Starting Out

Importing your existing clients from a spreadsheet

Moving from paper, Excel, or another platform? Here's how to get every client into BookAndGo without losing history or duplicating records.

BookAndGo Team18 February 20265 min read
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If you've been running on paper, Excel, or an older platform, the biggest barrier to switching is the client list. Re-typing hundreds of names is nobody's idea of a good weekend. BookAndGo's CSV import is designed to make this disappear.

The minimum viable CSV

Your CSV needs three columns: name, email, and phone. Everything else - birthday, address, notes, tags - is optional. Start with the minimum and enrich later.

Cleaning the data before import

  • Delete rows with no email AND no phone - they can't be notified anyway.
  • Format phone numbers consistently - the importer is forgiving.
  • Remove duplicates - the importer flags them, but prevention is cleaner.
  • Trim whitespace - a leading space on an email silently breaks the record.

Running the import

From Clients → Import CSV, upload your file. BookAndGo previews the first 10 rows so you can map columns. Map, confirm, import. You'll get a report showing how many were created, updated, or skipped.

Duplicate detection matches on email first, phone second. Existing clients are updated in place - no duplicates created.

Frequently asked

Can I import appointment history too?

Yes. Go to Settings, then Import & Export, and upload a CSV of past bookings. Clients are imported the same way.

What if my CSV has 5,000 rows?

Up to 2,000 clients import at a time, so split a 5,000 row file into three and import them one after another.

Ready to fill your calendar?

BookAndGo is booking software for New Zealand service businesses - online bookings, SMS reminders, a waitlist and tax invoices with your NZBN. Every paid plan starts with a 14-day free trial, with no credit card required.

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