Import contacts into Cliniko

Import a group of third-party contacts into Cliniko.

Emily avatar
Written by Emily
Updated over a week ago

In the same vein as importing a list of patients into Cliniko, you can also import contacts! A "contact" would be defined as a third party—so a referring GP, someone who handles billing with a private health insurer, etc. 

Contacts are handy because you can link them up with patients as referring doctors, as well as send letters to them

You'll need to have your contacts on a CSV spreadsheet file in order to import them. If you need assistance with your spreadsheet, let our support team know! 😀


Import contacts into Cliniko

Once you have your spreadsheet ready, head to Settings, and then Data imports:

Under Choose an import type, select Contacts, and click the Import button:

On the next page, click the Choose file button and select your CSV file from wherever it's stored on your computer. Then click the Match information button:

You'll be brought to a page where you will now "match" information from your spreadsheet to Cliniko:

What does "matching information" mean?

Your CSV file will have certain fields—first name, last name, address, etc. These fields can be imported into Cliniko and "matched" to the same areas! Cliniko will do its best to recognise what's already in your spreadsheet and it will try to match fields accordingly (i.e. First Name  to First Name , Surname  into Last Name, etc.).

Sometimes, though, it won't quite understand what you have in your spreadsheet, and may not match it correctly, or import it at all. This is why it's important to spend some time on this part of the import process, making sure that fields are being matched appropriately!

If you click the menus under Import into, you'll be presented with a list of all the available fields you can import something into:

What if your spreadsheet has fields that don't have a "match" to Cliniko?

If your spreadsheet has data that doesn't have a "spot" in Cliniko (so doesn't match up with one of the available fields we provide), you can do one of two things:

  • Select Do not import, or;

  • Import it into the Notes field.

For example, you might have a column called "Preferred time to call". Cliniko doesn't have an official spot to include this, but if you "match" that to the "Notes" field, it will still be included with the information you import, so you can see it on the contact's page at any time! You can import as many fields into "Notes" as you need to—there is no limit.

When you're all done matching, click the Import and finish button. 

You'll then see that your data is importing; you can leave the page and come back later, or wait! It shouldn't take very long.

Once it's imported, you'll see the details of the import:

Now your contacts are imported! 💃 Everyone will now be visible in the Contacts page:


If you have just a few contacts to add, you can add them individually, as well! Head over here to learn how to do that.

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