The short version
- Save each kind of record as its own CSV or Excel (.xlsx) file: people first, then giving, interaction history and anything else.
- In DAAS, open People and select Import. Under What are you bringing in?, choose People and choose your people file.
- Check which column goes to which field, read the preview, then select Import.
- Do the same for each other file, choosing its kind (Giving, Interaction history and so on) in the same window.
Messy data? Clean it up with your own AI tool first, or have us do it for you.
What you can bring in
DAAS imports people, giving, interaction history, household notes, yahrzeits, family relationships, events, event sign-ups, to-dos and email group members from CSV or Excel (.xlsx). Import people first, then linked records. Choose the kind under What are you bringing in? in the import window.
| You can bring in | Details |
|---|---|
| People | First and last name (or one full-name column), email, phone, street, apartment, city, state, ZIP, gender, date of birth |
| Spouses | Spouse first name, last name, email and phone on the same row. DAAS adds the spouse to the same household. |
| Households | Grouped by a Household ID column if you have one, otherwise by matching street address and ZIP |
| Jewish details | Hebrew name, Kohen / Levi / Yisroel, Jewish (yes / no / unsure), born after nightfall |
| Household tags | One column; several tags in a cell, split by commas (Torah class, Kids program). New tags are added to your list. |
| Your own fields | Any custom field your Org. sets up in DAAS (Settings → Custom fields) |
| Donations | Donation, in-kind, pledge, soft credit and event fee; amount, currency, dates, method/reference, fund/notes, dedication, receipt history and linked records |
People imports also support Adult/Child, deceased status, Primary Contact, country, household background, channel restrictions and optional native fields. Configure custom fields in DAAS before mapping them.
Not a full database restore: online form definitions, email campaign/send/open history, recurring payment authorizations, generated profiles and calculated scores are not imported. Each person has one primary phone and email. Keep other source data in your archive or review file.
CiviCRM database backups
CiviCRM users can also import an uncompressed SQL backup through the dedicated CiviCRM importer. DAAS reads it on your device and shows supported records and skipped data before you approve the import.
Step 1: Get your data into a file
Almost every system can export to a spreadsheet, usually a CSV or Excel file. Look for “Export” in your current system and export everything, with all columns. You'll want a file for each kind of record. The two most common are:
- A people file: one row per person or per family, with names, emails, phones and addresses.
- A giving file: one row per gift, with the amount, the date, and who gave it (an ID, email, phone or name).
- Optional: interaction history (calls, visits and notes), household notes, yahrzeits and the other kinds in Interaction history and other records.
You don't need to delete or rename columns first. DAAS lets you choose which columns to use and ignores the rest. If your list lives in your own spreadsheet, you can use it as it is, or copy it into the DAAS template (below).
Keep the ID column. If your current system gives each person an ID number (“Contact ID”, “Account #”, “Donor ID”), keep it in every file. DAAS saves it as the External ID, so donations match the right person exactly and you can import an updated file later without creating duplicates.
Not sure how to export from your current system? Email info@shliachflow.com and tell us which system you use. We'll send you instructions for it.
Step 2: Check the people file
Most exports import as they are. DAAS reads the column names and what's in each column, and picks the right field for each. Check these five things first:
- Column names in one row. A title row or blank rows above them are fine; DAAS finds the real column names.
- One row per person, or one row per couple. A couple can be one row: “John & Jane Cohen” in a name column, or Jane in a Spouse first name column. DAAS makes two people in one household.
- Every row has a name or an email. Rows with neither are listed for you to check, not imported.
- Addresses are on the same row. People with the same street address and ZIP are put in one household. If your file has a Household ID or Family ID column, DAAS uses that instead.
- One sheet at a time. In an Excel file with several sheets, DAAS picks the sheet with the most rows, and you can switch to another.
DAAS understands names written in any of these ways:
| In the file | Becomes |
|---|---|
| John Cohen | John Cohen |
| Cohen, John | John Cohen |
| Rabbi Mendel Katz | Mendel Katz (the title is left off) |
| John & Jane Cohen, or Cohen, John and Jane | John Cohen and Jane Cohen, one household |
| John Cohen and Jane Levy | John Cohen and Jane Levy, one household |
| Mr. and Mrs. John Cohen | John Cohen (add Jane with a Spouse column) |
| The Cohen Family | A household with the last name Cohen |
Dates can be written 5/17/1980, 1980-05-17 or May 17, 1980. A spouse with no last name of their own gets the first person's last name.
Starting from scratch? Use a template
If your list is on paper, in an email, or spread across several files, start from a DAAS template. Open it in Excel or Google Sheets, fill in one row per record, and leave blank any column you don't have.
More templates: Household notes · Yahrzeits · Family relationships · Events · Event sign-ups · To-dos · Email group members
A filled-in people row looks like this:
| Column | Example |
|---|---|
| External ID | 1001 |
| First Name, Last Name | John, Cohen |
| Email, Phone | john@example.com, 216-555-0101 |
| Spouse First Name, Spouse Email | Jane, jane@example.com |
| Street Address, City, State, ZIP | 10 Lake Rd, Solon, OH, 44139 |
| Date of Birth, Gender | 5/17/1980, M |
Inside DAAS, the import window has its own Download the people template link. That copy also has a column for each custom field your Org. set up.
Step 3: Import people
Do this on a computer. Nothing is saved until you select Import, and you see what will happen first.
- Open People and select Import (or go to Settings → Import people).
- Under What are you bringing in?, choose People, then choose your CSV or Excel file, or drag it into the box.
- Check the column choices. Each DAAS field shows the column DAAS picked from your file. Change any that are wrong, or set a field to “not in this file”. Each column can only be used once.
- Read Before you import. It shows how many people and households will be added, how many are already in DAAS and will be updated, and the first five rows exactly as they'll be saved.
- Look at the rows to check. Select download list to get them as a spreadsheet, with the row number from your file and the reason.
- Select Import and keep the window open until it says Done.
- Open a few households to check names, addresses and spouses.
How DAAS avoids duplicates
For each row, DAAS looks for the person already in DAAS, in this order:
- The same External ID. The person is updated.
- The same email. The person is updated, and gets the External ID if they didn't have one.
- The same name at the same address. The person is updated.
- The same name and ZIP, but no matching ID or email. DAAS can't be sure, so these rows are left out and put on the list to check. To add them anyway, untick the box in Before you import.
Because of this, importing the same file twice doesn't create duplicates, as long as each row has an ID, an email or an address. If you fix rows from the list to check, you can import just those rows.
What the list to check means
| Reason | What to do |
|---|---|
| No name or email | Add a name or email in the file, or leave the row out. |
| Email doesn't look right | The person is still imported, without the email. Fix it on their page in DAAS. |
| Date or value not understood | The person is still imported without that detail. Fix it in the file or in DAAS. |
| May already be in DAAS (same name and ZIP) | Open that person in DAAS. If it's someone new, import the row again with the box unticked. |
| External ID already exists on another contact | Two people share an ID. Fix the ID in the file. |
Step 4: Import giving
Import giving after people. Each donation needs an amount and a way to find the person who gave it.
- Open People, select Import and choose Giving (or go to Settings → Import donations).
- Choose your giving file, then check the donor, Record ID, Giving Type, amount, currency, dates and other details. Download the current template from the window.
- Use each person's External ID. DAAS holds ambiguous matches and conflicting identifiers for review rather than guessing.
- Read Before you import: how many donations will be added, how many are already in DAAS, and up to 20 new records with the person each one matched.
- Select Import, then download the list of rows that didn't match.
- Duplicates are skipped. Use a permanent Record ID for every gift. Record ID plus Import Source makes repeat uploads safe and lets separate same-day gifts stay separate. Without an ID, identical record details are treated as duplicates. A gift already in DAAS from the same person, date and amount, entered by hand or from a form, is held so it is not counted twice. A record DAAS already has under that ID is never changed by the file.
- Name matching is careful. If two people in DAAS have the same name, that row goes on the list to check instead of guessing.
- Fund or campaign is saved in the donation's notes, for example “Building Fund”.
- Dates: YYYY-MM-DD, or month/day/year or day/month/year chosen under Dates in this file. DAAS picks the order when the dates make it clear. A full year is required.
- Refunds (negative amounts) are held for review. In-kind gifts may have no value; an item description is required.
Step 5: Interaction history and other records
After people (and giving, if you have it), you can bring in the history of your relationships: calls, visits and notes, plus household notes, yahrzeits and more. Each kind is its own file with its own template, imported from the same window.
- Open People, select Import and, under What are you bringing in?, choose the kind, for example Interaction history.
- Select Download the … template if you are starting from scratch, or choose your file.
- Check the column choices and Dates in this file.
- Read Before you import: each new record, the person it matched, the rows to check and any columns not imported.
- Select Import. Download the rows to check, fix them in your file and upload it again.
Interaction history columns
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| External ID | The person's ID, the same as in your people file. Email or name also work, but an ID is surest. |
| Record ID | A permanent ID for this interaction (I-1001). It lets you upload the file again without adding anything twice. |
| Date | When it happened, with the year. |
| Interaction Type | Phone call, Left VM, Meeting in person, Knocked no answer, Email / Text, Two-way message, Shabbat attendance, Class / Program, Event attendance, Other or Note. Blank means Note. |
| Note | The full text. Nothing is shortened. |
| Interaction Tags | Optional. Deliveries and mitzvahs from your DAAS tag list (Honey cake; Tefillin), only on Meeting in person or Knocked no answer. |
| Significant | Optional, yes or no. |
Use Phone call only for a real conversation, Left VM for a call that wasn't answered, and Knocked no answer for a visit with no one home. If you aren't sure what happened, use Note. Old dates count in DAAS the same way as new ones. Importing never sends messages or completes follow-ups.
The other kinds
| Kind | Good to know |
|---|---|
| Household notes | Background about a family. Added below any notes already there; nothing is replaced. |
| Yahrzeits | The living person, the deceased's name (and Hebrew name), relationship, date of passing and after nightfall (yes/no). |
| Family relationships | A parent and an adult child who live in different households. Relationship is Parent of or Child of. Spouses go in the people file. |
| Events | Name, date, location and description. Past events come in inactive. Import events before sign-ups. |
| Event sign-ups | Who signed up for which event (by the event's Record ID), how many people and the ticket. |
| To-dos | The task, who it's about, due date, and open or done. |
| Email group members | Group name and the person. Anyone who unsubscribed or bounced stays that way. |
Record IDs keep repeat uploads safe. Give every gift, interaction and other record a permanent Record ID, and keep it the same each time you upload. Uploading the same file again adds nothing twice, and two real gifts on the same day stay separate. A record already in DAAS is never changed by an upload; edit it in DAAS instead. Pledge payments and soft credits point to the original gift's Record ID.
Clean up your data with your own AI tool first
Real data is often messy: notes grouped under headings, several people in one cell, names and details mixed together, more than one sheet, duplicates. You can ask an AI tool you already use, such as ChatGPT or Claude, to turn it into DAAS templates before you import. DAAS still checks every row and never guesses a person, a date or an outcome.
- Set up DAAS first. Add a custom field in Settings for any extra detail you want to keep (for example Business, Occupation or School). Note your delivery and mitzvah tag names.
- Download the templates you need from the templates section, or from the import window.
- Give the AI your original files, the templates and the instructions below. Fill in the two lists in brackets.
- Check a sample. Look at ten rows of each file against your originals before the AI does the rest.
- Import in order: People, then Giving, then Interaction history and the rest. Read Before you import each time, and go through the AI's review file yourself.
Your files hold personal information about your community. Use an AI tool your organization is comfortable with, and check its privacy settings first.
Instructions to give the AI:
I am moving my contacts, giving and history into DAAS. Attached are my original files and DAAS's blank templates. Fill the templates exactly, keeping their column names, with one row per person, gift or record.
People: give every person a unique External ID and use that same ID in every file. Put family members in the same household with the same Household ID only when you are sure. Keep every contact detail. My extra fields are: [your custom field names]; use those exact column names.
Do not guess. Do not merge people you are not sure are the same person. If the source groups entries under headings (such as dates or events), apply each heading to the entries below it until the next heading. Keep every note's full original wording. Ask me about any missing year or unclear date, then write dates as YYYY-MM-DD.
Interaction Type must be exactly one of: Phone call, Left VM, Meeting in person, Knocked no answer, Email / Text, Two-way message, Shabbat attendance, Class / Program, Event attendance, Other, Note. If the outcome is unclear, use Note. Interaction Tags may only use these names, separated by semicolons, and only on Meeting in person or Knocked no answer: [your tag names].
Giving Type is Donation, In-kind, Pledge, Soft credit or Event fee. Do not invent values or turn promises into received gifts. A payment toward a pledge is a Donation with the pledge's Record ID in Pledge Record ID.
Give every gift, interaction and record a permanent Record ID that never changes when you redo the files, and leave Import Source blank. Put anything uncertain (people, dates, amounts, possible duplicates) and anything that doesn't fit a template in a separate review file. Show me 10 rows of each file before doing the rest.
Rather not do this yourself? We can do it for you.
Common problems
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| “DAAS reads .xlsx and CSV files” | Your file is an older .xls, .ods or Numbers file. Open it and save it as Excel Workbook (.xlsx) or CSV. |
| A field picked the wrong column | Change it in the column list. The preview updates right away. |
| Names are split wrong | Use separate First Name and Last Name columns. DAAS uses them as written. |
| ZIP codes lost their leading zero (4413) | Nothing to do. DAAS puts the zero back for 4-digit US ZIPs. |
| Couples came in as one person | Put the second name in a Spouse First Name column, or write both in the name column as “John & Jane Cohen”. |
| Two families at one address were joined | Add a Household ID column with a different ID for each family, or move a person afterward from their page. |
| Many gifts didn't match | Import people first, and keep the same ID column (External ID) in every file. |
| New people don't show everywhere | Reload the page after the import. |
Parents and children
Map a Parent / Child column to Adult / Child (Parent / Child). Parent, adult, father, mother and guardian mean Adult. Child, kid, son, daughter and grandchild mean Child. A blank column leaves an existing role unchanged and new people start as Adult. Use the same Household ID to put family members in one household.
Map male/female or M/F to Gender. After importing, open each household and use the pencil beside its name to check Adult/Child and Primary Contact. If you don't see these controls, install the pending database updates in DAAS. Children appear inside their household; the People page shows adults. Household scoring and Daily Five remain household-based.
Need a hand?
The importer is free to use and built to handle most files on its own. If you have a question, email info@shliachflow.com with your column names and a few sample rows (not your whole list), and we'll tell you how to set it up.
We can do it for you. If you'd rather not prepare the files yourself, or your data needs a lot of cleanup or several files combined, we'll do the whole import for you. Email info@shliachflow.com and tell us what you have. We'll look at your data and quote a one-time fee before we start.