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You bring customers into Contacts from a CSV file. There are two ways to do it, and the difference is whether the people in the file can be called straight away. Both buttons are at the top of the Contacts page. They are greyed out until a store is linked to your workspace. Import with consent is also greyed out if the list of lawful bases could not be loaded; refresh the page and try again.
Import with consent always records consent to call. There is no bulk import that records WhatsApp consent. You record WhatsApp consent one contact at a time with the Consent button. See Contacts.
Members who are not owners see this note instead of the buttons: “Only account owners can import contacts or change consent - ask an owner of your team.” See Who can do what.

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Before you import

Write every phone number in international format: a +, the country code, then the number, with no spaces. For example +15551234567. Numbers written this way can be called, granted consent and opted out without surprises. Import with consent skips any number without a country code.
  • The file must be a CSV. The upload accepts .csv files only. If your list is in Excel, save it as CSV first.
  • At most 1,000 contacts per import. Split a longer list into several files.
  • One email per contact. An email address can belong to only one contact in your store. A row whose email already belongs to a different contact is skipped.

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Import step by step

The Import contacts dialog

The Import contacts dialog, with a CSV pasted and the preview line underneath.

1

Open the dialog

On Contacts, click Import contacts or Import with consent. The dialog asks you to “Paste or upload a CSV with a phone column (plus optional name and email). Phone numbers should be in international format (e.g. +15551234567).”
2

Add your file

Either choose a file under CSV file (optional), or paste the CSV text into Or paste CSV. A file you choose is loaded into the paste box, so you can check it before importing. Need a starting point? Click Download CSV template.
3

Read the preview

As soon as there is text in the box, the dialog shows how many contacts are ready, how many rows will be skipped because they have no phone, which custom fields it found, and which column names it will ignore.
4

Choose a lawful basis (Import with consent only)

Pick the basis under Lawful basis to call. For two of the bases you must also tick I confirm the statement above. See Import with consent.
5

Import

Click Import (or Import + record consent). The button shows “Importing…” while it runs, and a message tells you the result.

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Every field in the dialog

Buttons:
  • Cancel closes the dialog. Nothing is imported.
  • Import (or Import + record consent) runs the import. It stays greyed out until at least one contact is ready, the file is within the 1,000 limit, and, for Import with consent, a basis is chosen and any required statement is ticked.

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How your CSV is read

The header row. If the first row names a phone column, it is treated as a header. Columns can be in any order. Names are matched ignoring upper and lower case, and spaces or hyphens count as underscores, so “Phone Number”, “E-mail” and “First Name” all work. No header row. If the first row does not name a phone column, the columns are read as phone, name, email, in that order. No custom fields are imported, because there is nothing to name them. Other details:
  • Values in quotes can contain commas, line breaks and doubled quotes.
  • Fully blank lines are ignored.
  • A row with no phone value is skipped and counted.
  • If the same contact is in the file twice, it counts once when you import with consent.

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A sample file

This imports one contact with a custom field called order_number.

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Custom fields

Every column that is not phone, name or email becomes a custom field, named after its header. Your agent can use it on an outbound call as a variable: a column called order_number is available as {{order_number}}. The preview lists the custom fields it found, and reminds you that re-importing a contact replaces its custom fields. Naming rules for a custom field:
  • letters, numbers and underscores only;
  • must start with a letter or an underscore;
  • at most 64 characters;
  • must not start with system__ or _ri_;
  • must not be customer_name or a small number of other reserved names.
A column with a name that breaks these rules is listed in red as “Ignored (invalid field names)” and is not imported. Other limits:
  • A value can be at most 512 characters. A longer value is rejected, not shortened.
  • A contact can hold at most 30 custom fields.
  • Fields that are rejected are counted in the result message (“custom field(s) ignored”).
  • A second column that is just another name for phone, name or email (for example a “Mobile” column next to “Phone”) is ignored, so phone numbers never end up in a custom field.
  • If two headers have the same name, the first one is used.
  • Blank cells are skipped.
New field names from an import are added to your workspace’s columns automatically, up to 30 columns in total.

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What happens to contacts you already have

A contact is matched by phone number. Importing a number you already have updates that contact rather than creating a second one.
  • Name and email are written only when the file has a value. A blank cell never erases a name or email you already have.
  • Custom fields: if the row has at least one custom value, the contact’s custom fields are replaced by the row’s set. If the row has no custom values, the stored ones are left alone.
  • Opt-outs and the do-not-call list are never touched by an import. Someone who opted out stays opted out, even if you import their number again.
  • A plain import never changes consent. An import with consent records the basis you chose, replacing any earlier calling basis for those numbers.
The Import with consent dialog

Import with consent: the same dialog, with the lawful basis picker.

Use this when you already have a lawful basis to call everyone in the file. The dialog reminds you: “Recording consent lets your agents call these contacts. You are responsible for having a lawful basis for each person.” The bases you can choose under Lawful basis to call: The meaning of each basis, and the full text of the two statements, are on Contacts. What happens when you import with consent:
  • Each phone number is converted to international format. A leading 00 counts as +, and spaces, dashes and brackets are removed.
  • A number that cannot be converted, including a number with no country code, is skipped and counted as “invalid number”.
  • Each contact is added or updated, and the basis is recorded with today’s date.
  • One record of the import is kept: who did it, which basis, how many contacts and, for the two bases with a statement, the exact statement you confirmed.
  • If no number in the file can be used, the import is refused.
RuleInside does not check that the basis you choose is true. You are responsible for it.

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Result messages

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Showing, hiding and adding columns

The Columns panel on the Contacts page

The Columns panel: your own view at the top, the workspace's fields at the bottom.

The Columns button on the Contacts page opens a panel with two halves. When some columns are hidden, the button shows how many (for example “Columns -2”).

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Show columns (your own view)

Anyone in the workspace can use this half. It appears once you have contacts.
  • Tick or untick a column to show or hide it. Phone, Consent and Actions are marked “Always shown” and cannot be hidden.
  • Drag a row to change the order. Actions always stays last. Dragging works with a mouse; it does not work on touch screens or with the keyboard.
  • Reset to default clears your choices and your order.
  • By default, the built-in columns are shown, and a custom column is shown only when at least one contact on the current page has a value in it. Your own ticks override this either way.
These choices apply to this browser only. A colleague, or you on another device, sees their own view.

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Workspace fields (owners only)

The bottom half changes the columns for everyone: “Changes here affect everyone in this workspace, not just your view.” It is there even before your first import. Add column opens the Add a column dialog.
  • Type a name under Column name (for example order_number). The same naming rules as custom fields apply.
  • If the name is not allowed you see “Use only letters, numbers, and underscores (and not a reserved name).”; if it is already a column, “That column already exists.”
  • Click Add column. You see “Column added.” and the new column is switched on in your browser.
  • If the name is refused, for example because it is reserved or you already have 30 columns, you see “That name is not a valid column and was ignored.”
The new column is a variable you can use in your agent’s prompt on outbound calls, for example {{order_number}}. You fill in its value per contact with Edit on the Contacts page, or with a new import. Manage fields (with the number of fields, for example “Manage fields (3)”) opens the Columns dialog, listing every workspace field.
  • Click Remove next to a field, then Save. Nothing changes until you save. You see “Columns updated.”
  • Removing a column does not delete the values stored on your contacts. Adding the column back shows them again.
While a column is removed, its values are not sent to your agent on outbound campaign calls. If your agent’s prompt uses that variable, add the column back before you launch a campaign.
A workspace can have at most 30 columns.

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Common questions

Not on the Contacts page. Save it as CSV first. (The recipient list you upload when you create a campaign does accept Excel files. See Campaigns.)
Only a phone column. Name and email are optional. Any other column becomes a custom field. Download the template from the dialog to start from a working file.
1,000 per import. Split a longer list into several files and import them one after another.
With Import contacts: the row had no phone number, or its email already belongs to another contact. With Import with consent: also any number that could not be put in international format, usually because it has no country code. These are counted as “invalid number”.
A plain import adds people as Calls: no consent. Record a lawful basis for them, with Import with consent or the Consent button on each contact. If the badges already say Calls: callable, check Settings, Calling consent: nothing is sent until an owner has confirmed it.
A row with at least one custom value replaces the contact’s whole set of custom fields. If you want to keep a field, include its column and value in the new file. A row with no custom values leaves them alone.
No. An import never touches opt-outs or your do-not-call list. See Contacts.
It switches on automatically in the browser you added it from. In another browser, an empty custom column starts hidden: tick it in Columns.
No. The values stay stored on your contacts and come back when you add the column again. While the column is removed, those values are not sent to your agent on outbound calls.
No. Importing, recording consent and changing workspace fields are for owners. Any member can still choose their own visible columns, and can opt a contact out.