# Import a CSV Spreadsheet

You can import any CSV spreadsheet easily into Rechat, and export your contacts from any other CRM or marketing tool without really having to make any updates.

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## Steps&#x20;

1. Hover over the **People** Center and visit **Contacts**.
2. If you've not added any contacts into your Rechat account, select **Import from CSV Spreadsheet**. If you already have contacts in your Rechat account, select **New Contact** in the upper-right corner and select **Import from CSV.**
3. On the next screen **drag-and-drop** your file, or select **Upload** and add your CSV file.
4. Set the **Owner** if you are importing this for a team member, otherwise select **Next**.
5. On the next screen you will be able to map all the columns in your spreadsheet into Rechat fields. Rechat will try to map as many of them as possible for you to speed up your work, but you can update them as you see fit.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Rechat offers a CSV template you can download below, or you can use a copy of our sheet** [**HERE**](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1E9BbwWbbUT-pyCP_GJDIx7mt2JGVMZISveG0XKSEdIw/edit#gid=14380805)**.**
{% endhint %}

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## Tips & Tricks

* Learn [how to save a workbook (Excel file) to CSV file](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/save-a-workbook-to-text-format-txt-or-csv-3e9a9d6c-70da-4255-aa28-fcacf1f081e6).
* Learn [how to split data into multiple columns](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/split-data-into-multiple-columns-0dec75cd-4e83-4b39-81a5-9f604be95da0).
* [Remove unnecessary columns](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/insert-or-delete-rows-and-columns-6f40e6e4-85af-45e0-b39d-65dd504a3246) that don’t have relevant data, like empty fields or unrelated notes.
* [Standardize your information](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/format-numbers-f27f865b-2dc5-4970-b289-5286be8b994a) to ensure phone numbers include the area code and only contain valid numbers.
* Remove entries like “not available,” extra dashes, or special characters.
* Make sure email addresses don’t have typos.
* Check that column headers and data fields don’t have extra spaces at the beginning or end and delete empty spaces or empty headers to avoid errors.
* Fill in missing critical details, like names, emails, or phone numbers.
* [Check for duplicates](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/filter-for-unique-values-or-remove-duplicate-values-ccf664b0-81d6-449b-bbe1-8daaec1e83c2) and combine them into one complete record. Rechat will also recognize duplicates by a contact’s email address.
* Add tags for better organization, such as “Lead” or “Past Clients”. These tags help you manage your contacts efficiently.