Contacts
Importing Contacts
Import contacts from a CSV or Excel spreadsheet to bring an existing customer, vendor, or prospect list into Waveline at once. Waveline checks the file before importing it, shows which rows are ready, and provides a summary when the import finishes.
When to import contacts
Importing contacts can help when you are:
- Moving an existing contact list into Waveline.
- Preparing recognizable caller information before launch.
- Adding a large customer or prospect list.
- Avoiding repetitive manual contact entry.
To add one person at a time, see Adding and Managing Contacts.
Before you begin
- Prepare a CSV or supported Excel file.
- Put column names in the first nonempty row.
- If an Excel workbook has multiple worksheets, place the contacts on the first worksheet.
- Keep the file at or below 25 MB and 100,000 contact rows.
- Include a recognizable name and a phone number or email whenever possible.
- Review the list for outdated or duplicate information.
Prepare your spreadsheet
Waveline recognizes the following contact fields and column names:
| Waveline field | Recognized column names |
|---|---|
| Name | Full Name, Name, Display Name, Contact Name |
| First name | First Name, Firstname, Given Name, Given |
| Last name | Last Name, Lastname, Surname, Family Name |
| Company | Company, Business, Organization, Organisation |
| Role | Role, Title, Job Title, Position |
| Phone | Phone, Phone Number, Mobile, Mobile Phone, Cell, Cell Phone, Number |
| Email, Email Address, E-mail, E-mail Address | |
| Notes | Notes, Note, Comment, Comments, Description |
Capitalization, underscores, and hyphens do not prevent Waveline from recognizing a supported column name. Unsupported columns are ignored.
Download a sample contact file
Download the sample contacts CSV to see supported headers and fictional example rows. You can replace the sample information with your own contacts or use the file to test the import workflow.
Format phone numbers and email addresses
Include the complete area code with every US or Canadian phone number. You can enter the number with standard punctuation or in a format such as +12025550101. For international contacts, use + followed by the country code and complete phone number without spaces or punctuation.
Waveline standardizes supported phone numbers during the import so they can identify callers and be used for calling or messaging.
Enter email addresses in a complete format such as example.customer@example.com. A row containing a phone number or email address that Waveline cannot validate will be marked Invalid.
A contact can be imported without a phone number or email if the row contains other recognized information. However, that contact cannot identify a caller or be used for calling or messaging until a phone number is added.
Imported contacts use Workspace access
Contacts added through a spreadsheet are available across your Waveline workspace. If a contact should only be available to particular people or inboxes, change its access after the import. Learn more in Contact Visibility and Sharing.
Where to find it
Select Contacts from the dashboard sidebar, then select Import contacts.
Contact files cannot currently be imported from the mobile app. Imported contacts will still become available on mobile after the import finishes.
Upload your contact file
- Open Import contacts.
- Select Upload a file, or drag the file into the upload area.
- Wait while Waveline reads the file.
- Confirm that Waveline recognized the expected columns.
- Review the contact preview and row counts.
- Select Import contacts.
Understand the preview
The preview separates spreadsheet rows into three counts:
- Ready: No formatting problem was detected before import.
- Invalid: The row contains a phone number, email address, or other information Waveline cannot import correctly.
- Empty skipped: The spreadsheet row contains no contact information and will not be imported.
The preview shows the first 10 populated rows and identifies the columns Waveline recognized.
Ready rows are checked again during import
A Ready status means the row is formatted for import. Waveline still checks for existing contacts during the import, so a ready row may later be skipped as a duplicate.
Correct invalid rows
The preview lists the first 10 rows with their status or reason. Invalid rows further down are included in the Invalid count but not listed, so check the whole file for invalid phone numbers and email addresses.
Rows cannot be edited inside the import window. Use the displayed spreadsheet row number to find the problem in the original file, correct it, and upload the updated file again.
You can continue when at least one row is ready. Waveline imports the ready rows and leaves invalid rows out of the import. Correct the invalid rows in the original file and upload them again when they are ready.
Complete the import
Select Import contacts after reviewing the preview. Waveline displays its progress while processing the file. Leave the import window open until the results appear.
Review the results
The completed import separates the processed rows into three results:
- Inserted: A new contact was successfully created.
- Skipped: Waveline found a contact with the same phone number or email address.
- Failed: The row could not be imported because some information was invalid or another error occurred.
The result details show the spreadsheet row number and the reason for up to 10 skipped or failed rows. Select Import another to upload another file or Done to return to Contacts.
Imports do not overwrite existing contacts
When Waveline finds an existing contact with the same phone number or email address, it skips that spreadsheet row instead of replacing or merging the existing contact. Open the existing contact to update it, or review what to do when a phone number is already in use.
What happens next
- Successfully inserted contacts appear in Contacts.
- Names can identify matching calls and messages.
- Imported contacts become available in both the web and mobile apps.
- Imported notes and other recognized details stay attached to their contacts.
- Skipped and failed rows are not added.
Best practices
- Export a clean copy of the original contact list before modifying it.
- Use one row per person.
- Keep the column names simple and supported.
- Include country codes for international phone numbers.
- Remove obviously outdated contacts before importing.
- Review skipped and failed rows before attempting another import.
- Test a small sample file first when preparing a very large list.
Troubleshooting
Import contacts is not available
Import contacts is available in the Contacts page header on the web app. Contact files cannot be imported from the mobile app.
No supported contact columns were found
Confirm that the first nonempty row contains at least one recognized column name. Compare your headers with the table above, then upload the corrected file again.
The file is too large
Contact import files cannot exceed 25 MB or 100,000 contact rows. Divide the contacts into smaller files and import each file separately.
The workspace has reached its contact limit
A workspace contact-limit message is different from the 25 MB and 100,000-row limits for an individual file. Splitting the file into smaller imports will not resolve it. Review the import results to see which contacts were added, then contact Waveline Support about capacity. See Contact capacity.
Some rows are marked invalid
Review the reason shown beside each invalid row. Use the displayed row number to correct the phone number, email address, or missing contact information in the original spreadsheet, then upload it again.
A ready row was skipped
A row can be ready to import but still match an existing contact by phone number or email address. Waveline skips the matching row rather than overwriting the existing contact. Review the result details and update the existing contact if needed.
A skipped contact does not appear in my Contacts
Search Contacts using the phone number or email address shown in the skipped row. Waveline only skips an existing duplicate when that contact is available to you. If the contact still does not appear, refresh Contacts and contact Waveline Support with the conflicting contact ID shown in the import results.
The wrong worksheet was imported
Waveline reads the first worksheet in an Excel workbook. Move the contact list to the first worksheet or save that worksheet as its own file, then import it again.
Imported contacts are visible to more teammates than expected
Spreadsheet imports create contacts with Workspace access. Open each affected contact and change its access setting. See Contact Visibility and Sharing for instructions.
The import stopped before showing results
If Waveline shows Import paused after a connection problem, select Import contacts again to resume. Return to Contacts and check whether any of the contacts were added before retrying the file. Contacts already inserted during the first attempt will be skipped as duplicates when the file is imported again. Contact Waveline Support if the import repeatedly stops.