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Importing Contacts & Users into Crisisworks

Owned by Jennifer Joseph
Last updated: Oct 06, 2021
9 min read

 

 

Overview

Importing proper contact data into Crisisworks will mean you can link them to records like requests and information, and enable you to access the contact from the Crisisworks App and call them with a single press from within the app. This will save time and improve accuracy during emergencies.

In addition from Crisisworks 4.39 and later, User management has been unified with Contact management meaning the contact import is also used to manage users.

Please read the general Importing Data into Crisisworks instructions before proceeding with Importing Contacts.

Importing contacts

You can import new contacts and update contacts in bulk via the Administration menu → Import Data

Select Contacts as the import type, then on the next screen choose Contacts Import as the import option.

 

 

On the import screen, there are a few options you can choose.

Import Options

Event Id

For any new contact records you wish to insert into Crisisworks, you will need to either choose an Event from the drop down list or specify the Event ID in your spreadsheet for the record. If an Event ID is specified in your spreadsheet for a new item, it will override the Event selected on the Import Form.

Optional Tag

You can specify an optional tag to add to each record so you can easily identify all imported records.

Matching Id

There are three Matching ID options available to use when importing contacts, Crisisworks ID, Sign In Email and External ID fields.

Crisisworks ID

If you have exported your contacts using Crisisworks, you can edit these contact in bulk using Excel, then save as a csv file and then import/update them in Crisisworks using the matching rule Match or Insert on Crisisworks ID Field.

External ID

This powerful feature allows you to update your contact data from another data source, such as a payroll or CRM system, as often as you like, however you need to have already set the External ID for existing contacts, or if you are importing new contact ensure that the External ID is set in the import file using the reference id from the external payroll or CRM system. To import and match on the contact External ID field, choose the Match or Insert on External ID field matching id option.

Sign In Email

The Sign In Email address set for contacts that are also users can also be used to match on when importing/updating contacts.

Overwrite Rule

The Overwrite Rule works in conjunction with the selected Matching ID option.

When the Insert & Update option is selected, any contact that matches the selected Matching ID will be updated, otherwise new contact records will be created. 

When the Update Only is selected, any contact that matches the selected Matching ID will be updated, otherwise the import data is skipped.

When the Insert Only is selected, all imported contact are created as new items.

The system will not allow the addition of new contact users that share the same Sign In Email or External ID/External Source as existing active contact users.

 

Import File

The import file must be in CSV file format. The fields contained in the file will depend on the type of contact data being imported.

To import changes to existing contacts, it may be easier to export them to a report first by selecting the appropriate contacts in the Contacts data grid and clicking Export to Report.  Once the report has been run, you can then click the "To CSV" button. This will generate a CSV file that is compatible with the import system. Make any necessary changes to the records in the CSV file, save it and choose this file to import.

Alternatively, you can download one of the sample Contacts CSV files below and base your import on this file.

Please note: imports cannot be undone once they are imported.  However you can run the import in Test Only mode to check for any errors prior to applying the changes.

 

General Contact Import

There are only a minimum number of fields required if you wish i import a new contact that is not a User or Organisation.

Download an example CSV file for a basic contact import.

 

 

User Contact Import

When importing contact as user where are addition fields that can be used, these include:

  • System User (required)

  • Organisation Name (must be an existing system organisation)

  • Sign In User Email (required)

  • Positions

  • User On Call

  • Subscribed to News & Major Updates

  • Subscribed to System Outages

  • Subscribed Software Updates & System Maintenance

 

 

Organisation Contact Import

 

Available Import Fields

Below is a full list of available fields that can be added to your CSV file. The Field column displays what the headings should be in your CSV file.

Your field heading

Description

Your field heading

Description

Contact ID

The system ID for a contact record. If specified, it will attempt to find a match and if one is found it will update the contact record.

To add new contact records, either do not have this field in your spreadsheet or set it to blank.

Contact Status

Status of the contact. Options are ‘1' (active) and ‘-1’ (inactive). Defaults is '1'(active).

Contact Type

The type of contact record. Valid options, are ‘individual’ or ‘organisation’. Default type is ‘individual’.

System User

If enabled, a system User Account will be created for the Contact allowing them to login to Crisisworks. Allowed options, 1, 0 , 'Yes', 'No'. Default option is 'No'(0).

*First Name

Sets the contact's First Name. This is a required field and cannot be left blank.

Last Name

Sets the contact's Last Name.

Asset

Set the contact’s Main Location using a system asset by matching on the asset's code or address. If using the code ensure you use the property code configured for your site (ie propnum).

Main Location

The contacts main location manual address. Enter an address into this field only if the contact's address is not an asset.

Additional Address Information

For example, unit no, level or building name. Only available when the main location is a system asset.

Event ID

The event id of the event to add the contact to.

Organisation Name

The contact's organisation. This does not relate to Crisisworks' system organisation.

Contact Position

The Job Title for the contact. This does not relate to Crisisworks' access positions.

Primary Phone

A phone number for the contact. Used for communications when set at the preference in the SMS Communication field.

Secondary Phone

A secondary phone number for the contact. Used for communications when set at the preference in the SMS Communication field.

Primary Email

An email address for the contact. Used for communications when set at the preference in the Email Communication field.

Secondary Email

An additional email address for the contact. Used for communications when set at the preference in the Email Communication field.

Contact Notes

Some optional notes for the contact.

Contact Tags

Optional comma separated tags for the contact.

Contact Classifications

Enter the lookup label as a comma separated list. Refer to options available for the Contact Classification look up category.

External Id

An optional External Id used to identify a contact in a separate external system, for example a Payroll No. Can be used for matching contacts when importing contacts into Crisisworks. Your data must be unique based on External ID, External Source, EventId and the Register ID.

External Source

Optional external source data to identify where the import data is coming from. Your data must be unique based on External ID, External Source, EventId and the Register ID.

Sign In User Email

The user's sign in email address. For new contacts that are set as users, this cannot be empty.

Positions

A list of positions for a user, separated by commas.

Please Note - if this field exists in your spreadsheet and it's left blank, any existing user's positions will be removed. If the field does not exist in your spreadsheet, existing positions will remain.

Positions should be set by using the name of existing Crisisworks Positions. See Administration -> Settings -> Positions.

If an organisation is specified in your spreadsheet, it needs to match the position's organisation.

User On Call

Whether the user is on call. Allowed options, 'Yes' or 'No. Defaults is 'No'(0).

Communications Sms

The phone option (eg ‘Primary Phone', 'Secondary Phone' or 'none') to use for email notifications. Default is 'none’.

Communications Email

The email option (eg 'Primary Email', 'Secondary Email' or 'none') to use for email notifications. Default is 'none’.

Receive SMS Alerts

Whether the user wants to receive SMS alerts. Allowed options, 'Yes' or 'No. Defaults to 'Yes'(1) if not specified.

Receive Email Alerts

Whether the user wants to receive email alerts. Allowed options, 'Yes' or 'No. Defaults to 'Yes'(1) if not specified.

Subscribed to News & Major Updates

Whether the user want to receive newsletters. Allowed options, 'Yes' or 'No. Defaults to 'No'(0) if not specified.

Subscribed to System Outages

Whether the user wants to receive an email alert only for planned or unplanned outages. Allowed options, 'Yes' or 'No. Defaults to 'No'(0) if not specified.

Subscribed Software Updates & System Maintenance

Whether the user wants to receive software updates & system maintenance. Allowed options, 'Yes' or 'No. Defaults to 'No'(0) if not specified.

Expertise ID

For contacts that have an existing Expertise items that needs updating. If left blank, and other Expertise fields are included, then a new Expertise item will be create attached to the matching or new contact.

Expertise Status

Status of the expertise record. Defaults to ‘Current’ (4) if not set. Options are ‘Current’ ('4'), ‘Expired’ ('6') and ‘Closed' (’-2').

Expertise Category

The Category of the expertise record.

Refer to ‘Expertise Category’ look up category for available options.

Area of Expertise

The Sub category or area of expertise.

Refer to the 'Expertise Sub Category' look up category for available options.

Area of Expertise (Other)

Set if the Category field is set to "other", otherwise leave blank.

Expertise Level of Proficiency

The expertise Level of Proficiency option.

Refer to the 'Expertise Level of Proficiency' look up category for available options.

Expertise Completed Date

The completed date, if applicable, for the linked Expertise record. Format dd-mm-YYYY (eg 05-05-2022)

Expertise Expiry Date

The expiry date, if applicable, for the linked Expertise record. Format dd-mm-YYYY (eg 05-05-2022)

Expertise Details

Any additional information about the expertise record.