Hello there - You look like someone who has reviewed our introduction to the import and data formatting articles and is ready to import!

In this article, we'll take a look at how you can import your data into Keela and some important bits and pieces of information along the way.

Navigating to the Imports tab in Keela

(1) To begin the import, navigate to Organization Settings > Import tab 

(2) Click on New Import

Choosing your Import Settings

After you click on the "New Import" button shown above, a pop-up window will appear that will allow you to choose some settings for your import.

Note: There are many more settings for the Contacts Data Type (Number 2 in the below screenshot) than there are for Donations, Revenues and Volunteer data.

1. Select a CSV File from your computer
2. Specify the Data Type (In this case, we have chosen Contacts)
3. Confirm how Keela should check for duplicates (these options will not appear for Donation, Volunteer or Revenue data)
4. Confirm how Keela should handle any duplicates if found (these options will not appear for Donation, Volunteer or Revenue data)

Note: We cover the Duplicate Checking options in more detail below.

Click on the Save button to save these settings and move to the next screen.

Matching your Columns to Fields within Keela

Columns and Fields will automatically match if they are exactly the same

In our Data Formatting articles (Contacts, Donations, Revenue and Volunteer articles), we spent some time discussing the Accepted Fields that data can be imported into in Keela. Each column in your data spreadsheet should now match up exactly to a field in Keela! If the Column Headers in your spreadsheet match these fields exactly (ie. the same spelling and punctuation), Keela will do this matching process for you!

Note: This even includes Custom Field columns. Just be sure to set these up in your Keela account before importing so that Keela knows what to look for when matching up columns.

If a Column Header doesn't match an existing field in Keela, you can match them manually

If your column headers do not match Keela's Accepted fields exactly, you'll need to match these manually.

Match the headers from your excel sheet to the correct field in Keela by clicking Select Field above each column in your spreadsheet.

Once you're satisfied with the field matching and duplicates management, click the Start button to begin the import into Keela!

Import Validation

Import Validation will help keep your data clean and reduce the quantity of erroneous data being uploaded into Keela. When importing a CSV to Keela, the system will automatically check the first 10,000 lines of the imported CSV to ensure that the requisite data is following Keela’s formatting guidelines. If any errors are found, Keela will provide a description of the error(s) and the row(s) that were affected. Keela will display up to 20 individual errors per error code and identify which rows contain this erroneous data. Once this data has been corrected, you can proceed by re-uploading the CSV file. 

Want to learn more about this? Head Import Validation Error Codes and Import Statuses.

How Keela checks for Duplicates in your Contact Data

If you chose the Contacts Data Type for your new import, you'll be given some options to choose from so that the Keela system knows how we should check for duplicates in your data.

When you import contacts, Keela scans your data for duplicate contacts using the following criteria (and in the below order)

1. Keela looks for an Origin ID (the one that you've imported from another system during a contact import)
2. If there is no match on Origin ID, Keela will search for a match on the Email Address
3. If there is also not a match with Email Address, Keela will search for a match on the Full Name or Company Name of your Contact record. Please note that the Full Name or Company Name in your import spreadsheet must match exactly with the name in Keela, or a duplicate will be created. 

For additional customization, you can also toggle off some of these options so Keela will 'skip' that piece of information when checking for duplicates.

For example, if you toggle off the option to check for matching email addresses Keela will check for an Origin ID first, and then jump straight to checking for matching Full Names or Company Names in the system. No email address would be considered.

Hint: We recommend ensuring that a primary email address is only listed on one Contact record in Keela. However, if you find that you have multiple records with the same email address, turning off the email address option when checking duplicates is a great option!

How Keela Manages Duplicates in your Contact Data

Now that you've specified how you want Keela to identify any duplicates it's time to determine how Keela should handle any duplicates it finds!

You'll have the below options for duplicate management: 

1. Let me choose with fields to replace - You'll have complete control with this option. Any duplicate matches will be brought to your attention one by one and you can choose if you'd like to merge the contacts together or keep them as separate records. You'll also be able to choose which fields on which record to retain as well. You'll be directed to a merge tool after the import if you choose this option.
2. Replace all - If a contact in Keela already exists, update any existing information with the updated information included in your import. Tags will also be added to the existing tags with this option.
3. Replace only if empty - If a contact in Keela already exists and they have data in a specific field DO NOT update that field with the data included in the spreadsheet
4. Create new fields - If data in a field already exists, a new contact will be created.

Import FAQ

How Keela Checks and Manages Duplicates in your Donation/Revenue/Volunteer Data

When it comes to this data, the Keela system will automatically use all three pieces of information to check for duplicates in your account (Origin ID, Email Address, and Full Name). If you do not want the system to check for duplicates one of these bits of information, simply remove it from your spreadsheet.

If an existing record is found in Keela, the system will automatically choose the Replace all option. This means that your Contact profiles will be updated with any new information on these types of Data Spreadsheets.

The system is designed to work in this way because it will avoid any unruly duplicates from being created whenever you import this type of data. Imagine importing 100 donations for a single Contact and forgetting to match duplicates - you would have 100 extra Contacts. What a nightmare! 

But in the current system, that's guaranteed not to occur. Hooray!