Member import

Bulk-import members from a CSV file, see how existing members are matched, and set up families who share one email address.

You can import members into your ClubPal site at Admin > Membership > Import Members. From here select your CSV file containing the members to import.

The file must contain a header row and be a maximum file size of 10Mb. If your CSV file is larger than this, split it into smaller files.

Assign Fields

Once you've uploaded your file you'll be taken to the Assign Fields page. Here you will be shown a column of the fields in your CSV file labeled as Field. The second column contains the list of columns available in ClubPal and is labeled Mapped To. The last column contains sample data from the first record in your CSV file.

ClubPal will attempt to map your data for you but you can override the auto mapping to make sure each column is mapped correctly by setting the drop-down to the name of the property to set for each item. For any columns you don't want to import, set the drop-down to <Ignore>. These settings will be saved and used for any future imports.

Data Review

Before anything is written, ClubPal checks every row and shows the result on the Data Review page. Each row gets a status:

Where a row matches someone already in ClubPal, the existing member is shown under the name as Existing: with their membership status. Tick Exclude on any row you do not want imported. Exclude all errors and Exclude duplicates do this in bulk, but read the next callout before using the second one on a file with families in it.

Import Summary

The Import Summary shows the number of records found and how many columns will be imported. It also controls what happens to rows that match an existing member: Update existing members or Don't update existing members.

When you're ready, click Start Import. You will be taken to the Import Status page where you can review the progress of the import.

As the import is run in the background it might take a few seconds until it starts. It's safe to leave this page at any time and the import will still happen in the background. You will receive a notification in the browser to let you know when this is complete, indicating if there were any errors.

Import History

You can check on the progress on an import and check for any errors on the Admin > Membership > Import History page. This overview will show you the status, number of records in the CSV and how many records succeeded and failed.

If there were any errors the first 10 will be show with details of the row and column that encountered an issue. If you wish to correct any errors then you can start a new import with an updated CSV file following the same process.

How existing members are matched

A row matches an existing member when both of these are the same:

• the email address (capital letters are ignored), and
• the date of birth.

Names are not used. A row with a known email address and date of birth but a different name is the same member, and with Update existing members chosen their name is changed to the one in the file. A row with a known email address but a different date of birth is a different person, and is added as a new member.

That second rule is what lets a family share one email address, and it has two consequences worth knowing:

• Correct a wrong date of birth before you import. If a member's date of birth in ClubPal differs from the one in your file, the import cannot recognise them and creates a second record. Data Review flags these as Possible Duplicate, so either fix the date on the member first or exclude the row.
• Twins who share an email address look like one person. Same email and same date of birth is a match, so the second twin's row updates the first twin's record (or is skipped). Give one twin their own email address in the file.

Rows are processed from top to bottom, so this applies within the file too: a second row with the same email and date of birth as an earlier row matches the member that row has just created.

Families who share an email address

It is common for a parent and their children, or a couple, to share one email address. ClubPal supports this: members can share an email address, but a login cannot.

• Members are records in your club. Any number can carry the same email address, as long as each has a different date of birth. Import them as separate rows, one per person, each with the shared email and their own date of birth.
• A login is an email address and password. Each email address can have only one. The first person to sign up with the family's address owns it, usually a parent.
• Everyone else in the family becomes a managed profile on that login. The parent signs in once and switches between their own profile and each child's to book sessions, pay and manage memberships. See Linked profiles.

To get a family set up after importing:

1. Send invitations from Admin > Membership > Members as normal. Each family member gets their own invitation, all arriving in the same inbox.
2. The parent accepts their own invitation first and creates the login.
3. While still signed in, the parent opens each child's invitation. Because they are signed in, ClubPal takes them to Add a Profile instead of the sign-up form. Completing it attaches the child's imported record to the parent's login as a managed profile.

A parent who is not signed in when they open a child's invitation sees a prompt to sign in first. Parents can also add a child themselves at any time from Add Profile in the account menu: entering the child's name, the shared email address and the child's exact date of birth picks up the imported record rather than creating a new one. An administrator can link existing records directly with Link to Account... on the child's member record.

A login can hold up to five profiles by default. When a child is old enough for a login of their own, give their member record their own email address and send them an invitation. The parent can keep managing the profile or stop, see Unlinking.

Available fields

The fields below can be used during import. Fields marked with * are required.

Required

Personal details

Address

Emergency and medical

Membership

GDPR

Member export

You can export your member list from Admin > Membership > Members by clicking the Export button. The export is available in CSV and Excel formats.

The export includes all visible columns from the members table, including any custom profile fields. The following columns are always included:

Custom profile field values are included as additional columns, one per field.