If you already have a list of guests from another system, you can upload it to Owner and start marketing to them right away. You import from the Customers page in your Owner Dashboard, or from the Launch page while you're setting up.
Before you start
Only import guests who agreed to hear from you, and make sure your file records what each guest agreed to. Read Set your guests' marketing preferences first before you upload, because preferences can't be fixed after your first import.
Already running a loyalty program? Point balances aren't part of this import, and a points column in your file won't bring them across. Talk to Owner support about moving existing balances before you import.
Get your guest list from your old system
If you took online orders or used a point-of-sale system before Owner, your guest data is probably still in that system. Importing it lets you market to guests you already have, instead of starting with zero subscribers.
Every platform exports different fields. Your file also depends on which marketing opt-ins your guests completed on that platform. Check your old platform's help documentation for a customer, guest, or contact export that creates a CSV file.
ℹ️ Note: Can't find your export, or not sure what it contains? Owner support has step-by-step instructions for common platforms and can tell you what to expect. Contact Owner support before you import.
Prepare your file
Owner cleans and formats your file for you, so you don't need to reformat it. Check that it meets these requirements:
File format: CSV.
File size: there's no row limit. The importer has been tested with up to 140,000 rows.
Columns: your file needs separate columns for:
First Name
Last Name
Email
Phone Number
Email Subscription (TRUE or FALSE)
Phone Subscription (TRUE or FALSE)
Names: first and last name are optional and can be left blank, but keep them in separate columns. A combined name column can import duplicated names.
Contact details: each guest needs a real, valid email or phone number, with no placeholders. Including both is best, but only one is required.
Set your guests' marketing preferences first
Include your guests' marketing preferences in your very first import. This is the one thing you cannot fix later.
Mark each guest opted in or opted out for both Email Marketing and SMS Marketing.
A guest is only opted in when your file marks that channel as true, yes, on, or 1, and they have a usable email or phone number for it.
⚠️ Guests imported without subscription data are opted out of both email and SMS. Re-importing later will not fix this, because guests who already exist are not updated.
If this has already happened, contact Owner support. We can reverse the import so you can upload the correct file.
Text marketing needs consent you already hold
Text marketing is off by default for imported guests, because SMS rules require express written consent from each guest. If you already have that consent, set the Phone Subscription column to TRUE and those guests keep it.
⚠️ This only works on your very first import. If you miss it, you cannot enroll those guests in text marketing by importing them again. You will need to contact Owner support and show proof of express written consent.
What you confirm when you import
Before the import runs, you'll confirm that:
Every contact agreed to receive marketing from your business.
You didn't buy, rent, append, or get the list from a third party.
The list belongs to the brand you're importing it into. Do not cross-import a guest list between brands or concepts, even if you own both. Guests who opted in to one concept have not agreed to hear from another.
Import your guest list
You can run one import per location at the same time.
Upload your file
In your Owner Dashboard, go to Customers. During onboarding, go to the Launch page instead.
Click Import.
Choose the location to import into.
Select your CSV file. Owner cleans the data and shows a preview, including each contact's marketing preferences.
Review and import
Review the preview.
Agree to the consent confirmation.
Click Import. The import runs in the background, so you can keep working, close the tab, or switch devices.
When it finishes, the results show how many rows imported and any warnings. To stop an import while it's running, click Cancel. Rows that already imported are not undone.
Why some rows don't import
A row can fail or be left out if:
It's a duplicate.
It's missing both email and phone.
It has invalid characters or an invalid phone number.
An invalid email on its own is dropped, but the row still imports if the phone number is valid.