Bring your whole client list into Bella from a spreadsheet. The guided wizard matches your columns automatically, checks every row, and helps you resolve duplicates and fix invalid records before anything is saved — so you start with clean data.
What Bella recognises
The columns in your file map across automatically — Bella matches common header names, so there’s usually nothing to adjust. The only required field is First name.
| Column | What it’s for |
|---|
| First name (required) | The client’s first name. Rows without one can’t be imported. |
| Last name | The client’s surname. |
| Email | Used for confirmations, reminders and marketing (with consent). |
| Mobile number | Validated against your business’s country. Both local and full international (+) formats work. |
| Date of birth | Powers birthday greetings. Day/month order follows your business country. |
| Client notes | Free-text notes about the client. |
| Main Client Email / Relationship Type | Links a person to another client as a family member (see below). |
Anything Bella doesn’t recognise is kept, not lost. Unmatched columns from your old system (tags, gender, address parts, internal IDs) are stored as extra details on each client — never mixed into their notes.
1. Open the importer
On the Clients page, click Import (top right, next to Add client). You’ll need the Create clients permission.
2. Upload your file
Drag your CSV onto the upload area, or click Choose a CSV file.
3. Review column matching
Bella auto-matches each of its fields to a column in your file. Check the matches, adjust any with the dropdowns if needed (the only one that must be set is First name), then click Next.
4. Preview and resolve
Bella checks every row against your existing clients and against itself, then splits the results into two tabs:
- Ready to import — clean rows that will be added.
- Needs attention — duplicates and invalid rows. Nothing here is imported until you sort it out, and each row joins Ready to import the moment it’s resolved.
Resolving duplicates
Each possible duplicate is shown as a pair — the row from your file next to the record it clashes with (labelled Also in this file or Already in your account). Bella tells you why they matched (same email or same phone) and suggests an action. You have four choices:
| Action | Use when | What happens |
|---|
| Merge — same person | It’s the same person twice | Fills any blank details on the existing record; no duplicate is created. |
| Link as family | Different people who share contact details (e.g. a parent and child) | Imports as a separate client, linked as a family member. |
| Keep both | Two genuinely separate clients | Imports as a new client without the shared email/phone. |
| Skip | You don’t want this row | The row is dropped. |
Fixing invalid records
Rows with a bad field appear under Other issues to fix. You can:
- Fix it inline — type straight into the First name, Email or Phone cell (the problem field is outlined in red). The row turns green and moves to Ready to import as soon as it’s valid.
- Drop the bad field — e.g. Drop phone keeps the client but removes the unusable number.
- Skip the row entirely.
A missing first name can only be fixed (typed in) or skipped — it can’t be dropped, because it’s required.
Family members
A row with a Main Client Email (or Main Client Phone) is treated as a family member of that person — so it’s never flagged as a duplicate, even when it shares the primary’s contact details. Family rows sit under Ready to import with their relationship shown, and the link is created when you import. The primary can be elsewhere in the same file or already in your account.
5. Import
When Needs attention reaches zero (or you’re happy to skip what’s left), click Import.
That’s it — your clients are added, and any family members are linked to their primary client.
Tips
- Re-importing is safe. Run the same file again and the rows you already added show up as duplicates (Already in your account) for you to merge or skip — Bella won’t silently create copies.
- Fix offline if you prefer. Use Download Invalid Rows to get just the problem rows as a CSV, correct them in your spreadsheet, and re-upload.
