Importing Clients & Pets from a Spreadsheet

Before you start: get your spreadsheet ready

Woofle imports straight from a spreadsheet — Excel (.xlsx or .xls) or a CSV file. If your old system or diary can export to one of those, you're good to go. You don't need to reshape the file to match Woofle exactly; you'll match the columns up on screen. That said, two small things make the whole thing smoother:

• Put column headings in the first row — things like "First Name", "Mobile", "Pet Name". Woofle reads that top row to work out what each column is.
• One thing per column. A name split into first and last is easier to handle than "Sarah Jones" crammed into one cell.

If your headings happen to match Woofle's field names, it'll pair them up for you automatically — but it's no trouble if they don't, because matching is a quick dropdown on the next screen.

The golden rule: clients first

There are three things you can import — Clients, Pets and Appointments — and the order matters. Do them in this order:

1. Clients

   Names, phone numbers, email, address and the like — the people you groom for.

2. Pets

   The dogs: name, breed, date of birth, colour, behaviour and any notes or alerts.

3. Appointments

   Past or upcoming bookings, if you want that history brought across too.

Walking through an import, step by step

Open Import from the menu and you'll land on the Import Data page. It guides you through five stages, shown along the top as you go, and you can step back to an earlier one at any point.

1. Choose what you're importing

   Pick Clients, Pets or Appointments. This tells Woofle which set of fields to expect.

2. Pick the fields you care about

   Woofle shows the full list of fields it can import for that type, with a short description of each and which ones are required. Untick any you don't have or don't need — if you've no vet details, say, just leave those out. Fewer fields means fewer columns to think about. The required ones stay ticked.

3. Upload your file

   Drop in your Excel or CSV file. Woofle reads it and shows you a quick preview — how many rows it found and the first few lines — so you can confirm it's the right file before going on.

4. Match your columns to Woofle's fields

   This is the heart of it, and it's gentler than it sounds. Your spreadsheet appears as a table. Above each column is a dropdown where you say what that column is — "this one's the Mobile, this one's the Pet Name". A panel keeps track of which required fields still need a column. Anything Woofle could guess from your headings is already matched for you; you're just confirming and filling the gaps.

5. Check for errors, then commit

   When the required columns are matched, a Check for Errors button appears. Press it and Woofle looks over every row, flagging anything that won't import cleanly. Sort those out (you can edit cell values right there in the table), check again, and once it's clean you'll see how many records are ready. Press the final button and they're created.

What the error check looks for

This is the reassuring part — Woofle does the fussy checking so you don't have to read every row yourself. When you press Check for Errors, it looks for the things that would cause trouble:

• Missing required details — a client with no first name, a pet with no name, and so on.
• Duplicates within your file — the same client mobile, or the same pet name for the same owner, appearing twice.
• Records that already exist — a client whose mobile number is already in Woofle, so you don't accidentally create them again.
• Pets with no matching owner — if a pet's owner mobile doesn't match any client you've imported, Woofle tells you, which is exactly why clients go in first.
• Things that look off — an email that isn't an email, a date it can't read. Each problem is highlighted on the cell, so you can see precisely where to look.

Errors must be fixed before you can finish — that's deliberate, so nothing broken slips in. Warnings are gentler: they flag something worth a glance but won't stop you. For example, if a pet's breed isn't one Woofle already knows, it simply notes that the breed will be created for you on import — nothing to fix, just a heads-up.

A few handy details

• You can edit as you go. Spotted a typo in the table? Click the cell and correct it. You don't have to fix the original spreadsheet and start over.
• New breeds are created automatically. Import a "Cockapoo" Woofle hasn't seen and it'll be added to your breed list — no need to set them all up first.
• Common wording is understood. "Male"/"Female", "Yes"/"No" for neutered and vaccinated, and behaviour words like "Nervous" or "Calm" all map across — you don't have to phrase them exactly.
• Empty cells are fine. No email for a client, no date of birth for a pet? Just leave it blank — only the required fields need filling.

When it's done

Once you press the final button, Woofle creates the records and tells you how many went in. That part can't be undone, which is why the check-and-confirm step matters — but by then you've already seen exactly what's coming. Then it's straight on to the next file: clients done, move on to pets, then appointments if you want the history.

Take it one file at a time and the move across is far less daunting than it first looks. Once your clients and their dogs are in, you're ready to start booking, messaging and grooming — have a browse of the guides index for what to set up next.