Membership Import Troubleshooting Guide
Membership Import Troubleshooting Guide - Navigate to Church Operations in the left sidebar, then click Member
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Exporting (Step-by-Step)
Membership Import Troubleshooting Guide
1. Navigate to Church Operations in the left sidebar, then click Member
Import/Export.
2. In the Export Members card, review the total member count displayed.
3. Click the Export CSV button.
4. Your browser will download a file named members_export_YYYY-MM-DD.csv.
5. Open the file in Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet program to review or edit.
6. The exported file contains all member fields: Envelope #, First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone, Address, City, State, Zip, Office/Title, Status, Join Date, Date of Birth, and Anniversary.
Importing Members (Step-by-Step)
1. First, prepare your CSV file. The easiest way is to export your current members first (see above) and use that file as a template.
2. Open the exported CSV in a spreadsheet program (Excel, Google Sheets).
3. Add new rows for new members, or edit existing rows to update member information.
4. Required fields: At a minimum, each row must have a First Name and Last Name.
5. Make sure dates are in MM/DD/YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD format.
6. Save the file as CSV (Comma Separated Values) format — not .xlsx or .xls.
7. Return to this page and click the Select CSV File button in the Import Members card.
8. Browse to and select your CSV file.
9. The system will process the file automatically. A success message will show how many members were created or updated.
10. Members with matching Envelope Numbers will be updated with the new data. New envelope numbers (or blank) will create new member records.
Common Issues & Solutions
Import fails with no error message
Make sure your file is saved as .csv format, not .xlsx. Open the file in a text editor to verify it contains comma-separated values, not tab-separated.
Dates appear incorrect after import
Ensure dates use MM/DD/YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD format. Excel sometimes reformats dates — verify the format in your CSV before uploading.
Duplicate members created
The system matches members by Envelope Number. If envelope numbers are missing or different, new records will be created instead of updating existing ones. Export first, edit, then re-import.
Special characters look wrong
Ensure your CSV file is saved with UTF-8 encoding. In Excel: File > Save As > choose "CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited)".
Missing columns in the import
The header row must match the expected column names exactly. Use the exported file as a template to ensure correct column names. Empty columns are allowed — just leave the cells blank.