Importing Contacts

Before You Start

What you’ll need

• Contact import permission enabled for your account
• A clean CSV file (see Contact Import Fields and List Hygiene and File Tips below)

How to Import Contacts

1. Go to Menu → Contacts → List
2. Click the micromenu (three dots) toward the top right of the page
3. Click Import
4. Upload your file
   • Optional: Give the import a name for ease of reference later
   • Click where indicated and select the appropriate file
   • Click Open Field Mapper
5. Set headers
   • Spark will pre-select the row that looks like it contains column headers; if needed, choose a different row
   • Once the correct row is selected, click Confirm selection and continue
   • If your list has no column headers, click This file has no column names
6. Match columns
   • Spark will provide field matching selections where possible; review the matches to confirm they are correct, make any necessary updates
   • Add matches for any fields for which no match was suggested
   • Optional: If you want to skip a field, click the Ignore button to its right
   • Click Confirm matching and continue
7. Bulk fix/Review
   • Spark will scan for email/phone formatting errors and items where the file content does not match the available options in Spark; items that need your attention will be highlighted for you, and you can hover over the cell to see the error message
   • For formatting errors, click in the cell to make corrections
   • For matching errors, choose an option from the drop down list
   • Optional: export the rows with errors to fix and import later
   • Once you have corrected the errors (or chosen to proceed with errors present), click FinishBulk fix/Review
     • If you have chosen to proceed with errors present, those rows will be ignored and those contacts will not be imported
8. Click Start Import

Once the import is complete, it is a good idea to review the contacts. Click View Contacts to see a list of the contacts that were added or updated by your import. If you would like to add these contacts to a group, click the micromenu (three dots) toward the top right and click either Add to Custom Group or Create Smart Group.

Contact import fields

Use this guide to format your contact import file. Following these requirements helps prevent errors during upload.

Required identifiers

Each contact must include at least one of the following:

• Email
  • The contact’s email address
  • Most common identifier for imports
  • Must be properly formatted with no extra spaces or invalid characters
• Spark ID
  • A unique identifier for an existing contact
  • Use this to update contacts without an email address
  • You can export this value from Spark

Personal information

To help prevent spam, name fields cannot include special characters: [!@#$%^_+=\/{}|":;?<>,~]

• First name
• Last name
• Nationality

Phone numbers

All phone numbers must include a country code and area code.

• Phone (primary)
• Work phone
• Mobile phone

Address

• Address line 1
• Address line 2
• City
• Province/state
• Postal code/ZIP
• Country

Professional information

• Job title
• Employer
• Agent
  • Enter Yes or TRUE if the contact is an agent
  • Enter No, FALSE, or leave blank if they are not
• Agent brokerage
  • Maximum 50 characters

Dates

Use the format YYYY-MM-DD for all date fields.

• Creation date
  • If omitted, existing contacts keep their value
  • New contacts use the import date
• Registration date
  • If omitted, existing contacts keep their value
  • New contacts will not receive one
• Opted in
  • Date the contact opted in to marketing
• Opted out
  • Date the contact opted out of marketing

Sources and categorization

• Marketing source
  • How the contact heard about your project
  • Duplicate the column if you need the same value in the marketing source field and the “How did you hear about us” question
• Registration source
  • How the contact entered your database (e.g., website, walk-in)
  • Manage options in Settings → Contacts → Registration Sources
• Rating
  • Updates existing contacts if provided
  • If not provided:
    • Existing contacts remain unchanged
    • New contacts default to “New”

Relationship assignments

• Assigned agent or client
  • Use the assigned person’s email address
• Team member
  • Assign using name or email address

Notes and custom data

• Note
  • Free-text field for additional details
• Project questions
  • Only one answer per question can be imported
  • Duplicate the column if you need the same value in the marketing source field and the “How did you hear about us” question
• Custom fields
  • Formatting depends on the field type
  • Only one value per field is supported

If you need to import multiple answers for a single field, contact support@spark.re

List Hygiene and File Tips

For smoother imports and fewer errors:

• Use one contact per row
• Include the contact’s email address - this field is mandatory
• Make sure column headers are clear and consistent
• Remove extra header rows, totals, or notes from the top and bottom of the file
• Ensure phone numbers include the country code (for example, +1-604-555-1234)
• Save the file as CSV (comma-separated values) before uploading
  
  

Frequently Asked Questions

How many records can I import at once?

We've got you covered, even for large imports! You can report up to 100K records at a time.

Can I undo or roll back an import?

There is no “undo” option for an import. You may wish to export your contacts (include contact ID, email address, and all of the information on your import spreadsheet) before starting your import - that way, you have a backup of the data to use as a basis for restoring information if it is changed by the import. 

What happens if a contact in my list is already in Spark?

If a contact in your import file already exists in Spark, that contact record will be updated with the information from your list rather than creating a duplicate. If you want to update some information for existing contacts but not other information, remove the information you do not want to update from your spreadsheet. If you do not want to update any information for existing contacts, remove these contacts from your spreadsheet entirely.

Why does it say a phone number has an error? It looks fine!

Most phone number errors are caused by missing or incomplete country codes, or by extra characters.

Try the following:

• Make sure each number includes the country code (for example, 1 for North America).
• Remove extra spaces, brackets, or text that isn’t part of the number.
• If your original list does not include country codes, you can usually add them with a simple formula in your spreadsheet tool instead of editing cells one by one. This is generally much faster.

What happens to rows with errors if I continue the import anyway?

These rows are skipped and the contacts contained in those rows will not be imported.

Can I import contacts directly into a specific group?

To add contacts to a group after import:

1. Click View Contacts
2. Click the micromenu (three dots) toward the top right
3. To add to or create a custom group:
   • Click Add to Custom Group
   • Select the desired group from the dropdown list or enter the desired group name
   • Click Submit
4. To create a smart group:
   • Click Create Smart Group
   • Enter the desired group name
   • Click Submit