Import Members from Another System

This guide walks you through importing your member directory from a CSV or Excel file. You will prepare your data, upload the file, map columns to SanctuaryOS fields, review matches, handle duplicates, and verify the import.

Prerequisites

• A CSV (.csv) or Excel (.xlsx) file exported from your previous church management system
• The file must include at minimum a First Name and Last Name column
• SUPER_ADMIN or LEAD_PASTOR role

Phase 1 — Prepare Your Data

Clean your export file before uploading to reduce import issues.

1. Open your export file in a spreadsheet application
2. Verify the following:
   • Each row represents one person (not one household)
   • First and last names are in separate columns
   • Dates are in a consistent format (YYYY-MM-DD is preferred, but MM/DD/YYYY also works)
   • Gender values are consistent (e.g., always “M”/“F” or “MALE”/“FEMALE”)
   • Phone numbers include area codes
3. Remove any header rows that are not column names (SanctuaryOS uses the first row as headers)
4. If your file has multiple sheets (Excel), note which sheet contains the active members

Phase 2 — Upload the File

1. Navigate to Flock → Import
2. Drag and drop your file onto the upload area, or click to browse
3. If the file is an Excel workbook with multiple sheets, select the sheet to import (e.g., “All Members”)
4. SanctuaryOS reads the file and displays the column headers with sample data from the first 5 rows

Phase 3 — Map Columns

Each column in your file needs to be mapped to a SanctuaryOS field. The system auto-suggests mappings based on header names, but you should review each one.

1. For each column, select the matching SanctuaryOS field from the dropdown. Available fields include:
   • Identity — First Name (required), Last Name (required), Middle Name, Preferred Name, Legal Name, Suffix, Gender, Date of Birth, Marital Status
   • Membership — Membership Status, Envelope #, Join Date, Baptism Date, Membership Date, Salvation Date, Anniversary
   • Contact — Email, Phone, Mobile Phone, Preferred Contact, Do Not Contact
   • Address — Street Address, City, Province/State, Postal Code
   • Profile — Occupation, Employer, School, Allergies, Emergency Contact, Emergency Phone, Statement Pref, Tags, Notes, External ID
2. For columns you do not want to import, select “— Skip this column —”
3. Verify that First Name and Last Name are mapped (they are required)

Phase 4 — Handle Duplicates

1. Click “Review & Import” to start the import preview
2. SanctuaryOS checks for potential duplicates by matching on name and email. The review screen shows:
   • New Records — members that will be created (no existing match found)
   • Potential Duplicates — rows that match an existing member by name or email
3. For each duplicate, choose an action:
   • Skip — do not import this row
   • Update — merge new data into the existing member profile
   • Create Anyway — import as a new member (creates a duplicate)

Phase 5 — Run the Import

1. Review the summary: number of new records, updates, and skips
2. Click “Import” to execute
3. A progress indicator shows the import running
4. When complete, a summary displays: records created, records updated, records skipped, and any errors

Phase 6 — Verify the Import

1. Navigate to Flock → People
2. Check the total member count — it should have increased by the number of new records imported
3. Open a few imported profiles and verify fields are populated correctly (name, email, phone, address, dates)
4. Check the Tags and Membership Status fields if you mapped them

What's Next