Importing Your Existing Clients
CSV import for your existing clients — map columns to Spatiko fields, and match by email or legacy ID so re-imports never create duplicates.
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Switching from another system? You don’t have to re-enter every client by hand. Spatiko can import your client list from a CSV file, so your agents and their contact details are ready to go from day one.
What you can import
This page covers the client import — names, contact details, and notes. There’s a separate CSV import for your past orders, which brings over the property, the shoot date, what was sold, and what was paid. Import your clients first: orders match to existing clients by email, so doing it in that order keeps everything linked instead of creating duplicate records.
Access requires business-settings permission, which owners and admins have by default.
Fields Spatiko can read
Your CSV can map columns to these fields:
- First name and last name, or a single full name column if your source doesn’t split them
- Company/brokerage name
- Email — required, and used to detect existing clients
- Phone — automatically parsed into international format
- Notes
- An optional external/legacy ID from your old system
That external ID is worth including if you have it: it lets you re-import the same file later (say, after cleaning it up) and have Spatiko update those same clients instead of creating duplicates.
Mapping and limits
When you upload a CSV, Spatiko automatically suggests which column maps to which field, based on common header names like “Customer Name,” “Mobile,” or “Brokerage.” Review the suggested mapping and adjust it before importing.
A single file is capped at 25,000 rows — a per-file technical limit, not something tied to your plan.
Handling errors
Each row is validated before import. A row gets flagged as an error — without stopping the rest of the import — if it has:
- A missing or invalid email
- An unparseable phone number
- A duplicate email within the same file
- A field that’s too long
The review step lists the first 100 flagged rows on screen, with a count of any beyond that. You can download a CSV report of every flagged row, fix them, and re-import just those.
How matching works
Spatiko matches each row against your existing clients first by external ID, then by email.
- Match found: Spatiko only fills in gaps — for example, adding a phone number that was missing. It never overwrites information you’ve already entered or edited in Spatiko. This is a one-time backfill, not a live sync.
- No match: Spatiko creates a new client record.
For more on what a client record holds day to day, see client records.
One import at a time
Only one import can run per business. If you need to start another, wait for the current one to finish — or for a stalled import to time out.
Undoing an import
You can undo a completed import within 48 hours. Undo only removes client records that import created and that still have no orders, invoices, payments, or account activity attached. Anything you’ve since booked or billed against an imported client is kept safe, even if you undo.
Go deeper
- Importing past orders from a CSV — bring the history that belongs to the clients you just imported.
- Moving your business to Spatiko — pick the right route first if you’re coming from HD Photo Hub or Aryeo, where a direct migration carries far more than a spreadsheet.
- Client records — what a client record holds day to day once the import lands.
- Setting up your Spatiko account — the rest of the setup if you’re just getting started.
- Connecting your tools — hook up the rest of your workflow once your list is in.
Frequently asked questions
Will re-importing the same file create duplicate clients?
No. Spatiko matches each row against your existing clients first by external ID, then by email. A match only fills in gaps — a missing phone number, say — and never overwrites what you've already entered, so you can clean the file up and import it again safely.
How many clients can one CSV hold?
A single file is capped at 25,000 rows. That's a per-file technical limit rather than something tied to your plan.
What happens to rows with a bad email or an unreadable phone number?
They're flagged as errors without stopping the rest of the import. You can download a CSV report of every flagged row, fix them in your spreadsheet, and re-import just those.
Who on my team can run a client import?
Access requires business-settings permission, which owners and admins have by default. Only one import runs per business at a time, so if one is already going you'll need to wait for it to finish.