Importing Customers Into Patriot Software
Background
A customer is a business or individual who purchases your services or products. If you are changing to Patriot Software from another accounting software, you can import your customers into Patriot Software instead of manually entering them one at a time. To add customers manually, see Adding and Editing Customers. Also see Importing Vendors into Patriot Software.
How to Import Customers into Patriot Software
You can create your own spreadsheet by exporting your existing customer list from your former software. Here are some FAQs about the file format:
How many customers can I import at at time?
You can import up to 200 customers at a time. However, you can import an unlimited number of times.
Which customer fields can I import?
Business Name, First Name, Last Name, Address 1 and 2, City, State, Zip, Email, Phone, Notes
What are the minimum fields needed in order to import customers?
Your import file needs to include at least a Business Name or First and Last Name.
What file types can I use?
.xls, .xlsx, .csv
How should the file be formatted?
Each customer record should be on a single row in your file, with a column for each field you want to import. The first row of your file should include headers that label each column. Your first customer should start on row 2.
Do the order of the fields matter?
No, the fields (columns) can be in any order from your former software. You’ll match the fields to our fields after you import the file.
Spreadsheet Tips for a Smooth Import Process
- Business Name: Your customer’s business name must be 50 characters or less.
- Address: Create separate columns for your customer street address, city, state, and zip code.
- Email: Your customer’s email address should only contain one email, and no other text.
- Phone: Your customer’s phone number cannot contain extensions.
When you are ready to import your file
- Go to Accounting > Receivables > Customer List
- Click “Import Customers.”
Drag and drop your file or choose the file from your computer, and click Continue.
Match Your Data to Patriot Fields
Your data from your spreadsheet will be automatically matched to the Patriot fields. However, if there are columns that cannot be matched, you will need to select the matching field. At minimum, you will need to select the customer’s Business Name, but in order to import each column of data, you will need to select each matching Patriot field. Click Continue when you are finished.
Review Your Imported Customers
You will see a list of your imported customer information. If there are any errors in the file, you can make corrections and edits here. You can also edit all fields on the customer record after they have been imported.
Click Save Customers, and you will see these imported customers are now in your customer list. Click their business name to view and edit their customer record.
Export a Customer List
You can export all customers that are added in the software by going to Accounting > Receivables > Customers. Click the Download Spreadsheet link to get a CSV of the customers displayed on your screen.