---
key: data-import-guide
title: Import customers and work orders from a file
audience: staff
section: administration
routes: ["/settings/org/imports", "/settings/org/imports/start", "/settings/org/imports/spreadsheet/create", "/settings/org/imports/package/create", "/settings/org/imports/restore-nova-export", "/settings/org/imports/saved-mappings", "/settings/org/imports/jobs"]
permissions: ["imports.create"]
features: ["settings.org.imports"]
since: 0.0.1
updated: 0.0.1
status: published
summary: Upload a customer or work order file from another tool, match its columns, check customer matches, preview the import, then run it and check the result on Import jobs.
keywords: [import customers, upload spreadsheet, csv, excel, migration, migrate, customer list, restore, dry run, import jobs, saved mappings]
related: [data-import-migration-examples, data-portability-import-export-guide, data-export-guide, create-an-account]
---

In the sidebar, open **Administration**, then choose **Imports** under **Data**. The **Import From File** page opens at `/settings/org/imports` on its **Start import** tab. The other tabs are **Import jobs** (`/settings/org/imports/jobs`), **Saved mappings** (`/settings/org/imports/saved-mappings`) and **Restore Nova export** (`/settings/org/imports/restore-nova-export`).

## Before you start

- Export the customer list from your old tool as a CSV or Excel file. [[data-import-migration-examples]] shows what to export and how the columns line up.
- Import customers first. Contacts, addresses and work orders in separate files come after, and each row needs a customer number, account number, email, phone, or name and address that Nova can match.
- Nothing is written until you confirm the live import. Every file starts as a preview, called a dry run.

## Steps

1. On **What are you importing?**, choose **Customers** or **Work orders**, then press **Continue to upload**. Customers covers phones, emails, contacts and addresses in the same file.
2. Under **Upload your file**, pick the file: CSV, TSV, TXT, Excel .xlsx, older Excel .xls, **JSON** or **JSONL**. Type the old tool's name in **File came from**; **Old company / branch** and **Notes** are optional. Press **Preview file and continue**.
3. For an Excel file, **Confirm Excel tab/header row** appears. Press **Use recommended setup**, or set **Excel tab** and **Header row** yourself, then press **Continue to match columns**.
4. On **Match columns**, open any column marked **Needs review** or **Blocked** and pick the **Nova field** it belongs to, or press **Ignore**, **Add to notes**, **Matching only** or **Custom field**. Press **Apply column choices** after changes. To reuse the choices next time, type a name and press **Save column choices**.
5. Press **Continue to customer matches** (it reads **Continue to review issues** when no rows need a customer). On **Check customer matches**, each row that needs a decision offers the suggested customer, **Choose a different Nova customer** or **Do not import this row**. Then press **Continue to review issues**.
6. On **Review issues**, read **Rows ready to include**, **Rows needing review** and **Rows blocked**. Clear everything under **Must fix**; **Download issue report** lists every affected row. Press **Continue to preview**.
7. On **Preview import**, set **When records already exist**. **Review first** is the default; **Create only** and **Skip existing** never overwrite; **Update Nova value** changes existing records. Leave **Run choice** on **Preview, then import** and press **Preview import**.
8. On **Review preview and import**, wait for the dry run. When it reports no blocking issues, press **Continue to live import**. If your organization requires an approval, add a **Decision note** and press **Approve and queue import**, or wait for another admin to approve it from **Import jobs**.
9. Press **View job details** to follow the live import on **Import jobs**.

## What you see

- The step buttons across the top show where you are. Finished steps turn green and you can go back to any of them.
- **Unfinished import drafts** lists uploads you stopped part-way, each with **Resume** and **Discard**.
- Each column card shows **Sample values** and the **Suggested Nova field** with a confidence score. The strip above reads **All required fields matched** when nothing is missing.
- On **Import jobs**, the buttons **All jobs**, **Queued**, **Running**, **Awaiting approval**, **Completed**, **Failed** and **Canceled** narrow the list. A row reads **Ready to start live import** when its preview passed. Open a run for **Start live import**, **Resume import**, **Rerun dry-run**, **Retry** or **Cancel**. Its **Validation**, **Conflicts**, **Approvals**, **Plan**, **Mappings** and **Audit** tabs sit below; on a run that is ready to start they fold away behind **Review details**.

## If something looks different

- Your file is a zip that Nova exported: use the **Restore Nova export** tab instead. Under **Nova export zip** choose the file and leave **Restore plan** on **Use restore details from file**. **Dry-run only** starts on and gives you a report only; switch it off when you mean to restore the records. Press **Upload and start dry-run**. Nova checks the file first either way, and a run you can restore shows **Start live import** on **Import jobs** once its check has passed.
- A notice says a live import is already running: Nova waits for that run to finish or be canceled before starting another, so customers are never written twice.
- **Preview import** is greyed out: the line under it says what is still missing, usually a required field with no column, a **Blocked** column or customer matches you have not checked yet.
- An old bookmark opens `/settings/org/imports/spreadsheet/create` or `/settings/org/imports/package/create`: those addresses now send you to **Start import** and **Restore Nova export**.

[[route:/settings/org/imports|Start an import]]