Importing Customers

If you have an existing customer database in a spreadsheet or another system, you can import it into EquipDash using a CSV file. This saves you from manually adding each customer one by one.

Preparing Your CSV File

Your CSV file needs to follow a specific format. The first row must be a header row with column names that EquipDash recognizes.

Required Columns

The following columns must be present in your CSV:

Column Header	Description
First Name	Customer's first name (minimum 2 characters)
Last Name	Customer's last name (minimum 2 characters)
Email	Customer's email address (must be valid and unique)

Optional Columns

You can also include any of these columns:

Column Header	Description
Phone Country Code	Phone country code (e.g. +1, +44, +61) — must start with "+"
Phone Number	Phone number
Address Line 1	Street address
Address Line 2	Apartment, suite, or unit
City	City or town
State	State, province, or region
Postcode	Postal or zip code
Country	Country name (must match a supported country exactly)

Example CSV

First Name,Last Name,Email,Phone Country Code,Phone Number,City,Country
Sarah,Johnson,sarah@example.com,+61,0412345678,Sydney,Australia
Michael,Chen,michael@example.com,+1,5551234567,Vancouver,Canada
Emma,Williams,emma@example.com,,,London,United Kingdom

Downloading the Template

When you open the import panel, you can click the click here to download a template link to get a pre-formatted CSV file with the correct column headers. This is the easiest way to make sure your file is in the right format.

File Requirements

• The file must be in CSV format (.csv or .txt extension).
• Maximum file size: 16 MB.
• The header row must match the column names exactly (including capitalisation and spaces).

Importing the File

1. Click Customers in the sidebar.
2. Click the Action dropdown near the top-right of the page.
3. Click Import customers.

4. In the side panel that opens, you will see a list of required and optional columns. Click Choose file to select your CSV file from your computer.
5. Click Import to start processing.

What Happens During Import

EquipDash processes each row in your CSV:

1. Validates the header row — Checks that the required columns (First Name, Last Name, Email) are present.
2. Validates each row — Checks that values meet the validation rules (valid email, minimum name length, etc.).
3. Creates customer profiles — For each valid row, a new customer is created.
4. Skips invalid rows — Rows that fail validation are skipped, and errors are collected.

After Import

You will see a summary message telling you:

• How many customers were successfully imported.
• How many customers were in the file in total.
• If there were any errors, the specific rows and validation issues will be listed.

Handling Errors

Common reasons for rows to fail during import:

Error	Cause	Fix
Missing required field	First Name, Last Name, or Email is blank	Fill in the missing value in your CSV
Invalid email	The email address format is not valid	Correct the email format
Duplicate email	A customer with this email already exists	Remove the duplicate or update the existing customer
Invalid country	The country name does not match a supported value	Use the exact country name from the supported list

If some rows fail but others succeed, the successful rows will still be imported. You can fix the errors in your CSV and re-import just the failed rows.

Tips

• Download the template first. Use the template link in the import panel to get a correctly formatted CSV file.
• Check for duplicates before importing. EquipDash will reject rows with email addresses that already exist in your customer list. Clean up duplicates in your CSV first.
• Match column headers exactly. The headers are case-sensitive. "First Name" works; "first name" or "FirstName" will not.
• Start with a small test. If you have a large file, try importing a small subset first to make sure the format is correct.
• Country names must match exactly. Use the full country name as it appears in the supported list (e.g. "United Kingdom", not "UK").

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Related Guides

• Customer Overview
• Adding a Customer
• Exporting Customers