Import contacts from a file

3 min readManagers and owners

Summary

Bring a customer list in from a CSV or Excel file: match the columns, preview, import, and undo if needed.

A CSV (UTF-8) or Excel (.xlsx) file with a header row and a column of WhatsApp numbers.
Your plan's file limits, shown before you upload: Starter 2,000 rows and 5 MB a file, Growth 10,000 and 10 MB, Pro 50,000 and 25 MB, a free trial 1,000 and 2 MB.

1
Open Contacts and click Import, then Choose a file.
2
Check each column. Slot Reply suggests a match: Name, WhatsApp number, Email, one of your contact fields, + Create field, or Do not import.
A new field takes the column's name and a suggested type; change either. It counts towards your plan's contact fields.
3
Choose the country for Numbers without a country code and how Dates in the file are written.
Spaces, a leading 0 and a + are fine in numbers.
4
Click Preview. Nothing is saved yet.

The preview counts New contacts, Already contacts, Repeated in the file and Can't import, with the first reasons.
For numbers that are already contacts, choose Skip them (nothing changes) or Fill empty fields only (only what's missing is added). A value already there is never replaced.
Click Import. It runs in the background with a progress bar; you can close it.
A repeated number is imported once, from its first row.

Download rows not imported gives you those rows with their row number and the reason, to fix and import again.
Undo import (within 7 days) removes the contacts it added, unless someone changed them or they have written since, and takes back the empty fields it filled if they're unchanged. Fields it created stay; delete them in Settings → Contact fields if you don't need them.
Importing sends nobody a message and doesn't count as their consent.

"This file isn't UTF-8 text. Upload the Excel file directly, or save as CSV UTF-8.": In Excel, upload the .xlsx itself, or use Save As → CSV UTF-8.
"This file has more than … rows" or "your plan takes files up to … MB".: Split the file into smaller ones, or move to a bigger plan.
A date row says "enter a date as YYYY-MM-DD".: Check Dates in the file matches how the file writes dates. A two-digit year isn't read; use four digits.

Your contacts

Every customer in one list, whether or not they have written yet: search, filter, choose columns and tag many at once.

Contact fields

Choose the details you keep about customers, such as Birthday, Area or Preferred service.

Import history and exporting contacts

See every import, download the rows it skipped, undo it, and export your contacts to a CSV file.

Still need help?

Search the FAQs or contact our team by email or phone.