When using the Command Contact Import template to import contacts, you will download the premade template, enter or copy/paste the contact information into this blank template, and then upload to Command, but there can be some confusion around how to enter some of the data.
- For help with copying and pasting data from one spreadsheet to another, click here.
Each contact must have at least a first name. If not, the contact will not import into Command. See below to learn the nuances of entering contact info into the Command Contact Import template:
Import Field Considerations
Key Dates (Birthday and Home Anniversary)
When you enter dates into the spreadsheet, there are three formats that will work:
- July 27, 1986 (Excel will auto-format this to be 27-Jul-86)
- 27-Jul-86
- 7/27/1986
Phone Numbers
Phone numbers can be formatted in multiple ways, all of the following will work:
- 1234567899
- (123) 456-7899
- 123.456.7899
- 123-456-7899
Also, when entering phone numbers into the Command Import Template, you will see four separate columns for phone numbers: Cell Phone, Home Phone, Work Phone, and Other Phone. Next to each of these is field labeled "Is Primary? (mark Y)." Put a capital Y next to the phone number that should be their primary.
- There can only be one primary phone number, no matter the label, so be very purposeful here. Only mark one phone number as primary.
- You must add a Capital Y in this field. If the Y is lowercase, the system will not recognize the phone number as primary.
- When using Twilio to automatically text contacts through SmartPlans, the system will only use the Primary phone number. If you will be using Twilio, be sure that the primary number you enter is a number that can send and receive text messages.
Email Addresses
When entering email addresses into the Command Import Template, you will see three separate columns for these: Personal Email, Work Email, and Other Email. Next to each of these is field labeled "Primary? (mark Y)." Put a capital Y next to the email address that should be their primary.
- There can only be one primary email address, no matter the label, so be very purposeful here. Only mark one email address as primary.
- You must add a Capital Y in this field. If the Y is lowercase, the system will not recognize the phone number as primary.
Addresses
You must enter a full address that includes a street address, city, state, and zip/postal code. You must utilize the City, State, zip/postal code columns for the address to import properly. If you enter the full address into the "Address Line 1" column, it will not map properly when it imports.
The way that an address is entered on the Import Template is how it will be displayed in Command. In the Label column, you can list one of the following (spelling matters, but capitalization does not):
- Home
- Work
- Rental
- Vacation
- Other
If you use an abbreviation for a state name or the full name, either one will be pulled into Command and sync up with the primary neighborhood of the address.
- Click here to learn how to add a neighborhood to a contact.
If you are entering a Postal Code that begins with Zero, you must format the cells to display as text fields (Excel and Numbers will take out the first zero otherwise):
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Tags
When entering tags, there is one cell for you to use. Enter each tag separated by a comma and a space, in the cell provided. Also, these custom tags are case sensitive, so ensure that you add the proper capitalization.
Notes
If you put a note in the "Note" field on the import template, that information will pull into Command during the import but it won't keep any formatting like bold, italics, underline, etc.
Also, you are able to enter multiple separate notes, for the same contact. Separate each note with a comma. That means, if a note includes a comma, it will separate out into two notes, so be purposeful.
Social Accounts
In these fields, you are able to add links to a contact's social profiles. This makes it easy to access these social profile links from within the contact record. To capture these links, go to the social platform in question, go to the contact's profile, and copy the web address. There are several formats for each profile that will work:
- https://www.facebook.com/paul.polansky485757
- www.facebook.com/paul.polansky485757
- facebook.com/paul.polansky485757
- paul.polansky485757
- https://www.twitter.com/ppolansky122303
- www.twitter.com/ppolansky122303
- twitter.com/ppolansky122303
- ppolansky122303
- https://linkedin.com/in/paul-polansky-4746464
- www.linkedin.com/in/paul-polansky-4746464
- linkedin.com/in/paul-polansky-4746464
- paul-polansky-4746464
- https://www.pinterest.com/paulpolansky446
- www.pinterest.com/paulpolansky446
- pinterest.com/paulpolansky446
- paulpolansky446
- https://www.instagram.com/paul.polansky47464
- www.instagram.com/paul.polansky47464
- instagram.com/paul.polansky47464
- paul.polansky47464
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