Import your data

GETTING STARTED · 4/7 Reading time : 10 min Updated September 16, 2026
Already have a member list in a spreadsheet? The CSV import lets you add them all at once.

Prepare your file

Drop your Excel workbook (.xlsx) as is, or export your member list as CSV from Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice (File → Save As → CSV). Accepted formats: .xlsx, .csv, .tsv and .txt (2 MB max).

Tip. Paak automatically recognises column headers in English ("First Name", "Email"), French ("Prénom", "Nom") and German ("Vorname", "Nachname"). No need to rename your columns.

Run the import

  1. In the sidebar, click Contacts.
  2. Click the Import button (upload icon).
  3. Drag and drop your CSV file into the drop zone, or click to select it (max size: 2 MB).
  4. Paak shows a preview with automatic column mapping. Adjust manually if needed. Tip: if your file has a member or licence number, map it to the externalId field to make re-imports reliable.
  5. Click Import to run validation. Paak shows how many contacts will be created, updated or skipped.
  6. If everything looks correct, confirm the import.

FAQ

Is Excel (.xlsx) format supported?
Yes. Drop your .xlsx file as is: Paak reads the first sheet of the workbook right in your browser. If you prefer CSV, accented characters survive either way: a CSV UTF-8 export and Excel's plain CSV export (Windows encoding) are both read correctly.
What happens with duplicates?
Paak detects duplicates by email address (or by licence number when you have one). By default an existing contact is not overwritten: the preview lists it under "To skip". Pick "Update" in the import options to complete existing records with your file: the preview then lists them under "To update" and the import applies your new values.
Can I create memberships at the same time?
Yes. The import wizard lets you assign a season, a membership type and a team to imported contacts. You can pick an existing season or create a new one right in the wizard, handy for back-filling members from a past season you haven't created yet.
How do I avoid duplicates when re-importing my file?
Add a member number or licence number column (mapped to the externalId field). Paak uses it as the primary matching key: a member already imported with the same identifier is updated, not duplicated, even if they have no email address. Without an identifier, matching falls back to email.
My file uses semicolons: will it work?
Yes. Paak auto-detects the separator (comma, semicolon, tab).
A row is refused with “contains a spreadsheet formula”: what now?
A cell starts with =: your spreadsheet left a formula there instead of its value. In Excel or Google Sheets, copy the column and paste “values only”, export to CSV again and retry. Phone numbers (“+33 6…”), weight classes (“-75 kg”) and dashes for “none” import fine. Stuck? Send us the file from the button in the wizard and we will import it for you.
Last updated: September 16, 2026 ID : help.getting-started.import-data