TalleFlow Help Center | Bulk Importing Contacts

Bulk Importing Contacts

Easily upload your contact lists from spreadsheets into TalleFlow. Whether you’re migrating from another CRM or starting fresh, the bulk import tool helps you bring all your contacts in quickly and accurately.

Vaasu Guduguntla

Last Update a month ago

What It Does

The Bulk Import tool lets you add multiple contacts to your workspace at once.
You can import data from a spreadsheet (CSV, XLSX, or XLS) instead of adding each contact manually. This saves time, keeps your data consistent, and ensures that contacts are ready to use across Projects, Emails, and Documents.

How to Import Contacts

Go to the Contacts page: From the left navigation menu, click Contacts.
Click “Import”: You’ll find this button at the top right of the Contacts page.
Upload your file

Click the upload area or drag and drop your file.
Supported file formats: CSV, XLSX, XLS
Maximum file size: 25MB

Map your data (if prompted): TalleFlow will automatically detect column headers (like First Name, Email, or Phone).
If any columns don’t match automatically, you can manually assign them during the import process.
Confirm and import: Review your mapping, then click Import Contacts. The upload will begin, and you’ll see your contacts populate once complete.

Recommended File Format

To ensure a smooth import, your spreadsheet should include these columns:

Column Name	Example	Notes
First Name	Jordan	Required
Last Name	Nguyen	Optional but recommended
Email	[email protected]	Required for communication
Phone	+1 (555) 123-4567	Optional
Company	Creative Studio Co.	Optional
Tags / Groups	Clients, Leads	Separate multiple tags with commas

💡 Tip: Exporting a CSV from tools like Google Sheets, Excel, or Airtable works perfectly.

🧩 If Your File Has a Single “Full Name” Column

If your spreadsheet includes a single Full Name column (instead of separate first and last name fields), you have two options:

Option 1: Split the Full Name Before Uploading (Recommended)

This ensures better accuracy, especially when using smart tags like {{contact.first_name}} in documents or emails.

In Google Sheets or Excel:

Select the Full Name column.
Go to Data → Split text to columns (Google Sheets) or Data → Text to Columns (Excel).
Choose a space as the separator.
Rename the new columns to First Name and Last Name.
Save your file and re-upload.

✅ Why this matters: TalleFlow uses the “First Name” field for personalization in proposals, contracts, and emails.

Option 2: Map the “Full Name” Column During Import

If you prefer not to edit your spreadsheet:

Map your Full Name column to First Name during the import step.
Leave the Last Name field unmapped.

Your contact will still import correctly, but only the first name field will display.

Example: “Jordan Nguyen” → First Name: Jordan Nguyen, Last Name: (blank)

Troubleshooting

Duplicate Entries

If a contact already exists, TalleFlow automatically detects duplicates based on email address.
Duplicate entries will appear with a suffix like _duplicate_1 in the email field.

Formatting Errors

Check that:

Your file is saved in UTF-8 format (default for most spreadsheet tools).
Each column has a header row (no blank top row).
Phone numbers include country codes when possible.

Large Files: If your upload is large (over a few thousand rows), split it into smaller files under 25MB.

⚠️ Important: Each TalleFlow Field Can Only Be Mapped to ONE Column

During the import process, every TalleFlow field must map to a single column from your spreadsheet.
If you try to map multiple different columns to the same TalleFlow field, the import will fail.

❌ Examples of mappings that will cause errors:

Email + Work Email → Email
Cell Phone + Work Phone → Phone
Full Name + First Name → First Name
Company + Organization → Company

✔️ Why this matters

TalleFlow needs one clear value per field when creating a contact.
If the importer receives two sources for the same field, it can’t determine which one is correct — so it stops the import to prevent invalid data.

✔️ What to do instead

If you have multiple similar fields:

Pick one as the primary field to map
Move the secondary fields into a Notes column
OR merge the values before importing (ChatGPT can do this for you)

✔️ Valid mapping example

Email → Email
Work Email → Notes
Personal Email → Notes

🤖 Using ChatGPT to Prepare Your Contact File

If your spreadsheet is messy, inconsistent, or missing fields, ChatGPT can help you quickly clean and format your data before importing into TalleFlow.
Here are a few simple ways to use it:

✔️ Split full names into first/last name

“Split the names in this column into First Name and Last Name and return a new table.”

✔️ Choose a primary email when multiple exist

“From these email columns, choose the best primary email for each contact and output one Email column.”

✔️ Merge extra fields into Notes

“Combine these phone number columns into a single Notes field.”

✔️ Standardize phone number formatting

“Format all phone numbers into (xxx) xxx-xxxx.”

✔️ Create a clean TalleFlow-ready CSV

“Reformat this contact list using columns: First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone, Company, Notes.”
ChatGPT can return the cleaned result in a neatly structured table or CSV, saving you time and reducing errors during import.

Rule of Thumb

👉 One TalleFlow field = One column from your file. Always.

Best Practices

💡 Start small: Try uploading a short test CSV first to verify mappings.
💡 Clean your data: Remove duplicates or incomplete records before uploading.
💡 Use groups: Add a “Groups” or “Tags” column to automatically organize contacts into categories.
💡 Keep headers simple: Use plain text headers like “First Name” and “Email.” Avoid symbols or emojis.

After Import

Once your import is complete, you can:

View and search contacts in Contacts → All Contacts
Add contacts to Projects or Groups
Send Email Campaigns directly to your imported lists
Generate Proposals or Invoices using client details immediately.

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