Who this is for: agencies adding or updating the people linked to their cases, like a spouse, an HR contact, or an office manager.
Not sure this is your path? If you're bringing in a brand new client or group, use Preparing Your Spreadsheet for Import instead; it loads cases, contacts, benefits, and more all on one sheet. The Contacts Import only works with people, and only on cases that are already in NextAgency.
Contacts vs. cases
A contact is the record for a person: their name, email, phone, and other details. It's always linked to a case (or several), the way a business card is tied to the company it came from. A case is the client, group, or account itself.
This is the most common mix-up we see, usually from agencies coming off a system where "contact" and "case" meant the same thing. The Contacts Import can add a new contact to a case or update a contact you already have, but it can't create a case. If a row's Case Name doesn't match a case that's already in your portal, the import stops right there and tells you so, even in New mode. Run a Case Import first for anyone who isn't already a case, then come back to add or update their contacts.
Starting an import
- From the Contacts page, click Import.
- Choose which kind of import you're doing: New, to add contacts that don't exist yet, or Existing, to update contacts you already have.
Both choices map to the same fields and work the same way once you're in the wizard. The only difference is whether the importer is looking for a contact that's already there. For an Existing import, it matches on Case Name plus first and last name, so make sure those line up exactly with what's already in your portal.
Building your sheet
Download the Contacts Import Template, or map your own spreadsheet's headers to NextAgency's fields during the import.
A header that matches one of NextAgency's own field names exactly, such as First Name, Last Name, or Case Name, locks into place automatically on the Map Headers step; anything else you map by hand.
A few fields worth knowing about:
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Case Name | Links the contact to a case that's already in NextAgency. Has to match an existing case exactly. |
| Relationship | The contact's relationship or role on that case (spouse, office manager, and so on). Can't be mapped unless Case Name is also mapped. |
| Set Primary | Makes this contact the case's Primary Contact. Their name, email, and phone then show right on the case header and Summary tab. Accepts Yes, True, or 1. |
| Contact: Set As Primary Email / Contact: Set As Primary Phone | When a contact has more than one email or phone number on the sheet, marks which one is primary. |
Save your mapping as a template
Once your headers are mapped, click Save Template, name it, and click Save. It shows up under Select Template on your next Contacts Import, so a recurring import (a monthly roster update, say) doesn't need remapping every time.
Running the import
Click Continue, give the import a name so you can find it later, and click Import.
The import runs in the background. Your Contacts Imports list shows its status, and once it finishes, any new or updated contacts are on their cases.
When the import stops to ask you something
NextAgency checks the whole file before importing anything, so if any row has a problem, nothing in that file imports until it's fixed; a bad row doesn't just get skipped while the rest goes through.
- Case Name doesn't match anything in your portal: the row fails with "[Case name] is not present." Nothing is guessed or created; run a Case Import for that client first.
- More than one case shares that name: you're asked to pick the one you meant.
- More than one existing contact shares the same name (Existing mode): you're asked to choose which one to update, rather than the importer guessing.
Open a failed import from your Contacts Imports list to see exactly what went wrong, row by row.
Fix your sheet (or resolve the prompt, like picking the right case) and reimport.
Common questions
Why didn't my import create a new case? It can't. The Contacts Import only adds or updates people; it never creates the case (client or group) they belong to. Run a Case Import first, then add or update contacts.
Why does my import say a case "is not present"? The Case Name column didn't match a case already in your portal exactly, including spelling and capitalization. Check the case name in NextAgency and fix your sheet to match.
How do I make someone the case's main point of contact? Map the Set Primary column and set it to Yes for that row. Their name, email, and phone will show right on the case header.
See also Preparing Your Spreadsheet for Import.
Please contact our support team if you have any questions.