You can easily import client records from another program into Spectra or myStratus Desktop. The types of files the software recognizes are comma delimited text files (.txt or .csv) and Excel® spreadsheet files (.xls). To import client records, watch the video and/or follow the steps below.

ATTENTION! Is one of your columns actually a checkbox in Spectra (i.e. the SMS checkbox for phone numbers)? In the spreadsheet, make sure that you enter True to have the box checked, and False to leave the box unchecked.

HERE'S A FLASH FOR YOU! You may find that you've received a list of clients or prospects that has bad information, duplicate entries, or mislabeled columns. It may be easier to try to correct this in the list before you import it. Remember, your software is a database, what you put in is what you get out!

1. From the Utilities menu, choose Import Clients.

2. The Client Import Wizard will launch.

3. If you will be importing from a new data source, choose the type of file you'll be importing from the following options:

   • Comma-Delimited Text File (.txt, .csv)

   • Excel spreadsheet (.xls)
     
     

4. To use an existing import template, select Import Using Existing Client Import Template and then select the template from the drop-down list.  New to 2023:  You can now delete Import Templates from the menu Utilities >Import Clients > Delete Import Template.  

5.  Browse to locate the file and click Open.

6. Find each appropriate Spectra/myStratus field in the right pane and drag and drop each one onto the corresponding column in the left pane.

7. When you're done assigning each field, click Next.

8. The software can check for duplicates during the client import. Note: The criteria used to evaluate whether a record is a duplicate are determined by the settings on the Clients page in Company (Studio) Preferences. Each time you import clients you can choose from the following options:

   • Do not check for duplicates

   • Do not import possible duplicates

   • Import possible duplicates but add to a client group

9. Click Next.
   
   

10. Check Update Existing Records to update any clients that may already exist in your database. Choose a matching method from the drop-down list.
    
    
    

    ATTENTION! Keep in mind that if you choose to update existing clients with new information, there is no way to undo it! Double-check to make sure you are importing the correct information and that you have chosen the correct settings.

11. Check Automatically Assign Client Number if you're not importing a pre-assigned client number for each client.

12. Click Assign New Clients to Group if you want these NEW clients to be placed in a new or existing client group. Because this option is strongly recommended, you'll see this choice already selected, along with a suggested group name, such as "Client Import dd/mm/yy." Note: You cannot add existing clients to a group. This option will not work if you are using to option to Update Existing Records.

13. Click Assign Organization to Imported Clients and select the organization (such as the high school) and enter the Grad Year.  Use this option if all the clients are from the same high school.

14. Click Assign Lead Source to Imported Clients if all the clients have the same lead source.

15. Click Assign Client Status to Imported Clients and set the Status Due Date if you want all these clients to be at a particular status.

HERE'S A FLASH FOR YOU! We recommend placing your new clients in a new group called something like "Import Sept 1." That way, if something goes wrong during the import (i.e., you forgot to import a field), you can delete the group of clients you just imported using the Delete a Group of Clients tool and then re-import them. See also: Deleting a Group of Clients

HERE'S A FLASH FOR YOU! If you have a list of clients or prospects in a text file or Excel spreadsheet that you want to import into different groups, you can create separate files for each group and import them separately. This makes assigning the group, high school, or lead source much easier.