> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://clubdock.co.uk/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Importing families from a spreadsheet > Bring your existing families and children across from one spreadsheet, checked before anything is saved. If you are moving to ClubDock, you can bring your existing families across from one spreadsheet. A registration form export or your own sheet will do. ClubDock suggests what each column is, you check that, then you check the families, and one save brings them all across or none. **Nobody is emailed until you choose.** > [!NOTE] > > Only a **Manager** can import families. ## Before you start Your file needs to be: * A **.csv** or **.xlsx** file. Save a PDF, an older .xls or an .ods file as .xlsx or .csv first. * Up to 5 MB and 2,000 rows. * **One row per child**, with the parents on the same row. * With column names in the first row. ## Bring the families across **1. Choose the file** Go to **Parents** and press **Import families**, then choose your file. If the workbook has several sheets, pick the right one from **Sheet**. **2. Check the columns** **Check the columns** lists every column, a few examples from it, and what it brings across as — "Parent 1 / Email address", "Child / Allergies", or "Not brought across". ClubDock's AI suggests these from the column names and examples. Change any that are wrong. **3. Show the families** Press **Show the families**. Each family appears as its parents, then its children, in a grid you can type into. Brothers and sisters are put in one family because they share a parent. **4. Fix anything flagged** Anything that needs fixing is flagged on the box itself, and the grid opens on **To fix before saving**. Type the right value, or untick that child to leave them out. **5. Save** Press **Save**. You are asked first — "Bring across 8 children?" — with how many families and new parents, and how many are already in ClubDock. Confirm to save. ![Check the columns, with the "brings across as" choices highlighted](https://mintcdn.com/club-dock/i5cYbq0jP2hBThbX/families/import-columns.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=i5cYbq0jP2hBThbX\&q=85\&s=b286b87db9aaea293e46dcbda1f84437) If the AI cannot make suggestions just then, every column starts as **Not brought across** and you choose each one yourself. ## What is brought across, and how * **Allergy detail columns** ("Please detail allergies") are brought across only when the yes/no column beside them says Yes. * **Several additional needs columns** (disability, learning condition, EHCP) are combined into Additional needs. * **Columns of people who may collect** become separate contacts. Parents listed again among them are not added twice. * **Phone numbers** that lost their first 0 in a spreadsheet are put right: 7700900001 becomes 07700 900001. Anything that is not a phone number is left out and flagged. * **A school not on your list** is kept as typed and flagged. It never joins your list. * **No school year?** It is worked out from the date of birth, with a 1 September cut-off. * **A parent with only a first name** is given the child's surname, flagged for checking. * **A column you ask about in your own questions** can bring across as that question. Add the question first if you want a column kept. > [!WARNING] > > Consents, signatures and your old terms are **never** brought across — parents give those themselves in ClubDock. A box ticked "Yes" to photos or sun cream in your old form is not the parent's consent. ## What stops a save * A date of birth that is not a date, such as 31/02/2018. Enter it as day/month/year. * A family with no parent who has both a name and an email address. The email is how they sign in. * The same email address in two families. Save cannot be pressed while anything is flagged, and the reason is shown beside it. If something changes while you are saving, **nothing is saved** and you are told what to fix. A family never arrives half-made. ## Families already in ClubDock * A parent whose email you already have is marked **Already in ClubDock**. Their children are added to that parent, and nothing on their record changes. * A child already at the club with that parent, with the same name and date of birth, is left out. Importing the same file twice brings nothing across the second time. ## Telling the families After saving, the **Parents** list shows how many imported parents have not been told about ClubDock yet, with **Email these families**. Each parent gets one email saying you now take bookings on ClubDock, to sign in with this address, and that nothing has been booked or charged. Nobody is emailed twice, and a parent who has already signed in is never emailed. ## What parents do next When an imported parent signs in with the email you had for them, they are that record and have nothing to re-type. Before booking, they: 1. Check their own details, under "Check what Harbourside Clubs has for you". 2. Check each child's details, especially allergies, medical notes and who may collect. 3. Answer your consent questions and accept your terms. Editing an imported child yourself does not count as the parent's check. Use the **Details not checked yet** filter on the [Children list](https://clubdock.co.uk/docs/families/children.md) to see who still has to. ## Related topics - [FAQs](https://clubdock.co.uk/docs/help/faqs.md) - [The Parents list](https://clubdock.co.uk/docs/families/parents.md) - [Booking emails](https://clubdock.co.uk/docs/programmes/booking-emails.md) - [The Children list](https://clubdock.co.uk/docs/families/children.md) - [Troubleshooting](https://clubdock.co.uk/docs/help/troubleshooting.md) This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.