Import customers and prices from a spreadsheet or another system

Overview#

Coming from paper, spreadsheets or a system TradesWork doesn't list? You can import a customer list and a price list from any CSV or Excel file. Column names don't need to match anything: after you drop the file, you tell TradesWork what each column means.

Before you start#

• You need the Owner or Admin role.

• One row per customer, with at least a name. Phone, email and address columns are optional but recommended.

• One row per price book item, with at least a name and a price. Code, description, category and cost are optional.

• From Google Sheets: File › Download › Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) or CSV.

Steps#

1. Open Settings › Tools › Import / Export Data and press Another system or a spreadsheet in the row of source buttons.

2. Export customers and your price list as CSV or Excel from wherever they live.

3. Drag the files onto the drop zone or press Choose files.

4. Under What we found, if a file isn't recognized, choose what it is under This file is a… (customers or price book).

5. Check the columns: for each field (for example Name, Phone, Email, Address, Code, Price, Category), choose the matching column from your file, or (not in this file).

6. Look at Preview: your data in TradesWork: the first 20 rows exactly as they'll appear.

7. Choose Import into your company or Try it in a separate sandbox company first, then press Import.

8. Download any rows that couldn't be imported with Download as CSV, fix them and drop the file again.

Settings that change this#

• Pricebook › Services & Materials: review and edit imported items.

• Pricebook › Supplier Catalogs: keep material costs current from supplier price files after the first import.

Tips#

• Put first and last name in one column, or keep them in two: both work.

• If a customer has a company name and no person name, they're imported as a commercial customer.

• Each customer's address becomes their first service location.

• Re-dropping the same file later updates customers instead of duplicating them, as long as names and addresses stay the same.

Troubleshooting#

• "No customer name." on a row → the name cell is empty. → Fill it in and drop the file again.

• "Price “…” isn't an amount." → the price cell has text in it (for example "call for price"). → Use a number like 149.00 (a $ sign and commas are fine), or leave it empty.

• "No name." on a price book row → the item has no name. → Fill it in.

• Duplicates after a re-drop → the name or address changed between files, so it looked like a new customer. → Keep names and addresses consistent, or remove duplicates by hand.

FAQ#

Can I import jobs or invoices from a spreadsheet? Not with the generic spreadsheet option. Only customers and a price book. Exports from ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, Jobber and FieldEdge bring more.

Can I import my QuickBooks customer list? Yes, export it from QuickBooks as Excel and import it here as a customer list.

Coming from ServiceTitan#

If you're coming from ServiceTitan, use the ServiceTitan source instead: it recognizes ServiceTitan's exports automatically and keeps each record's ServiceTitan ID. See Switch from ServiceTitan.