Bring the Spreadsheet You Already Have: Importing Members and Sponsorships Without Reformatting

Ask anyone who has moved a chamber from one system to another what took the longest, and the answer is rarely the new software. It's the spreadsheet. Renaming columns to match a template, splitting names into two cells, stripping dollar signs out of prices, and finding out on the third try that one header had a trailing space.

As of last week's release, that step is gone. Chamberly imports now accept the file you already have. This guide walks through how to use it and what to look at before you press Import.

What changed

Until now, an import expected the column names from our downloadable template. An export from another system uses its own names, so it had to be reworked by hand first.

Now the columns are matched for you. Upload the export as it came out of your old system, including exports from GrowthZone and ChamberMaster, and Chamberly works out which column is the business name, which is the contact's email, which is the phone number, and so on. The template still works exactly as before if you prefer it.

Step 1: export everything, then stop

Run the fullest member or sponsorship export your current system offers and save it. CSV, .xlsx, and older .xls files are all fine. Resist the urge to tidy it up first. Extra columns are not a problem, and the preview will show you what is being used and what is being left out.

A sponsorship file needs three things to be useful: a sponsorship name, an event name, and a price. Everything else is optional.

The one thing worth doing before you upload is deciding what you are importing. Members and sponsorships are separate imports, each with its own tab on the Import page. If you drop a member list on the Sponsorships tab, or the other way around, Chamberly notices and offers a one-click switch instead of failing every row.

Step 2: read the column matches

After you upload, you get a preview before anything is saved. The top of it is the part to slow down for: every column in your file, what it was matched to, and a few sample values from your own data.

Sample values are what make this quick to check. A header called "Primary" could mean a phone number, a contact name, or an email. Seeing three real values under it settles the question in a second. If a match is wrong or flagged as unsure, change it from the dropdown. Your corrections are what get used for the import.

A few things happen automatically at this stage:

• Full names are split. A single name column becomes first and last name, including names written "Last, First".
• Prices are cleaned up. Currency symbols and thousands separators are removed so "$1,500.00" imports as a price and not as text.
• Estimated attendance comes along. If your sponsorship sheet has an attendance column for the event, it is imported with it.

For the more specialised sponsorship columns, such as first-rights holders and exposure tier, use the header names from the downloadable template. Those are deliberately not guessed, because a wrong guess there changes who gets to buy what.

Step 3: fix what the preview flags

Below the column matches, the preview lists rows with problems before you import: a missing business name, an email that isn't an email, a price that can't be read. Fix those in the spreadsheet and upload again, or import the clean rows now and come back for the rest.

It's worth spot-checking two or three rows you know well. Pick a business with an unusual name, a contact with a hyphenated surname, and one long-time sponsor. If those three look right, the rest almost certainly do.

Step 4: decide when the welcome email goes out

A member import can send welcome emails with sign-in links to the imported contacts. That's on by default, and it is the right choice when your storefront is ready for visitors.

If you are still building events and sponsorships, turn it off. Import the list quietly, finish your setup, and then invite everyone in one pass from the Members list using bulk invites. Invite links stay valid until they're used, so nobody is locked out because they opened the email a week late.

A sensible order for a full move

1. Import members first, with welcome emails off.
2. Build or import your events and sponsorships. Sponsorships can reference first-rights holders, so having members in place first means those links resolve.
3. Check the storefront the way a sponsor would see it.
4. Send invites from the Members list.
5. Announce the storefront with a short email that says what is for sale and where to find it.

If you're moving partway through a sales cycle, Switching Sponsorship Systems Mid-Year Without Losing a Sponsor covers how to handle sponsors who have already committed. For the weeks after import, Your First 30 Days with Chamberly is the checklist to follow.

What an import won't do for you

Matching columns is not the same as cleaning data. If your old system has the same business entered twice under slightly different names, both will still be in the export. The preview is a good moment to notice that, and the move is a good excuse to fix it. A list you trust is worth more than a list that is merely complete.

Want to try it with your own file before committing to anything? Book a demo and bring your export. We'll run it through the preview together so you can see exactly how it lands.