Excel Import Tool

You are here:
< Back

Maintenance > Excel Import/Update

The Excel Import tool will load a spreadsheet of new data into DonorSnap. It can also mass update existing records in your database after you export the records to Excel (along with the ContactIPK, DonationIPK, etc.), make changes in Excel, and then use the tool to import your changes back to DonorSnap.

For an in-depth training, please watch the Excel Import Training Webinar.

The first step in the Excel import process is to load the spreadsheet you wish to import into DonorSnap and then specify what type of import (or update) you are doing.

  1. Browse for the desired spreadsheet.
  2. Upload the file into DonorSnap.
  3. Specify which sheet of the Excel spreadsheet you wish to import.
  4. Select whether you want to add brand new records or update existing records already in your database.
  5. Click one of the radio boxes to specify what type of records your are importing/updating.
  6. If you are importing new Contact records, perform duplicate checking.
    Select one or all of the Duplicate checking boxes prior to leaving this screen.
    DonorSnap will perform the appropriate checking and warn you of possible duplicate Contacts; they still we be imported if you don’t choose to exclude them in the review stage (Step 4).

The column on the Right is a listing of all the fields that can be imported into DonorSnap. To see the names of the fields, click on the “+” next to a table name to see the DonorSnap field names.

Step 2 – Map Columns

The column mapping step allows you to tell DonorSnap where to put each specific column of data in your Excel in DonorSnap.

  • If you do not map a column, that column of data will simply be ignored in the import process.
  • If your column heading exactly matches a DonorSnap field name, the system will automatically map the column to it’s appropriate DonorSnap field.
  • The type of data you can import into a field and its size is listed next to the DonorSnap field if it has yet to be mapped to a field in your spreadsheet.  For example, Email2 is a DonorSnap field that is a 255 Character long text field.  You can import any type of data of special characters into a text field.  Conversely, an Integer or Money field can only have a valid number in the import cell.  If there is not a valid number you’ll receive a message in a subsequent step and that record will not be imported.

Unique Identifier for importing Activity Records or performing Updates

When importing activity records (Donations, Notes, Volunteer, etc..) or updating any type of records, DonorSnap needs to know specifically how to link your import data with the appropriate Contact that already exists within DonorSnap.  On the bottom of the screen there is a section for matching “key” fields between your Excel spreadsheet and the DonorSnap Contact records.

Each Contact record within DonorSnap has a unique key which is called “ContactIPK”.  This number is assigned to the Contact when it is first created and stays the same throughout the life of that Contact record.  You can always be assured of a proper match if your input spreadsheet includes the ContactIPK and you properly link that to DonorSnap.  You don’t need to use ContactIPK… There is another field labeled ImportKey which is a field that can be imported with new Contacts when using the Excel import tool to load your contacts.  Organizations transitioning from another automated Donor Management system may already have key numbers assigned to their contacts.  They should import these keys into the “Import Key” field within DonorSnap to enable the importing of activity records from the old system.

In addition to the two special fields set up in DonorSnap, the organization can create or set up its own key field in one of the User Defined fields.  The requirements are that each Contact record will require a unique value in this User Defined field to properly accomplish the matching.  If more than one Contact share the same User Defined field value, then it is not possible to import a record into either of those Contacts since DonorSnap will not be able to determine which record to attribute the import to.  A client may want to use this approach if they happen to have an alternative number assigned to each Contact that has been created by a third party.  For example, an Performing Arts organization may utilize a ticket broker to sell tickets to their events.  The ticket broker may have their own unique number for each of the ticket buyers.  This number can be loaded into DonorSnap so that you can automatically upload ticket sales into the database.

When updating activity records (e.g. donation, interaction, notes, etc.), you must use the appropriate IPK field to the type of records you are updating. For example, when updating existing donation records, you must have the DonationIPK field in the first column of your spreadsheet. You can not use any other field to update activity records.

On the bottom of the screen you’ll find two drop-down boxes.  The first shows the list of field names from your spreadsheet.  You’ll need to specify which column contains your key record.  In the second drop-down box, you’ll need to link your field to the appropriate field within DonorSnap.

Step 3. Validate Records

DonorSnap will look at each field that is being imported and determine whether or not the import data is correct.

There is no action to be taken on this screen other than to be notified of the number of “fatal” errors in the import.  A fatal error in a specific record will not allow that record to be updated into DonorSnap.

Step 4. Review Data

This tab reviews the data to be imported. This screen provides both warning type messages and fatal messages.

If a record has bad data in a field or does not have a valid linking key, it will not be imported.

DonorSnap does do some color coding of your data.  For example, if you are bringing in a value to a dropdown field in DonorSnap and that value does not currently exist in your dropdown list, DonorSnap will color code that data cell “green” to let you know that you will be adding a new value to your list.

Although this is only a warning type message, it is useful to review these to ensure that you did not make a spelling error in a cell. For example if your standard coding title is “Mr.” with a “.” and you are importing a record with “Mr” (no period), DonorSnap will create a new dropdown item in the title list for “Mr”  This is probably not what you want to happen. You should omit that record from this import, correct it and then reimport that record.

Step 5: Load Data

Click Load Data to load the good data into your DonorSnap database. Good data is any record that has a “Yes” in the include field on the Review grid. Once you click the button DonorSnap will confirm how many records have been imported.

DonorSnap will create an Excel spreadsheet that is identical in format to the spreadsheet that you imported that contains the records that were not included. Export these to Excel.

In the case of an error with your import, all imports are saved on the Loaded Data Listing tab. There you can Undo an import.

Other Helpful Tips

Importing Pledges

When you import pledges into DonorSnap, the frequency field is a little different. You cannot import the words “Weekly,” “Monthly,” etc. but instead must import a number or letter code corresponding to the frequency.

Pledge FrequencyWhat to import (either number or letter)
Weekly1 or W
Biweekly (every other week)2 or E
Monthly3 or M
Bimonthly (every other month)4 or B
Quarterly5 or Q
Annually6 or A
Table of Contents