How to Import Your Member Roster from Excel or Google Sheets | Sodalo

By Sodalo Team 2026-01-08 Guide

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How to Import Your Member Roster from Excel or Google Sheets

Reading time: 6 minutes
Last updated: April 2026

You Don't Have to Start Over

One of the biggest reasons organizations put off switching from spreadsheets is the thought of retyping every member's information by hand. For a 60-member club, that's a lot of names, addresses, and email addresses — and plenty of opportunities for typos.

The good news: you don't have to type any of it. Sodalo lets you upload your existing spreadsheet directly. The import tool reads your file, matches the columns to the right fields, and adds your members automatically.

Most organizations complete their import in under 30 minutes, including the time spent cleaning up the spreadsheet first. Here's exactly how to do it.

Before You Import: Cleaning Up Your Spreadsheet

The import works best when your spreadsheet is tidy. Spending 10 to 15 minutes on cleanup now will save you much more time fixing problems afterward.

Here's what to look for:

Remove duplicate rows. If the same person appears more than once — maybe they were added under two different names, or someone entered them twice — the import will create two records for them. Take a few minutes to scroll through and remove any duplicates.

Check email addresses. The import uses email address as the unique identifier for each member, so every person you want to import should have one. If someone is missing an email address, you can add them manually after the import, but having emails in the spreadsheet is better. Also check for obvious typos — "gmial.com" instead of "gmail.com" is a common one.

Use consistent status labels. If your spreadsheet has a "Status" column, make sure it's consistent. "Active," "active," and "ACTIVE" are three different values to a computer. Pick one format and use it throughout. Common statuses include Active, Honorary, and Inactive.

Remove any merged cells or special formatting. Spreadsheet tricks that look nice on screen — merged cells that span multiple columns, colored headers, cells with dropdown validation — can confuse the import tool. Remove anything decorative and leave just rows of plain data.

Put column headers in the first row. The import tool reads your first row as the list of column names. Make sure row 1 says things like "First Name," "Last Name," "Email," etc. — not a member's actual data.

Required Fields vs. Nice-to-Have Fields

When importing into Sodalo, only a few fields are truly required. Everything else is optional — you can fill it in later, or leave it blank if you don't have it.

Required for each member:
- First name
- Last name
- Email address

That's it. You can import a basic list with just those three columns and have a working member roster in minutes.

Strongly recommended:
- Phone number
- Member status (Active, Honorary, Inactive, etc.)
- Join date

Optional but useful:
- Mailing address
- Birthday (month and day — year is optional)
- Any notes about the member

If your spreadsheet has additional columns that don't match standard fields — things like "Committee," "Classification," "Degree," or anything specific to your organization type — you can set those up as custom fields in Sodalo first, and then import into them.

Step-by-Step: Exporting and Importing Your Roster

Before exporting your data, download Sodalo's import template that's customized for your organization. This ensures your columns match exactly what Sodalo expects and includes any custom fields you've already set up.

To download your template:
1. Log in to Sodalo and go to the Members section
2. Click the "Download Template" button near the top of the page
3. Save the CSV file to your computer
4. Open it in Excel or Google Sheets

What you'll see:
- Standard columns like first_name, last_name, and email
- Address fields, phone, member status, and birthday fields
- Any custom fields you've created, marked with a custom_ prefix (e.g., custom_Badge Number, custom_Committee)
- A helpful second row showing:
- "required" under the three required fields (first_name, last_name, email)
- Valid options for member status
- Date format examples for birthday and joined date fields

If you're on the Community (free) plan:
- You can't create custom fields yet, but you can still import standard information
- Use the standard template which includes all built-in fields
- After importing, consider upgrading to add custom field tracking

Tip: If you haven't created your custom fields yet, do that first (see Custom Fields Deep Dive), then download the template. That way your template will include those columns and you can import everything at once.

Step 2: Copy Your Data Into the Template

Now open both files side by side:
- Your personalized Sodalo template (just downloaded)
- Your existing member spreadsheet

Copy and paste your data from your spreadsheet into the matching columns in the Sodalo template. Don't worry about column order — what matters is that the right data goes under the right header.

Example:
- Your spreadsheet has "First" → Copy that data under Sodalo's first_name column
- Your spreadsheet has "Cell Phone" → Copy that data under Sodalo's phone column
- Your spreadsheet has "Badge No." → Copy that data under Sodalo's custom_Badge Number column (if you created that custom field)

Important: Keep the header row (row 1) exactly as Sodalo provided it. Don't rename the columns. The custom_ prefix tells Sodalo which fields are custom.

Save this file when you're done — this is what you'll upload to Sodalo.

Step 3: Save Your File as CSV

Once you've copied your data into the Sodalo template, save it as a CSV file.

From Microsoft Excel:
1. Click "File" in the top left corner
2. Click "Save As" (or "Save a Copy")
3. In the "Save as type" dropdown, choose "CSV (Comma delimited)"
4. Click Save

From Google Sheets:
1. Click "File" in the top menu
2. Click "Download"
3. Click "Comma-separated values (.csv)"
4. The file will download to your computer automatically

You now have a CSV file ready to import.

Step 4: Upload Your File to Sodalo

Log in to your Sodalo account and go to the Members section. Look for an "Import" button — it's usually near the top of your member list. Click it.

Click "Choose File" (or "Upload") and find the CSV file you just saved. Select it and click Open.

Step 5: Review the Import Preview

After uploading, Sodalo shows you a preview of what will be imported. This preview screen shows:

  • Total rows in your file
  • Valid rows that will be imported successfully
  • Duplicates that will be skipped (members already in the system)
  • Errors that will be skipped (missing required fields or invalid data)

The preview shows the first 50 rows from your file, color-coded:
- Green = Ready to import
- Yellow = Duplicate (already exists)
- Red = Has errors

If you used Sodalo's template and kept the column headers exactly as provided, all your columns (including custom fields) should be matched correctly.

Step 6: Review and Confirm

Review the preview carefully:
- Do the names look correct?
- Are custom field values appearing in the right columns?
- Do the error messages make sense?

If you see errors about missing required fields or invalid custom field names, you'll need to go back and fix your CSV file. Common issues:
- Email addresses are missing for some members
- A custom field column name doesn't match your custom field exactly
- Member status values don't match the valid options

If everything looks good, click "Confirm Import" to proceed.

Step 7: Review the Results

After the import completes, Sodalo shows you a summary:
- How many members were added successfully
- How many duplicates were skipped
- How many rows had errors

For any rows that had problems, you can fix those members individually after the main import is done, or correct your CSV file and import again.

Handling Special Cases

"I have duplicate email addresses in my spreadsheet"

If two members share an email address — which sometimes happens with couples who use a shared family account — the import may flag one of them as a duplicate. The best approach is to contact those members before importing and ask if they have separate email addresses. If not, you'll need to add one of them manually after the import.

"Some members don't have email addresses"

Members without email addresses can't be imported with the standard tool. After your main import, add those members manually by clicking "Add Member" and entering their information. You can also leave their email blank if you genuinely don't have one — just note that they won't be able to receive email communications or log in to the member portal.

"My spreadsheet has information I don't want to import"

Simply don't include those columns in your CSV file. If you're using Sodalo's template, just leave those columns empty or delete them entirely. You don't have to import everything you have.

"I have custom information like badge numbers, committee assignments, or classifications"

First, create custom fields in Sodalo for this information (see Custom Fields Deep Dive). Then download the import template — it will automatically include columns for your custom fields with a custom_ prefix.

Copy your custom data into the matching custom_ columns in the template. When you import, Sodalo will automatically save this information to the correct custom fields.

Important: The custom field column names must match your custom field names exactly (case-insensitive). If you have a custom field called "Badge Number", the template will have a column called custom_Badge Number. Don't rename this column.

"Some members are listed with their status as 'Deceased' or 'Resigned'"

You can import these members and set their status accordingly. Sodalo supports statuses including Active, Honorary, Inactive, Resigned, Deceased, and several others. Keeping a record of former members can be useful for historical purposes, even if they're no longer active.

After the Import: What to Do Next

Once your roster is in, take a few minutes to do a quick review.

Spot-check a handful of records. Find two or three members you know well and verify their information looks correct — name, email, phone, status, and any custom field data. This is a quick sanity check that the import went as expected.

Verify custom field data. If you imported custom field information, open a few member profiles and verify the custom field values appear correctly. Check that dropdown selections match your options and that dates are formatted properly.

Fill in any gaps. If some members were missing email addresses or had other incomplete information, now is a good time to fill that in while the import is fresh in your mind.

Set up your first dues period. With your roster in place, the natural next step is setting up your dues tracking. See our guide on how to manage membership dues for a walkthrough.

Send a welcome email. If this is a new system for your organization, consider sending a short note to your members letting them know about it. You might mention that they'll be able to log in to view their own membership information and RSVP to events. See our guide on sending professional member email for help with this.

Verify your member count. Make sure the number of active members Sodalo shows matches what you expected. If the numbers are off, check whether any rows were skipped during import.

Try It for Free

You can import your roster and set up your organization on Sodalo's Community plan at no cost — up to 50 active members, with complete access to all features. No credit card required, no time limit.

The import process usually takes about 20 minutes from start to finish. If you have questions or run into something unexpected, help is available by email.

Ready to move from spreadsheets to organized membership management?

Start your free account and import your roster →

Key Takeaways

  • You don't have to retype your member list. Sodalo's import tool reads your existing spreadsheet.
  • Download a personalized import template from Sodalo that includes your organization's custom fields automatically.
  • Before importing, clean up duplicates, check email addresses, and make sure column headers are in the first row.
  • Only three fields are required: first name, last name, and email address. Everything else is optional.
  • Custom field columns use a custom_ prefix — keep these column names exactly as provided in the template.
  • Review the import preview carefully before confirming — you'll see which rows will import successfully and which have errors.
  • After importing, spot-check a few records (including custom field data) and fill in any missing information.

About Sodalo: Sodalo is membership management software built for the organizations that bring communities together — non-profits, civic clubs, community groups, Rotary clubs, PTAs, and similar organizations. Learn more at sodalo.com

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