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Import contacts from Excel

Bring your existing customer list into Setaflow from an Excel sheet, check it, and import only the rows that are correct.

If you already keep customers in Excel, you can import them in three steps: Upload File, Validation and Import. Setaflow checks every row first, so a few bad rows never block the rest.


  • Use an .xls or .xlsx file, up to 5 MB.
  • Put one contact per row.
  • Write phone numbers with the country code, for example 919840011122.
  • Start from Setaflow’s sample file. It has every column the import reads, including your custom fields, and a How to fill sheet.

  1. Go to Contacts and click Import.
  2. Click Choose File, or drag your file into the box.

Import Contacts, step 1: Upload your file

If you don’t have a file ready, click sample file, fill it in, and come back.

Click Next.


Setaflow checks every row and shows two groups:

  • Valid Contacts: the rows that will be imported.
  • Validation Issues: the rows that will be left out, with the row number and the problem.

Validation results: 2 valid contacts and 2 issues

  1. Read the issues.
  2. To fix them, click Download error rows. You get an Excel file with an Error Details column. Fix the rows and import that file again later.
  3. Click Skip and Import to go ahead with the valid rows now.

Setaflow shows what the import will do: how many contacts it will insert (new) and how many it will update (already in Setaflow).

Ready to import: Insert 2 Contacts

Click Import Contacts. When it’s done, you’ll see Contacts imported.


In your file What happens
Email and phone both match the same contact That contact is updated
Only the email or only the phone matches That contact is updated
Email and phone match different contacts The row is left out, with an error
Nothing matches A new contact is created

Issue What to do
First Name is missing Add a first name in that row.
Invalid phone number Add the country code and check the digits.
Invalid Birthday Date (use DD-MM-YYYY) Write dates like 25-12-1990.
List not found / Tag not found Create the list or tag in Setaflow first, or fix the spelling.
Duplicate email / Duplicate phone number found in Excel file The same contact appears twice in your sheet. Keep one row.
Some new contacts won’t be added Your plan’s contact limit is reached. The extra rows are skipped.

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