Import a CSV File in People

You can import a CSV file of your current database into Planning Center by matching your CSV file's column headers to fields in Planning Center. On top of adding information, CSV imports allow you to update any profiles you may already have in your Planning Center account and group people together in households. You can also create custom fields to import additional data from your current database that doesn't have a matching field in Planning Center.

Tip

If you're new to Planning Center, learn about households and names to see how they're used throughout Planning Center products. This will help you decide how to best structure your CSV file to translate well into Planning Center's structure.

For a smooth, successful import, match the column headers in your CSV file to the existing field names in People, and ensure that the data in each column of your CSV file meets the formatting requirements for the People fields. Use the default fields and the types of custom fields available, as well as the formatting options that are accepted for each one in this article.

As you begin, keep in mind that you can also always undo an import if you made a mistake.

Check out the video and follow the steps below for more details on the import process!

 

Only people information can be imported into Planning Center. If you want other data to exist in your Planning Center database, you can use the following options:

• For giving history, use a third-party integration to add your previous history to Planning Center Giving.

• For attendance history, you can add previous sessions in Check-Ins and enter attendance manually.

Tip

Download the sample CSV file to see how to set up your CSV file.

Check the CSV File

If your information was stored in another place, export it as a Comma Separated Values (.csv or CSV) file. CSV files can be opened in any spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel, Numbers, or Google Sheets.

Many systems generate CSV files with some unnecessary data in them, so make sure everything looks okay before starting your import.

Danger

Always keep the main Name Fields, First, Middle, Last, and Suffix, as well as the column names in order to match them when you import. This ensures that your import updates the correct profiles. If you have more than one person with the same full name, use the Remote ID.

Additional importing information:

• If you already have data in Planning Center, the Importer will match profiles based on name fields (first, middle, last, suffix) unless you're using a Remote ID.

• Any data in the columns will be imported. You can choose for blank cells to delete or ignore current data in the field at the bottom of the Match Fields page.

  

• Delete any fully blank columns or rows.

• Delete any columns you don't want to import.

• To import phone numbers and addresses in specific formats, change the format in the CSV columns before importing. The email field will not be automatically formatted in Planning Center, and phone numbers imported via a CSV file will not be auto-formatted. It's definitely easier to update the spreadsheet!

• Notes cannot be imported into People Profile Notes.

• Custom Fields

  • Don't see a field you need? Create them as custom fields before importing your file.

  • Give your custom field a unique name. If you re-use a default field name, the data will be imported into the default field.

  • If you are importing into a custom field with multiple checkboxes, the responses need to be separated by a |.

  • Set the column to be the name of the field, not the name of the tab .

Caution

Information about an Organization Administrator cannot be updated by a CSV import.

Tip

If you have more than 100,000 individual cells in your import, break the data up into separate CSV files and import each one individually.

Default Fields

These default fields already exist in People and cannot be renamed. Make sure the fields in your CSV file to match the ones listed below.

Name Fields

The Importer will match profiles based on name fields (first, middle, last, suffix) unless you're using a Remote ID.

Default Fields	Accepted Answers
First Name	Any Text
Last Name
Given Name
Middle Name
Nickname
Name Prefix	Must match prefix names exactly
Name Suffix	Must match suffix names exactly
Household ID	names, numbers (up to 9 digits), or a combination of both
Household Primary Contact	TRUE only include next to Primary Contact; do not include False next to those who aren't

Household ID

In order to create households, you need to create a Household ID for each person. Add the same exact characters to the Household ID column for each member of the household. As long as that ID matches for each member of the household, and the whole household is in the same import, they will be linked together in a household.

During the preview stage of the import, you will be able to see created and updated households. Click on the changes that will be made to see the household name, primary contact, and members of the household.

The Household ID is not saved to the profile; it only exists in the current import, so keep your household members together in the same CSV file. If you want to save the Household ID number to reference it later, create a custom field with a different name and duplicate the Household ID column with that name.

Tip

If you're using numbers for the Household ID, you can only use up to 9 digits.

Contact Info

Danger

If importing an address, you must include all the fields. If a field is left blank in the CSV file, you can choose for it to overwrite the current address with a blank or ignore the field entirely.

Default Fields	Accepted Answers
Home Email	Any Text multiples can be separated by a semicolon (;)
Work Email
Other Email
Home Phone Number	any length, with or without dashes (formatted to your preference) multiples can be separated by a semicolon (;)
Work Phone Number
Mobile Phone Number
Pager Phone Number
Fax Phone Number
Skype Phone Number
Other Phone Number
Home Address Street Line 1	Any Text
Home Address Street Line 2	Any Text
Home Address City	Any Text
Home Address State	abbreviation or full name
Home Address Zip Code	Any Text
Work Address Street Line 1	Any Text
Work Address Street Line 2	Any Text
Work Address City	Any Text
Work Address State	abbreviation or full name
Work Address Zip Code	Any Text
Other Address Street Line 1	Any Text
Other Address Street Line 2	Any Text
Other Address City	Any Text
Other Address State	abbreviation or full name
Other Address Zip Code	Any Text

Background Checks

Danger

If you import partial background check data, you'll get a new background check with that partial data. Background checks must be manually deleted.

Default Fields	Accepted Answers
Background Check Cleared	Y/N Yes/No True/False 1/0 not case-sensitive
Background Check Date Completed	any combination of: YYYY-MM-DD MM/DD/YYYY follow the formatting from your Accounts Localization Setting must have Background Check Cleared entered
Background Check Expires On	any combination of: YYYY-MM-DD MM/DD/YYYY follow the formatting from your Accounts Localization Setting
Background Check Note	Any Text

Other

Notice

Barcodes must be manually deleted; they cannot be overwritten by an import. If you import a barcode, it will just be added to the profile.

Default Fields	Accepted Answers
Birthdate	any combination of: YYYY-MM-DD MM/DD/YYYY follow the formatting from your Accounts Localization Setting If the person doesn’t have a birth year, use 1885; this shows no age in People.
Anniversary	any combination of: YYYY-MM-DD MM/DD/YYYY follow the formatting from your Accounts Localization Setting must have Marital Status as Married or Widowed
Medical Notes	Any Text
Grade	-1 to 12 (where -1 is Pre-K, 0 is Kindergarten) 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. not case-sensitive
School Type	Elementary, Middle School, High School, College, Other
School Name	Must match school names exactly
Gender	M/F Male/Female not case-sensitive
Child	Y/N Yes/No True/False 1/0 not case-sensitive
Barcode	Any Text
Campus	Must match campus names exactly
Status	Active/Inactive
Inactive Reason	Moved, New Church, Deceased, Divorced, or custom is case-sensitive
Inactive Date	any combination of: YYYY-MM-DD MM/DD/YYYY follow the formatting from your Accounts Localization Setting
Marital Status	Single, Married, Widowed, or custom is case-sensitive
Membership	Must match Membership Type exactly

Tip

There isn't a direct way to import data in the notes field, but PCOMVP has a tool that allows you to import data into Notes.

Remote ID

If we find an existing profile with a matching first name, middle name, last name, and suffix, the Importer will update that profile instead of creating a new one.

If you have similar names in your file, we recommend you use a Remote ID field. The Importer will check for matching Remote IDs when deciding to match an existing person or create a new profile.

The Remote ID column in your CSV file must be named remote_id, and the contents of that column must be positive whole numbers.

Tip

You can add a Remote ID to an existing profile if the name fields and email match exactly.

Upload the File

A Manager or Administrator can upload the CSV file by clicking the gear icon on the People tab, and then by clicking CSV Import/Export.

On the next screen, select Start Import,and then choose your file to upload.

Match Fields

If you didn't use the Default Fields, you can still match the columns in your CSV file to fields in People. This helps the Importer put information in the correct place.

1. Compare the Planning Center Field column with the CSV Column Names to make sure they match with what you want to be imported into those fields.

2. If you have columns in your CSV file that you don't want to import, select Not Used. Any field marked as such will not be imported.

3. If you accidentally uploaded the wrong file or noticed from the examples that you missed some information, replace the CSV with the correct file.

Tip

At the bottom of the field options is a checkbox that allows you to overwrite or ignore any blank fields.

Once you've verified each field, click Preview Import at the bottom of the page.

Preview Data

You can see new or updated profiles and households, any errors the importer found, and all records that are identical. If you do not want to update or create a particular record, uncheck the box next to their name.

If you have any errors in your file, go to the Errors tab, and then click Download CSV at the bottom of the page to make adjustments to those profiles. Uncheck the errored profiles and finish this import, and then fix the errors and re-import that file.

Click Finish Import to process your import and either update or create all profiles that were selected.

Formatting Errors

If you receive an Oops! message, it means you have formatted something incorrectly in the column headers of your CSV file. Here are the two most common occurrences.

1. Blank column header in your CSV file. Enter a column header or delete the column completely.

2. Line break the column header. Column headers must be on only one line.

Undo the Import

If you have a panic moment and think the CSV file isn't correct, or some of the information from the tabs aren't what you expected, you can undo the import up to 48 hours after you imported it.

Danger

If you have merged any profiles from the import, do not undo the import. Undoing the import will completely delete the merged person from your database, removing any scheduled positions, registered events, donations, etc.

Scroll to the bottom of the Data Import & Exports page, and then click View Results on the import you want to undo.

Click Undo to remove anything created or updated by the information in the import.

You can continue updating the people you've added by importing other CSV files with information.