# Data import
| Item | Details |
|—|—|
| Who it is for | Administrators |
| Menu location | **Settings → Data** |
| Plan dependency | Requires Data Import |
Bulk-load contacts and other business data into Chatips instead of creating rows by hand. Imports are asynchronous; large files take time. Watch progress and failed rows on this page.
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## 1. Before you import
1. Check [Billing](./26-billing-and-usage) that contact quota covers the new rows.
2. Create any needed [custom attributes](./17-custom-attributes) and [labels](./16-labels) first.
3. Use UTF-8 CSV. Headers must match system fields / attribute keys.
4. Normalise email and phone formats (include country codes) to reduce duplicates.
5. Trial-import 5–10 rows and confirm mapping before the full file.
Duplicate emails / phones conflict with existing contacts; follow the job prompts to skip or update (depends on import type).
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## 2. Steps
1. **Settings → Data → New import**.
2. Choose type (contacts; if conversations or other types exist, prepare columns per the help text).
3. Upload the file and finish field mapping.
4. Submit and wait until status is complete.
5. Read the failure summary: fix the CSV and re-import only failed rows to avoid duplicating the whole sheet.
Do not rename attribute keys while an import is running.
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## 3. Export
Contact-list export complements import for backup or other systems. Exports are workspace confidential — transfer them over a secure channel.
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## 4. Frequently asked questions
**Stuck in queue?** File is large or workers are busy; refresh later. If it never moves, contact Chatips with the job ID.
**Some rows failed?** Empty required fields, invalid email, or quota ran out mid-job. Open the error report.
**Duplicate contacts after import?** Same person used different emails. [Merge](./5-contacts) them.
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## Related articles
– [Contacts](./5-contacts)
– [Custom attributes](./17-custom-attributes)
– [Billing and usage](./226-billing-and-usage