> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.spott.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Bring your data in
> Get your candidates, clients, and jobs into Spott, yourself or with our team running the migration.
In this section you learn which route suits the data you are holding, then how to bring in
your candidates, your clients, and your jobs, what only a managed migration can move, and
how to check that everything landed.
1. [Choose how your data gets in](#1-choose-how-your-data-gets-in)
2. [Bring in your candidates](#2-bring-in-your-candidates)
3. [Bring in your clients](#3-bring-in-your-clients)
4. [Bring in your jobs](#4-bring-in-your-jobs)
5. [Bring in the rest](#5-bring-in-the-rest)
6. [Check what landed](#6-check-what-landed)
To start an import, open **Settings** and select **Import**.
## 1. Choose how your data gets in
There are two routes, and most firms use both.
**Do it yourself** when your data is a spreadsheet or a folder of CVs. Everything in
sections 2 to 4 is self-serve, and you can run it today.
**Let our team run it** when you are moving a full ATS across, with jobs, applications,
notes, placements, and history attached to each record. Your data is first migrated into a
separate **validation environment**, where you review it together with our team to confirm
everything came across correctly. Only once you are happy with the result do we complete
the migration to production.
That validation step matters: it means you check and sign off on the imported data
before your team starts working in it.
| What you are moving | Route |
| ---------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| A spreadsheet of candidates or contacts | CSV or Excel import, section 2 |
| A folder of CVs | Bulk CV upload, section 2 |
| Client companies and their contacts | CSV import or the extension, section 3 |
| Live vacancies | Manually or by URL, section 4 |
| Applications, notes, placements, history | Managed migration, section 5 |
How a managed migration works, and how to prepare your export.
## 2. Bring in your candidates
You have five self-serve routes into the candidate database. Pick whichever matches the
shape of the data you are holding.
### 2.1 Import a CSV or Excel file
The import wizard bulk adds records to Spott, for example when migrating from another
system or uploading a sourcing list. Each row becomes one record. You can import **up to
1,000 records** per import, from **CSV or Excel (.xlsx)** files.
When you upload a file, you choose what the rows represent:
| Option | What it does |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Candidates** | Imports names, emails, work history, education, and more as candidate records. |
| **Contacts** | Imports client contacts, their roles, and their companies. |
| **Any** | Spott detects automatically whether each row is a candidate, a contact, or a company. |
The wizard then guides you through mapping your columns onto Spott fields, and runs the
import. Under **Actions** you can also **Add to list** or **Add to job**, which applies to
every record in the import.
**What a CSV import cannot do**
* **Custom fields cannot be mapped.** The dropdown offers standard fields only, so the
[custom attributes](/docs/settings/customizing-candidate-profiles) your workspace has
configured are not filled by an import. Set those on the records afterwards.
* **Records are created, not updated.** An import that matches an existing profile adds
it to the job or list without overwriting its data.
* **Importing into a job cannot set application status or add comments.** The people are
added as applications; set the stage and comments in the pipeline after the import.
A LinkedIn URL column imports the link to the person's profile, not the profile itself.
To pull in the profile content, use the browser extension.
Column by column: what each field expects, and how matching works.
### 2.2 Upload CVs in batches of 1,000
If your data lives as CV files rather than a spreadsheet, upload them and let Spott parse
each one into a candidate record.
You can upload **up to 1,000 CVs at once**. Above 20 CVs there is no preview step, so the
records are created directly. Duplicate records are flagged in red and you decide whether
to create them anyway or skip them.
The attachment does not have to be a PDF. Word documents (.docx) are parsed too.
### 2.3 Forward CVs by email
Forward a CV to **[cv@spott.io](mailto:cv@spott.io)** and Spott parses it into a candidate record, with the CV
attached to the profile.
Forward from your work email, the address you use to sign in to Spott. That address is
how Spott knows which workspace the candidate belongs to. Forwarding from a personal
address will not create the record.
### 2.4 Import from LinkedIn with the extension
Use the browser extension to import candidates from LinkedIn, Sales Navigator, or
Recruiter, one profile at a time or from a search result list. This is the route that
brings the profile content across, not just the link.
### 2.5 Push candidates in from other tools
Connected sourcing tools such as Juicebox push candidates straight into Spott, and the API
inserts them programmatically.
Every route into the database, including maildrop and the extension.
Install, connect, and import from LinkedIn.
Push candidates in from connected tools.
Refresh a record from a new CV, a self-service link, or LinkedIn.
## 3. Bring in your clients
Companies and contacts use the same wizard as candidates, with one useful shortcut.
### 3.1 Import your contacts, and get companies for free
Run the import wizard and pick **Contacts**, or **Any** if your file mixes people and
organisations. Companies need no file of their own: whenever a row has a company on it,
Spott matches it to an existing company or creates a new company record, and links the
person to it.
This is the fastest way to stand up a client base. One clean contact file gives you
contacts, their companies, and the links between them in a single import.
### 3.2 Add clients from LinkedIn or by hand
Use the extension to create a company or contact straight from a LinkedIn page, or add
either manually from the **Companies** and **Contacts** views when you only have a
handful.
From the Companies view, a company preview, LinkedIn, or an import.
Add a contact, link them to a company, and find your way around the profile.
Link parent companies, subsidiaries, and divisions after the import.
Import straight into a list to keep a batch together.
## 4. Bring in your jobs
Jobs work differently from people: **there is no CSV route for jobs.** You have three ways
in.
* **Import from URL.** In the **Add New Job** dialog, paste a public job-posting link and
Spott fills the job fields from the posting. Review or edit before saving.
* **The browser extension.** Import the posting from the vacancy page you are looking at.
* **Manually.** Click **Add Job** and enter the title, company, and status, plus any
details you have.
A larger back catalogue of jobs, with their applications and history attached, comes
across through the managed migration rather than by hand.
Create a job manually, from a URL, or by import, and link it to a client.
## 5. Bring in the rest
Some things cannot be self-imported, and it is worth knowing that before you plan your
first week:
* **Applications**, the link between a candidate and a job, with its stage and history
* **Notes and files** attached to existing records
* **Placements** and historical revenue
* **Activity history** from your old system: emails, calls, and meetings
All of these come across through the managed migration, into the validation environment,
where you sign them off before go-live.
What our team moves, the validation step, and how to prepare your export.
## 6. Check what landed
Before your team starts working in the data, spot-check it.
* **Duplicates.** Spott deduplicates on email address, phone number, and LinkedIn URL, so
re-adding someone enriches the existing profile rather than creating a copy. Anything
that slipped through can be merged.
* **Custom fields.** Open a record you know had custom data in the source file and confirm
what is empty, since custom fields do not come through a CSV import.
* **Company links.** Check that imported contacts are attached to the right company, and
merge any near-duplicate companies the import created.
* **Job and list membership.** If you imported into a job, set the application stages in
the pipeline.
How Spott spots duplicates and how to merge them.
Consolidate duplicate companies and jobs into one record.
Fill in the email addresses and phone numbers your file was missing.
Check what landed by searching and filtering the imported set.
## Now your turn
* [ ] Import **one test CSV** of five rows, and check what mapped
* [ ] Bulk-upload **five CVs** and review the records they created
* [ ] Forward **one CV** to [cv@spott.io](mailto:cv@spott.io) from your work address
* [ ] Import **one contact file** and confirm the companies were created and linked
* [ ] Add **one job** by pasting a public posting URL
* [ ] Open one imported record and note which **custom fields** are still empty
Seats, credits, and topping up.