This article explains how to create individual contacts from the Contacts and Inbox pages, and how to import contacts from a file. Adding contacts makes it easier to not only send messages but also to track replies. In your inbox, messages received by your contacts will appear with the name of the contact as the sender, as opposed to just the mobile number. You can also add contacts to lists, making it easier to send bulk messages.
Important: Compliance and consent are extremely important when adding contacts. The web platform retains the last subscription preference for all contacts, including deleted contacts. This policy is in place to respect the preferences of the contact and to ensure compliance with communication regulations. Should you need to re-subscribe a contact, it must be done manually. Re-importing contacts does not qualify as a 'Resubscribe' action - any contacts in your Unsubscribed list will remain there regardless of if they are included in a new contact list.
Creating Individual Contacts
- In the menu, click on
Contacts, then select All Contacts.
- Click on the Add contact button at the top left of the page:
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Input the required fields in the Add Contact form:
First Name - the first name of the contact.
Last Name - the surname of the contact.
Channels (required) - the contact's mobile number needs to be in the international format, and the country will default to the sending country nominated in the account holder's user profile.
Subscribed & Unsubscribed - new contacts are subscribed by default, selecting Unsubscribed will prevent messages from being sent to this contact.
Email - the email address of the contact.
Lists - select one or more Contact Lists - lists must be created prior to creating the contact.
Alias - used as an alternative name for your contact, as well as for Email to SMS.
Birthday - the contact's date of birth.
Location - this could be the contact's suburb/town, or office/region location - depending on your preference.
State - the state or province associated with the contact.
Country - the country associated with the contact.
Note - any additional notes or information associated with the contact.
Note: All contact records include the above default Contact Fields, however you can add as many additional custom Contact Fields as you like.
- Click the Save button at the top right and your contact will now appear in your All Contacts list, as well as in any Contact Lists you added them to.
Creating a Contact from the Inbox
If you in the Inbox and would like to send a message to a new recipient, you can do this without navigating to the Contacts page.
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Click on the Start New Conversation button:
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Enter the new contacts numbers into the box:
- Complete the fields in the Contact panel, as described in step 3 of Creating Individual Contacts.
Importing Contacts in Bulk
Preparing Contact Data
Before you import any contacts into the web platform, you'll need to prepare your contact data first:
- Ensure your contact list is a .csv, .xls or .xlsx file - the optimal file format is CSV UTF-8, Comma delimited.
- If you don't add the international prefix to your contact numbers, the platform will assume you're importing numbers local to your pre-set location in your account settings, and will validate accordingly.
- If you want to import phone numbers from a country different from that of your account, please include the corresponding international prefix.
- With local numbers, you don't need to add the leading zero to the number to successfully import - for example, if your spreadsheet cells are formatted as "numbers" then a phone number may appear as "412345678" as opposed to "0412345678", both formats will be accepted for import.
- You can include additional data to your contact list which can then be mapped to the custom fields of each contact profile.
Importing Contact Data
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In the menu, click on
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Click on the Import button at the top left of the page:
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You'll then be presented with two options, one to Import Contacts from a file and one to Sync contacts which is only applicable if your account is linked to an integration such as Hubspot or Shopify. This article focuses on Importing contacts from a file, however there are separate articles explaining how to Sync contacts for each integration that has this functionality.
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To upload your data file to the web platform, either click the Choose file button or Drag & Drop your file straight into the upload window:
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Match the columns from your file to the appropriate contact fields. You can expand each row to preview sample data and ensure accurate mapping:
- If your contact database includes additional information (e.g. in the example we have fields such as Appt_Time, Clinic, Country), then these can be mapped to the Custom Fields in the contact profile.
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If the field you need isn’t available, click + Add custom field to create a new one before proceeding with the import:
- A sidebar will open - from here enter the field name, type, and character limit, then click Add to save. Your new field will now be available in the dropdown list.
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Finalize your import preparations:
a. You can select pre-existing lists to which you would like all contacts imported in the bottom field under Add imported contacts to lists (optional).
b. Choose whether to add/update contacts or unsubscribe them entirely — useful if you're importing a suppression list from another system.
c. Tick the checkbox to confirm you have obtained proper consent and that your imported contacts comply with the Terms and Conditions, then click Import to start the upload.
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Once the import is complete, the web platform will display a summary of the results, including downloadable files to review which contacts were successfully imported and which failed. You can also review past imports from the History page.