To access the import tools, select the "cog" icon and choose "Import data."

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​Note: if you would like to request for us to import your data for you, you can do so by clicking on the "Request Data Import" button on that page and submitting the form that appears. Learn more.

To get started importing data, simply choose the kind of data you want to upload from the drop down (i.e. People). A pop up will appear where you can upload the CSV file of the data. This must be in CSV format (i.e. table with columns and rows with a .csv file extension). If you have an Excel file instead, open it and save it using the .csv extension first.

If you need a template file, click on the "download template file" in the upper right of the pop up. This is not necessary since you can upload any CSV file you want, but it may be useful to see the kind of fields you can upload.

Regardless of whether you use our file or your own, the system will allow you to map the columns in the CSV to the fields it can import. It will make a best guess on which columns correspond to which fields. We highly recommend you review the guesses it made and make any corrections before importing. 

Finally, fill in any other mappings you want to use during the import. Any fields that are left blank will not be imported. Any fields with a red star are required.

Once everything looks good, click on the "Import" button at the bottom to begin the import. If there are any errors, a red message will appear with the line number where the error occurred.

Pro tip #1: to see what fields and data types are available during import, upload your CSV file first. The mapping screen will then appear showing you all the available fields. Use this as documentation on what each field accepts.

Pro tip #2: knowledge of how the record you are importing is organized in One Church is helpful when doing an import. The fields that you map correspond to the same field on the record. For example, if you are importing people, look at how a person's profile is structured in One Church first so you know what each field means. Note, that the import tools let you import custom fields as well.

When mapping the fields, you'll notice some helpful information about each field. The data type for each field is located underneath each label.

We'll go over a few below:

A pre-defined field means it will only accept values from a specific list. The allowed values will appear underneath the drop down. For example, in the screenshot above, the Membership field will only accept text with the word "Public," "Invite Only" or "Internal." All other values will result in an error message. That area will also tell you what the default is when there is none specified.

Boolean fields should be filled with "Yes" or "No." However, it will also accept "Y" and "N" as well as "True" and "False."

Text fields just contain free text so enter any text you'd like.

Some fields in the mapping correspond with dropdowns in the record you are uploading (see arrows in the screenshot). Enter the exact text from the dropdown in this field. You would need to refer to the dropdown within the system to see the list of available values. If you put an option that is NOT in the dropdown, the system will create the new option automatically.

Most of the time, you will be importing people into the system. This section contains some helpful tips to keep in mind when importing these records.

The External ID is an optional field that uniquely identifies the person outside of One Church. If you plan on uploading other information that should be tied to the person (i.e. notes, group membership, safeguards, etc.), then you should include this field in your CSV file. You can then use this same External ID in the other import tool to link that data to this person. 

No two people must have the same External ID (the system will return an error if you do). If none is specified, One Church will generate its own.

To group people you are uploading into the same family, assign them all the same Family ID in the CSV file. It doesn't matter what text is in the Family ID column. It can be numbers, text, etc. The important part is that any people who have the same value there will be put into the same family. Be careful to choose a value that was not previously imported into One Church as that would add them to an existing family (normally not what you want).

Note: The Family ID value in the uploaded file is not the ID of the family in One Church. It is simply a way to group those in the file into households and is typically the Family ID from a third-party system.

If you don't include a Family ID in the CSV file, the person will be imported into their own family and made the head of the household.

All the other import tools follow the same layout as shown above. After an import, you can undo it (as long as those records aren't linked to non-imported records) if you notice a mistake.

How do I import my bank transactions?