Click Import in the sidebar to open the wizard. There are five steps.

You need the Import permission. If you can’t see Import in the sidebar, ask your administrator.

Step 1 — Select file

Click Choose file (or drag and drop) to upload your CSV. Once uploaded, the file name appears. Click Next.

Step 2 — Select entities

Pick the entity type you are importing.

For a single-entity-type import, select the type and click Next.

For a multi-step import (e.g. organisations then contacts), see Run a pipeline import.

Step 3 — Map columns

The wizard shows your CSV columns on the left and ThirdSectorBee fields on the right. It auto-suggests mappings based on your column names.

For each column:

  • Accept the suggestion — if the mapping looks correct, leave it.
  • Change the mapping — click the field dropdown and pick the correct field.
  • Ignore the column — leave the field set to Do not import.

Combine columns

To merge two or more CSV columns into a single field, click Combine columns for that mapping. Select the additional columns to include and set the delimiter (e.g. a space or comma) that will join the values.

Value mapping

To translate the values in a column before they are imported — for example, converting Y/N to true/false — click the value mapping icon (the table icon next to the field). Enter input→output pairs and optionally set a default value for any inputs not listed.

Click Next when all required fields are mapped.

Step 4 — Review and submit

The review step shows a summary of your import: the entity type, total row count, and a preview of the first few mapped rows. Review this to confirm the mapping looks correct before committing.

To save the mapping for next time, click Save mapping and give it a name. See Save and reuse a column mapping.

Click Start import to submit.

Once submitted, the import cannot be cancelled.

Step 5 — Job status

The wizard switches to a live status view: Rows processed, Rows succeeded, Rows failed.

The job also appears in the Import history table on the Import page, where you can return to it later.

For the meaning of each status and how to interpret error reports, see Job statuses and errors.