click Import.

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Your Contacts have been successfully imported into Reach!

tip

Once your Contacts have been imported into Reach, you no longer need them in Google.