Importing clients and bookings
Bring your client list and booking history across from your old system. ResNeo reads your spreadsheet, matches your columns to its own fields, checks every row with you, and gives you 24 hours to undo the whole import.
Before you start
- Admins only. Data import is hidden from team member logins. Ask an admin to run it rather than sending files round.
- Open the importer. Click Settings, stay on the Profile tab, and scroll to the bottom. Under Data import, click Open Data Import. There is no Data import tab and no sidebar link.
- Back up what you already have. Under Settings → Reports, use Export all appointments and Export client list, and keep both files.
- Any spreadsheet will do. Excel workbooks (.xlsx and .xls) and CSV exports both work, including files with title rows, several sheets, or unusual characters. ResNeo does not need to recognise the system you came from, because your columns are matched on the next step.
What each file must contain:
- A Client list needs a name column. One combined full-name column is fine, ResNeo splits it.
- A Booking history needs a booking date, a booking time, and at least one way to identify the client: email, phone, an ID from your old system, or a name. One combined date and time column covers both.
- A Staff list needs a staff member name.
A service name and a staff name on your bookings make the result far more useful, but neither is required.
Tip: import about twenty client rows first, check them in Contacts, then undo that test and run the real file. It is much cheaper than fixing three years of history afterwards.
The import hub
The Data import screen lists every import you have run and has Start new import in the top right. Each row shows when it ran, a status, and the counts once it is finished, plus the buttons that apply:
- Continue goes back into a wizard you have not finished.
- Resume import picks up an import that is still running.
- Report CSV and Undo appear once it is complete.
- Delete takes the session off the list.
Delete only clears the session and its uploaded files. It does not remove anything already written into your venue: for that you need Undo.
The six steps
The wizard is numbered across the top: Upload, Map, Review, Services & staff, Validate, Import. Back to imports takes you out at any point and your progress is saved.
Import flow (concept)
After a successful import you have 24 hours to undo from the import hub.
1. Upload
Drop your files on Upload your files, or click to browse. Several at once is fine, and each sheet in a workbook is read separately.
Label each file Client list, Booking history or Staff list. ResNeo usually detects this and pre-fills it, so mostly you are confirming. A file left as Not sure blocks Continue. What can I import? opens Supported sources and two sample files you can download as a guide.
If a file is laid out as a printed report rather than a table, ResNeo reorganises it first and shows you the result, with Undo (use the original) if the tidy-up went wrong. That can take a few minutes on a big file.
Tip: if a file holds both bookings and client details, and most do, label it Booking history. The client details come across too.
2. Map
Map columns matches your columns to ResNeo fields automatically, and your job is to check the result. Drag a column onto a field to change it, use the dropdowns, or split a combined column such as a full name.
If the guesses are poor, open Tell the AI about your data (optional), describe your file in plain English, and click Save & re-run AI mapping. Re-run AI mapping redoes the current file on its own. Anything still missing is listed under Before you can continue, this file needs:.
3. Review
Review lists every column with its Sample, Action and Detail, each marked Imported, Not imported, Custom field or Split into fields. This is where you see what is being left behind, before anything is written.
4. Services & staff
Set up services & staff lists the service and staff names your bookings mention. For each one, Match it to something you already have, add it as new (Advanced setup lets you set a duration and price as you go), or Skip it, which leaves those bookings out. Then click Continue to validation.
5. Validate
ResNeo scans every row for missing fields, duplicates and ambiguous dates, and shows Your import plan and a Validation complete summary. Large files are checked in the background, so you can leave and come back.
Settle whatever it flags:
- Ambiguous dates detected: choose DD/MM/YYYY (UK) and click Apply and re-validate.
- Clients who already exist: set each row to Update existing or Skip row, or decide them all at once with the buttons above the list, including Skip all duplicates.
- Rows with an unreadable email: choose Import anyway or Skip row, or apply the same choice to all of them.
- View row shows you the actual row from your file if you are unsure.
The import cannot start while any of these are unresolved. Download report CSV gives you the full list to work through offline.
Warning: Send upcoming reminders for imported bookings sits near the bottom whenever bookings are being imported, and it is off by default. Leave it off and nobody is contacted. Tick it and every imported appointment still in the future sends your normal reminders, by text as well as email if SMS is on, which on a year of history can be a lot of messages and a large bill. Booking confirmations are never resent either way.
Then click Review & approve. A Review & approve import window sums up what will happen: Not yet takes you back, Approve & start import goes ahead.
6. Import
Large files run in batches with a progress bar. You can leave the page and come back to this step.
When it finishes you get Import complete with the counts of clients (including how many existing ones were updated), bookings and skipped rows, plus Download import report (CSV). If something goes wrong you get Import failed with the reason and a link Back to import history.
The 24-hour undo
Once an import finishes, its row shows Undo available until a date and time. The clock starts when the import finishes, not when you approve it.
Click Undo, confirm "Undo this import? This will revert created records.", and the whole session is reversed:
- Clients it created are deleted.
- Bookings it created are deleted.
- Clients it updated are put back as they were, so any edits you made since are lost too.
- Services, staff and calendars the import created are deleted.
Warning: after 24 hours the undo stops working, but the Undo button stays on screen. Clicking it then tells you the window has expired and nothing changes. Past that point, unwanted records have to be removed by hand.
Common problems & fixes
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| I cannot find Data import | It is not a tab, and team member logins do not see it | Sign in as an admin, open Settings, stay on Profile, scroll to Data import and click Open Data Import |
| Continue is locked on Upload | A file is still labelled Not sure, or is still being reorganised | Label every file and wait for the notice to clear |
| Dates are a month out | The file was read as US dates | Undo, re-import, and choose DD/MM/YYYY (UK) |
| Clients or bookings appear twice | The same file was imported twice | Undo the second import within 24 hours, otherwise remove the duplicates by hand |
| Clients got unexpected reminders | Send upcoming reminders for imported bookings was ticked | Undo within 24 hours if you can, and switch the affected messages off under Settings → Communications |
| An imported booking is on a day you are closed | Imported bookings are not checked against your opening hours | Open it from the calendar and move or cancel it |
| Removing a session did not remove the data | Delete only clears the session and its files | Use Undo on a completed import instead |
| Undo does nothing | The 24 hours have passed | Remove the records by hand |
If a validation message is hard to follow, copy the exact wording (and the row reference if one is shown) before you ask for help.