Prepare a CSV file for import

A successful import requires properly formatted data. Check out this Planning Center University video to see how to prepare and import your CSV.

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Format your CSV file

You should have the option to export a CSV file from your current database. Many systems generate CSV files in different ways, so check out the following tips to make sure your data is ready to be loaded into Planning Center:

• Name your CSV file's column headers the same as the default fields in Planning Center. Download the sample CSV file to see how to set up your CSV file.

• 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.

• Delete any fully blank columns or rows.

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

• 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. When breaking up your CSV into multiple files, make sure members of a household are kept together in the same file. 

• To import addresses in specific formats, change the format in the CSV columns before importing.

Check out the accepted default fields, along with the formatting requirements below!

Default fields

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

Name fields

The importer will match profiles based on name fields (first, middle, last, suffix) unless you use a remote ID.

Important

First and last names are required for everyone import, including imports with a remote ID.

Default fields	Accepted answers
First Name	Any text, the preferred name
Last Name	Any text
Given Name	Any text, a formal first name. Only use if different from their preferred name.
Middle Name	Any text
Nickname	Any text, used by administrators for searching or confirming the correct profile
Name Prefix	Must match prefix name field options exactly
Name Suffix	Must match suffix name field options exactly

Household fields

To create households, add the same characters to a Household ID column for each household member. As long as that ID matches each household member, and the whole household is in the same import, they will be linked together in a household.

Household fields	Accepted answer
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

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

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.

Contact information

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 field 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 (;)  mobile phone carriers cannot be imported
Work Phone Number
Mobile 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
Home Address Country Code	2-letter country codes
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
Work Address Country Code	2-letter country codes
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
Other Address Country Code	2-letter country codes

Background checks

To create background checks with an import, a column for Background Check Cleared with an accepted answer is required. If the other background check columns are not included in your CSV, you will create background checks with 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                   must have Background Check Cleared entered
Background Check Note	Any text                  must have Background Check Cleared entered

Other

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 a Marital Status of 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 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 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.
Campus	Must match campus names exactly
Status	Active/Inactive
Inactive Reason	Moved, New Church, Deceased, 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

Don't see a field you need?

If you don't see a field above that matches some of the data you're trying to import, create them as custom fields before importing your file!

Here are some tips for importing into custom fields:

• 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 import multiple items into a checkboxes field, separate the responses by a "|" character.

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

• If you have a custom field of the dropdown type, ensure the text you have in your CSV file exactly matches an option available in People with no extra spaces at the beginning or end.

Match existing profiles

A remote ID is a unique identifier that allows you to update a profile with future imports, without relying on name fields. Add remote IDs to new profiles when importing, or if you already have profiles in Planning Center, use remote IDs to improve accuracy and decrease the chances of duplicate profiles. 

Using remote IDs 

• When a remote ID is added to a profile, future imports with a matching remote ID will automatically update the correct profile. 

• You can add a remote ID to an existing profile if that profile has an email address and the name and email fields match exactly with the information in your CSV. 

  Important

  If the profile does not have an email address, a duplicate will be created and will need to be merged in the duplicate detector or manually.

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

• Some database providers include an Individual ID in their exported CSVs. If this is unique for each person in your CSV,  you can repurpose that column by changing it to remote_id before importing.

• Planning Center exports include a Person ID that is unique for each profile. You can repurpose that column by changing it to remote_id before importing.

• If you want to save the remote ID to a profile so that you can view it, create a custom field. Duplicate the column in your CSV and rename the new column to match your custom field name. 

• Remote IDs do not show up anywhere on a profile, but they are visible in exports.  

Matching by name 

If you're not using remote IDs, always keep the main Name Fields (First, Middle, Last, and Suffix) and the column names to match them when you import. This ensures that your import updates the correct profiles.

Next step: import!

Once you've followed these guidelines for preparing your file, you're ready to import your CSV.