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Data Import

ChurchCRM can import member data from CSV (comma-separated value) files, making it easy to migrate from another system or import a membership list.

Important: Test your import first! It's easier to fix issues in your CSV file than in ChurchCRM.

Getting Started​

  1. Navigate to Admin → CSV Import
  2. Upload your CSV file
  3. Map your CSV columns to ChurchCRM fields
  4. Review and import

Supported Fields​

Personal Information​

  • Title, First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, Suffix
  • Gender
  • Birth Date, Membership Date, Wedding Date

Contact Information​

  • Address1, Address2, City, State, Zip, Country
  • Home Phone, Work Phone, Mobile Phone
  • Email, Work/Other Email

Church-Specific​

Date Formats​

Dates can be formatted as:

  • YYYY-MM-DD (recommended)
  • MM-DD-YYYY
  • DD-MM-YYYY

The separator (dash, slash, etc.) doesn't matter.

Tips for Successful Imports​

  1. Clean your data first - It's easier to fix issues in Excel/Sheets than in ChurchCRM
  2. Use the "Clear Data" option - When testing, use this to start fresh between attempts
  3. Don't rush - Take time to properly map fields before importing

After importing, you can make corrections in ChurchCRM:

  • Move someone to a different family by editing their Person record
  • Assign family roles (head, spouse, child) to help with address labels

Automatic Family Generation​

ChurchCRM can automatically create Family records during import using one of two methods:

MethodBest For
Same Last Name + AddressTraditional families at the same address
Custom Family FieldPre-assigned family IDs or non-traditional families

To enable automatic family generation:

  1. Check the box next to the family generation dropdown
  2. Select your preferred method
  3. The system will group people into families automatically

Setting Classifications During Import​

To assign classifications efficiently:

  1. Separate your data into multiple files by classification type
  2. Import each file separately, selecting the appropriate classification
  3. Example workflow:
    • Import members.csv with classification "Member"
    • Import visitors.csv with classification "Guest"
    • Import regular-attenders.csv with classification "Regular Attender"

This is much faster than manually classifying each person after import.

Troubleshooting​

Import Shows 0 Rows on Shared Hosting​

If you're on shared hosting and the import shows 0 rows, this is likely a file permission issue. Contact your hosting provider or system administrator to ensure the temp directory is writable.