Contact Import Converter
Free contact import converter for every industry
Moving contacts between platforms, CRMs, and devices should be simple, but format incompatibilities turn a five-minute task into an hour of frustration. Our contact import converter handles the translation between CSV, VCF, XLSX, and Google Contacts formats so your data arrives clean, complete, and ready to use. No more lost phone numbers, mangled names, or missing email addresses.
Supported Contact Formats
- CSV (Comma-Separated Values): The most universal format, supported by virtually every CRM, email platform, and spreadsheet application. Each row represents one contact, with fields separated by commas. Best for bulk imports and exports. Watch for encoding issues with special characters in non-English names.
- VCF / vCard: The standard format for phone and email address books. Used by Apple Contacts, Android, Outlook, and most mobile devices. Supports rich data including photos, multiple phone numbers, and structured addresses. Version 3.0 and 4.0 are both widely supported.
- XLSX (Microsoft Excel): Ideal when you need to review, edit, or clean contact data before importing. Excel provides powerful sorting, filtering, and deduplication tools. Export as CSV before importing into most CRMs, or use XLSX directly with platforms that support it.
- Google Contacts (Google CSV): Google uses a specific CSV format with predefined column headers like "Given Name," "Family Name," and "E-mail 1 - Value." Exporting from Google Contacts and importing into another platform often requires field name mapping to match the target system's expected headers.
Field Mapping Guide
Field mapping is the process of matching columns in your source file to the correct fields in your destination format. Here are the most common mappings you will encounter:
| Standard Field | CSV / Excel | Google Contacts | vCard |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Name | First Name | Given Name | FN / N |
| Last Name | Last Name | Family Name | N |
| E-mail 1 - Value | |||
| Phone | Phone | Phone 1 - Value | TEL |
| Company | Company | Organization 1 - Name | ORG |
| Job Title | Title | Organization 1 - Title | TITLE |
Troubleshooting Common Import Issues
- Special characters appear garbled. This is an encoding issue. Ensure your CSV file is saved with UTF-8 encoding. In Excel, use "Save As" and select "CSV UTF-8" rather than plain CSV.
- Phone numbers lose leading zeros. Excel automatically strips leading zeros from numbers. Format phone columns as "Text" before entering data, or prefix numbers with an apostrophe to force text formatting.
- Duplicate contacts after import. Run deduplication before importing by using email address as the primary unique identifier. Most CRMs also have built-in merge tools for duplicates that slip through.
- Fields import into wrong columns. This happens when column headers do not match the expected field names. Review the target platform's documentation for required header names and update your source file accordingly.
- Import fails with large files. Some platforms limit import size to 5,000 or 10,000 contacts at a time. Split your file into smaller batches and import sequentially. Check the platform's documentation for size limits.
Data Cleanup Tips Before Importing
- Standardize phone formats. Convert all phone numbers to a consistent format including country code, such as +1-555-123-4567. Remove parentheses, dots, and extra spaces.
- Fix name capitalization. Use your spreadsheet's PROPER() function to standardize capitalization. Manually review names with prefixes like "van," "de," or "O'" that may need special handling.
- Validate email addresses. Check for common typos like "gmial.com" or "yaho.com." Remove entries with obviously invalid formats. A quick regex filter catches most formatting issues.
- Remove test and junk data. Delete any entries with names like "Test User," "asdf," or placeholder email addresses. These clutter your database and skew contact metrics.
- Fill required fields. Identify which fields are required by your target platform and ensure every record has values for those fields. Common required fields are email address or full name.
Choose Your Industry
Frequently Asked Questions
What contact file formats does the converter support?
Our contact import converter supports four major formats: CSV (comma-separated values), VCF/vCard (used by Apple Contacts, Android, and most phone address books), XLSX (Microsoft Excel spreadsheets), and Google Contacts export format (Google CSV). You can convert between any of these formats while preserving all contact fields.
How do I map fields when importing contacts?
Field mapping matches columns in your source file to the correct fields in your target format. Common mappings include: First Name to Given Name, Last Name to Family Name, Email to E-mail Address, Phone to Telephone, and Company to Organization. Most tools auto-detect common field names, but custom fields may need manual mapping.
Why are some contacts missing after import?
Contacts commonly go missing due to encoding issues with special characters, duplicate detection merging records, empty required fields causing rows to be skipped, incorrect delimiter settings in CSV files, or file size limits. Always compare your source count with the imported count and review the error log.
How do I clean up contact data before importing?
Before importing, clean your data by removing duplicates, standardizing phone number formats with country codes, fixing inconsistent name capitalization, validating email addresses, filling in missing required fields, and removing test or junk entries. Clean data prevents errors and ensures a usable contact database.
Can I merge contacts from multiple sources into one file?
Yes. Export each source as CSV, combine them in a spreadsheet with consistent column headers, remove duplicates using email address as the unique identifier, resolve conflicts like different phone numbers for the same person, and import the merged file into your target platform.