Sometimes coaches request to bulk onboard new clients into CoachAccountable. This can happen with a new account (when a company switches all its coachees over to CoachAccountable), or when a new program starts (suddenly 45 people in the cohort need to be added by Wednesday, help!).

Adding a client the usual way is pretty quick, but going one by one can get tedious when you’ve got more than a handful.  However, if you’re handy with a spreadsheet you can get all of their information in line and import it all with just a few clicks.

How to Bulk Import Clients

1) Bring up the client adder as usual by clicking the +Client button.   In the lower right, click on the “Bulk Import…” button.

2) In the “Bulk Import Clients” pop up you’ll see a button that says “Download Template”.  You’ll probably need to grab that as a starting point so that your client data is in the correct format.  (The template also serves as a guide to the various information you can include for clients as part of the import.)

3) In the template, add rows and enter in client information to your heart’s desire.  Commonly you will already have some sort of spreadsheet of client data that you are working from.  Filling in the template will commonly be a matter of copy-and-pasting over various key columns.

Note: the only required fields are firstName and email.

4) When you’re done save out the file.  Be certain you save it as a .csv file, .xlsx or .numbers files WILL NOT WORK.

5) Choose your .csv file as the one you want to import.

5) Observe the status of your data that’s loaded for import.  If everything looks good, dance victoriously.

More Than the Basics

Using this method, you can do more than simply add the clients into your coaching management system. You can also:

• Add profile information, such as a note about that client (this’ll show in the “profile extra” area, and is not visible to the client)
• Add clients to a Group (or two, or three, add Group columns as needed)
• Put them in a Course (or three, or more, like groups, add as many Course columns as needed) and optionally set a future start date
• For Team Edition, designate who the primary coach, secondary coach(es), and view-only coach(es) are

Errors

The system is smart enough to know when something’s messed up. For instance, it’ll throw an error if the email address is invalid.

No, you can’t write “don’t know” for someone’s email address.

Also, if you add a client who’s already in your account, CoachAccountable will notice and let you know that person won’t be added (this helps avoid paying for clients twice, too).

It’s nicer than “hey dummy – you’re already coaching this person”

Use Cases

As previously mentioned, you may want to use this function if:

• You’re new to CoachAccountable and want to add your entire roster at once.
• You want to transfer a bunch of clients from your CRM (InfusionSoft, Insightly, Hubspot, etc.) along with their relevant details.
• A new coach joins your organization and brings his/her clients.
• And more!

Were you dreading the thought of inputting all your clients? Did that keep you from signing up for CoachAccountable? Fret no more and take advantage of our 30-day free trial.