How to use the member import tool
Our member import tool makes it easy to bulk import existing membership records from other software. It requires that the data be provided as either a Microsoft Excel or .csv (comma-separated values) file. The data must also be in a specific format. The table below outlines these requirements. We've also created a template as a starting point.
NOTE: We very strongly recommend having our team review your data prior to the initial import so that we can ensure that the data will work well with the software and require a minimum of post-import reconfiguration. The import tool checks your data as the first step in the import wizard and then reports on any errors detected. This means that you are also able to upload your import file and view possible import errors before actually importing your data.
Important: This tool is only intended for bulk importing member records. It cannot bulk update records. We strongly recommend having your data properly prepared and complete before importing.
| Field | Format | Required |
|---|---|---|
| first_name | Max 25 characters | Required |
| last_name | Max 25 characters | Required |
| birth_first_name | Max 25 characters | Not required |
| birth_middle_names | Max 25 characters | Not required |
| birth_last_name | Max 25 characters | Not required |
| gender | Male, Female | Required |
| birth_date | YYYY-MM-DD | Not required |
| death_date | YYYY-MM-DD | Not required |
| was_baptized | Yes, No | Not required |
| baptism_date | YYYY-MM-DD | Not required |
| baptism_church | Max 50 characters | Not required |
| baptism_minister | Max 50 characters | Not required |
| did_profession | Yes, No | Not required |
| profession_date | YYYY-MM-DD | Not required |
| profession_church | Max 50 characters | Not required |
| profession_minister | Max 50 characters | Not required |
| address | Max 255 characters | Not required |
| city | Max 50 characters | Not required |
| country | Valid 2-digit country code | Required with region |
| region | Valid province/state/territory code | Not required |
| postal_code | Max 25 characters | Not required |
| mailing_address | Max 255 characters | Not required |
| mailing_city | Max 50 characters | Not required |
| mailing_country | Valid 2-digit country code | Required with mailing_region |
| mailing_region | Valid province/state/territory code | Not required |
| mailing_postal_code | Max 25 characters | Not required |
| home_phone | Max 25 characters (111-222-3333) | Not required |
| work_phone | Max 25 characters (111-222-3333 x 4) | Not required |
| mobile_phone | Max 25 characters (111-222-3333) | Not required |
|
Max 50 characters Must be a valid email address |
Not required | |
| membership_type | Member, Guest | Not required |
| membership_start_date | YYYY-MM-DD | Required with membership type |
| membership_end_date | YYYY-MM-DD | Not required |
| membership_end_reason | Deceased, Excommunicated, Excluded, Moved, Released, Transferred, Withdrew | Required with membership end date |
| membership_previous_church | Max 50 characters | Not required |
| membership_left_to_church | Max 50 characters | Not required |
| family | Unique identifier used to group people into families | Not required |
| marriage_status |
Active, Ended by death, Ended by divorce, Separated
Both spouses must have the same value
|
Required with marriage start and end dates |
| marriage_start_date |
YYYY-MM-DD
Both spouses must have the same value
|
Not required |
| marriage_end_date |
YYYY-MM-DD
Both spouses must have the same value
|
Not required |
| shepherding_group |
Must be a existing ward/district/parish name
All family members must be in the same ward/district/parish
|
Not required |
| giving_number | Must be a valid number | Not required |
| notes | Not required |
Memberships
The membership_type and membership_start_date fields are not required during import. When omitted, these people will simply become non-members within your Church Social account. If possible, we strongly recommend including these fields, since it can save a lot of work later on having to manually add membership information to each member.
Quite often congregations won't know the membership start date for some, or all of their members. In those situations, we recommend simply choosing an arbitrary date in the past, such as the first day of the year, or even your church institution date. Just note that any members born after that date will need a membership start date of their birth date, since the system will not allow you to be a member before you are born.
Families
Members can be automatically grouped into families based on the family field. This is helpful, since it removes having to manually group members into families after the import has completed. Be sure to verify that two families do not share the same family identifier. Note, this field is not used for anything beyond this purpose. You will not find the family field value anywhere in the app after the import has finished.
Marriages
It's possible to import marriages using the marriage_status , marriage_start_date , and marriage_end_date fields. Both spouses must be in the same family, and must share the exact same marriage information in order for a match to be found. Error messages will be shown if this is done incorrectly.
Wards/districts/parishes
You can set the family ward (also often called districts or parishes) using the ward field. Like the family field, this is quite helpful, since it removes having to manually assigned wards once the import has completed. All members within a family must have the same ward set, otherwise an error will be shown. Be sure to first create your wards in the groups section of the app. The ward field must match the ward name as it is defined in that section.