> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.slant.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# CSV import
> How to import clients, prospects, other contacts, businesses, or notes into Slant from a spreadsheet.
Upload a spreadsheet to bulk-create records in Slant. This is the best option when you're switching from a CRM that Slant doesn't directly support, or when you have data in a file that you want to bring in.
Supported file formats: `.csv`, `.tsv`, `.txt`, `.xls`, `.xlsx`, and `.xml`.
## What you can import
The CSV upload supports five record types:
* **Prospect** — Create [prospect](/records/prospects) households with [people](/records/people), contact details, and addresses.
* **Client** — Create [client](/records/clients/overview) households with [people](/records/people), contact details, and addresses.
* **Contact** — Create [other contacts](/records/other-contacts) with a single person and contact details.
* **Business** — Create [businesses](/records/businesses) as standalone records with contact details and one address. Each row creates one business.
* **Note** — Create notes attached to existing records in Slant.
## Upload a file
Go to **Settings** → **Data import**.
Select the type of record you want to create from the dropdown: **Prospect**, **Contact**, **Client**, **Business**, or **Note**.
Click **Upload CSV**. An import wizard opens with five steps: **Upload**, **Set header**, **Match columns**, **Bulk fix**, and **Review and edit**.
Drag and drop your file into the upload area, or click **Choose a file** to browse. The wizard advances to the next step once the file is loaded.
The wizard highlights the row it thinks contains your column names. Click **Confirm selection and continue** if it's correct, or click a different row to change the selection. If your file has no column names, click **The file has no column names**.
The wizard suggests matches between your column names and Slant fields. Review the matches in the **Your column name** / **Matches to** table. Use the dropdown to change a match, or click **Ignore** to skip a column. Click **Confirm matching and continue** when you're done.
If any rows have validation errors (e.g., an invalid email format or a missing required field), the wizard shows a **Bulk fix** step where you can correct them across all affected rows at once. If there are no errors, this step is skipped automatically.
The final step shows your data in a spreadsheet view. You can edit individual cells, delete rows, or add new rows. Use **Find and replace** to make changes across multiple rows. A badge at the top shows whether any errors remain. Click **Finish** when everything looks correct.
A confirmation dialog then shows how many records will be imported — for example, **Import 12 clients into 5 households?** for clients and prospects, or a flat count for other contacts, businesses, and notes. Check these counts before confirming. An unexpected household count usually means a column was mapped incorrectly.
After the import completes, Slant creates the records in the background and takes you to a dedicated import list that tracks the progress. You can see each record as it's created.
## Update existing records
Check **Update existing records** before clicking **Upload CSV** to update records that already exist in Slant instead of creating duplicates.
Slant matches incoming rows to existing records **by email address**. For each row in your file:
* **Email matches an existing record** — Slant updates that record's fields with the values from your file (name, phone numbers, addresses, tags, custom fields, etc.). If the record was previously archived, it is reactivated.
* **No email match** — Slant creates a new record.
Email matching applies to business imports as well: a row whose email matches an existing business updates that business instead of creating a duplicate.
If your file contains duplicate rows (multiple rows with the same email address), only the first row is imported — subsequent duplicates are skipped automatically.
When **Update existing records** is unchecked, rows that match an existing email are skipped — no duplicate is created, but the existing record is not updated. If the matching record was archived, it is reactivated.
This setting does not apply to note imports. Notes are always created as new records.
## Available fields
The fields available during column mapping depend on the record type you selected. Your file doesn't need to include all fields — only the ones you have data for.
### Client and prospect fields
Clients and prospects share most fields. Each row in your file represents one [person](/records/people) within a household. **Tier** and **Client since** are client-only and don't appear when importing prospects.
**Household fields**
| Field | Description |
| -------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Household ID | Groups multiple rows into the same household. If not provided, each row becomes its own household. |
| Household Name | Name for the household. Defaults to "Last Name Household" if not provided. |
| Tier | Service tier (A, B, C, D by default, or your custom tier labels). Client imports only. |
| Client since | Date the household became a client. Accepts MM/DD/YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD format. Client imports only. |
| Household Role | Role within the household: Head of Household, Spouse, Partner, or Dependent Child. Defaults to Head of Household. |
| Tags | Comma-separated list of tags to assign to the household. |
| Note | Adds a note to the household. Combined into a single note when multiple rows in the same household contain notes. Re-running an import with the same note appends a new note rather than replacing the existing one. |
**Name fields**
| Field | Description |
| -------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Full Name | The person's full name. Use this or First Name and Last Name — at least one is required. |
| First Name | Required if Full Name is not provided. |
| Last Name | Required if Full Name is not provided. |
| Middle Name | Middle name. |
| Preferred Name | Name the person prefers to be called. |
| Salutation | Preferred salutation (e.g., Mr., Mrs., Dr.). |
| Suffix | Name suffix (e.g., Jr., III). |
| Designations | Professional designations (e.g., CPA, CFP). |
**Contact details**
| Field | Description |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Email | Primary email address. |
| Email Type | Type of primary email: Personal, Business, School, or Other. |
| Email 2 / Email 2 Type | Second email address and its type. |
| Email 3 / Email 3 Type | Third email address and its type. |
| Mobile phone | Mobile phone number. |
| Home phone | Home phone number. |
| Work phone | Work phone number. |
| Fax | Fax number. |
| Other phone | Additional phone number. |
**Address**
| Field | Description |
| ------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Address Line 1 | Street address. |
| Address Line 2 | Apartment, suite, or unit number. |
| City | City. |
| State | State or province. For US addresses, use two-letter abbreviations (e.g., CA, NY). |
| ZIP Code | Postal code. US addresses accept five-digit ZIP or ZIP+4 format (e.g., 12345 or 12345-6789). International addresses accept any postal code format. |
| Address Type | Home, Work, Mailing, or Other. |
| Primary Address | Whether this is the primary address. |
| Address 2 Line 1 | Street address for a second address. |
| Address 2 Line 2 | Apartment, suite, or unit number for a second address. |
| Address 2 City | City for a second address. |
| Address 2 State | State or province for a second address. |
| Address 2 ZIP Code | Postal code for a second address. |
| Address 2 Type | Home, Work, Mailing, or Other. |
**Personal details**
| Field | Description |
| ------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Date of Birth | Accepts MM/DD/YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD format. |
| Gender | Female, Male, Non-binary, Other, or Prefer not to say. |
| Marital Status | Single, Married, Partnered, Separated, Divorced, Widowed, or Unknown. |
| Job Title | Current job title or occupation. |
| Company | Name of the person's current employer. Creates an employment record linked to the person. |
| LinkedIn URL | Person's LinkedIn profile URL. |
| Social Security Number | Securely stored after import. |
| Driver license number | Securely stored after import. |
| Driver license state | Two-letter state abbreviation for the issuing state. |
| Driver license issue date | Accepts MM/DD/YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD format. |
| Driver license expiration date | Accepts MM/DD/YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD format. |
### Other contact fields
Other contacts use the same name, contact details, address, and personal details fields as clients and prospects — including **LinkedIn URL** and **Company**. They do not support household, tier, tag, or note fields, and only one address per contact (no Address 2 fields).
### Business fields
Each row creates one [business](/records/businesses) as a standalone record. Businesses aren't grouped into households, and the import doesn't link them to any household or person.
**Business details**
| Field | Description |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| Business name | The name of the business. Required. |
| Industry | The business's industry. |
| Website | The business's website URL. |
| Tax ID | Tax identification number. |
| Additional info | Free-text notes about the business. |
| Tags | Comma-separated list of tags to assign to the business. |
| Note | Attaches a single note to the business on import. |
**Contact details**
| Field | Description |
| ------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Email | Email address. |
| Email Type | Type of email: Personal, Business, School, or Other. Defaults to Personal if blank. |
| Mobile phone | Mobile phone number. |
| Home phone | Home phone number. |
| Work phone | Work phone number. |
| Fax | Fax number. |
| Other phone | Additional phone number. |
**Address**
Businesses support one address.
| Field | Description |
| -------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Address Line 1 | Street address. |
| Address Line 2 | Apartment, suite, or unit number. |
| City | City. |
| State | State or province. For US addresses, use two-letter abbreviations (e.g., CA, NY). |
| ZIP Code | Postal code. |
| Country | Country. |
| Address Type | Home, Work, Mailing, or Other. |
Any [custom fields](/account-settings/customization/custom-fields) defined on the **Business** record type appear automatically during column mapping.
### Note fields
Note imports work differently from other record types. Instead of creating new records, each row attaches a note to an existing record in your book. You need to tell Slant which record each note belongs to.
| Field | Required | Description |
| --------------------- | -------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Record type | Yes | The type of record this note belongs to: **Client**, **Prospect**, **Contact**, or **Business**. |
| Note content | Yes | The text content of the note. |
| Record ID | No | The ID of the record to attach this note to. |
| Record name | No | The name of the record to attach this note to. |
| Original created date | No | When the note was originally created. Accepts various date formats (e.g., MM/DD/YYYY, YYYY-MM-DD). |
**How notes are matched to records**
Each note needs a **Record type** and either a **Record ID** or **Record name** so Slant can find the right record.
**Record ID** is the most reliable way to match. You can find it in the URL when viewing a record — for example, `hqhpCbSxjZ` from `slant.app/clients/hqhpCbSxjZ`. If you provide both an ID and a name, the ID takes priority.
**Record name** matching is case-insensitive:
* **Clients and prospects** — matches the household name (e.g., "Smith Household") or any person's full name (e.g., "John Smith")
* **Other contacts** — matches the person's full name
* **Businesses** — matches the business name
Notes that can't be matched to an existing record are skipped without any error. Double-check that your record type and name (or ID) values match records already in your book.
## Custom fields
Any [custom fields](/account-settings/customization/custom-fields) you've created in Slant automatically appear as available columns during the mapping step. This lets you import data directly into your custom fields without any extra configuration.
## FAQ
CSV, TSV, TXT, XLS, XLSX, and XML files are all supported.
Include a **Household ID** column with a shared value for [people](/records/people) in the same household. For example, give all members of the Smith family the same Household ID. Assign one person the **Head of Household** role and others as Spouse, Partner, or Dependent Child.
The mapping tool automatically suggests matches based on common naming patterns. For example, "fname" or "firstname" will match to "First Name". You can manually adjust any mapping before confirming.
Yes. Export your data from your current CRM as a CSV file, then use the CSV upload to bring it into Slant. You may need to reorganize columns to match Slant's expected fields.
After a successful import, Slant takes you to a dedicated import list that shows every record created during the import. Imported records also appear in their respective sections — clients in **Clients**, prospects in **Prospects**, and so on.
## Next steps
Import directly from a Redtail database backup
Import from a Wealthbox data export