Import Contacts into a Contact List from a Spreadsheet or File

Contact lists are used to organize recipients and store contact details such as phone numbers, names, and custom fields. Importing contacts from a file is ideal when you want to add many contacts to a specific contact list at once, for example from a spreadsheet.

You can also paste contact data directly into HelloSMS. See Import Contacts by Pasting Data to learn more.

Import Contacts into a Contact List

Follow these steps to import contacts into an existing contact list using a file:

  1. Go to the Contacts List page.
  2. Select the +Create new Contact List.
  3. Enter a name. Then, select an option in Choose which fields to create automatically.
    • Include fields for first name and last name automatically
    • Include a field for full name automatically

    • Don't include any fields automatically

      If your data is stored in a spreadsheet program such as Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel, save the file as CSV (.csv) or TSV (.tsv) before uploading it.

  4. Select Create.
  5. Select Import a list of numbers.
  6. Click Select file to import.
  7. Choose the file you saved from your computer and click Open.

Configure the File Import

Follow these steps to configure the file import:

  1. In the configuration menu, select the File format:
    • Automatic detection (Recommended)
    • Comma-separated (,)
    • Semicolon-separated (;)
    • Tab-separated
  2. Select whether First row contains column headers, depending on your file.

  3. (Optional) Select Add 0 as a prefix for phone numbers starting with 7.

    This option helps prevent spreadsheet tools from removing leading zeros (for example, 07 ), which could otherwise be interpreted as the international country code +7 .

  4. Select Import.

Match Fields and Complete the Import

After uploading the file, you’ll be asked to map your data to fields in the contact list:

  1. Match the columns from your imported data to the corresponding fields in your Contact List (e.g., Phone Number) by selecting the fields next to them.

  2. The fields that appear will depend on what fields you have set up. See Create Custom Data Fields to learn more.

    Fields are automatically matched when names are similar (for example, phone_number  to Phone Number). If a phone number already exists, the import updates the existing contact.

  3. Select Import to complete the process. You can select View updated list to return to the contact list.

This import process helps you efficiently add large numbers of contacts to a contact list while ensuring all data is mapped correctly.

Learn More

See the following articles to learn more: