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Imports
Imports bring lots of records into ShelterSync at once from a spreadsheet (a CSV file), so you don't have to type them in one at a time. You can import animals, volunteers, or fosters. This page lists your past imports and is where you start a new one.
Who can use this page: administrators (importing creates records in bulk, and importing people creates accounts).
How importing works
You upload a spreadsheet, ShelterSync checks every row and shows you what it found, and nothing is saved until you confirm. So an import is safe to try — if rows have problems, you'll see them before anything changes, and you can fix your file and upload again.
The import wizard, step by step
Click Start a new import to open the wizard:
- Choose what you're importing — animals, volunteers, or fosters.
- Upload your CSV — drag in the file. If you're not sure of the format, download the matching template first (see below).
- Map your columns — match each column in your file to the right ShelterSync field. The wizard auto-matches common names; you fix any it couldn't.
- Preview — ShelterSync validates every row and shows what will be created, along with any warnings (rows that need attention) and errors (rows it can't import).
- Confirm — for people imports you'll first confirm a personal-data acknowledgement. Then confirm to apply.
- Result — see exactly what was created, skipped, or failed.
Templates
Each import type has a template — a spreadsheet with the right column headings — that you can download from the upload step. Starting from the template is the easiest way to get your columns right. There are templates for animals, volunteers, and fosters; the wizard offers the one that matches what you chose to import.
After importing people
Importing volunteers or fosters creates their accounts but does not set a password. When they're ready to sign in, send a password reset. You can do this for many people at once: on the Users page, select the imported people and use the bulk password reset action.
Fields explained
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Status | Where the import is in its lifecycle — validated, applied, or failed. |