Move your pet-sitting clients from a spreadsheet

A spreadsheet can work well until the same client's phone number is in one tab, their pet's routine is in another, and the next booking is buried in a message. Moving the contact list is a useful first step. You do not have to change every part of your business at once.

The Pet Sitter's client tools are free. Importing contacts creates private client records for your business. It does not create accounts for those people, send invitations or import old bookings and reviews.

Start with a small, clean file

Keep a copy of your original spreadsheet. Make a separate sheet containing only the clients and information you need for your current work. Confirm uncertain contact details with the client instead of copying guesses forward.

Use these column headers exactly as written: name, email, phone, suburb, pets, notes. Only name is required. Put pet names and a short description in pets; this is a text summary, not an owner-managed pet profile. Use notes for useful care or client context, not passwords or unnecessary sensitive information.

Export the sheet as CSV. The upload limit is 1 MB, so split a larger file into smaller batches. Start with a few rows that you can check easily.

Import, then inspect the result

1. Open Clients in your sitter dashboard and choose Import CSV.
2. Upload the .csv file or paste its contents, including the header row, into the form.
3. Choose Import clients and read the imported/skipped counts.
4. Open a few imported records. Check names, phone numbers, pet summaries and email addresses before using them.

Rows without a name are skipped. Duplicate matching uses email where available, with name-and-phone matching when an email is missing; it is not a fuzzy matching service. Different spellings can still need your attention. An invalid email can be left out while the rest of the record imports. Importing again does not update existing records: edit a client's record when a detail changes.

Invite a client when there is a reason

Importing the list sends no email. When you want to connect a client's account, check their email address and choose Invite on their record. They must sign in with the invited address before that record is linked. An invitation is not a booking, and a sent invitation is not proof that the client has joined.

For a linked client, use View & book to open their details and propose dates. The client still needs to confirm the proposal. You can also send your shared booking link and let them request dates themselves. Add a priced service before arranging a booking.

Keep discussing care through the channels that suit you both. Importing contacts does not bring in WhatsApp threads, emails, another platform's booking history or permission to move a relationship governed by that platform's terms.

Move one working relationship at a time

Try the workflow with your next client before reorganising the entire business. Keep the original file until you have checked the records, and use Export CSV from Clients when you need a copy of your current list. Store downloaded files somewhere private.

Next, follow your first week as a sitter. If the work needs an invoice, the payments and invoices guide explains the separate steps. Neither adding a client nor issuing an invoice collects their payment.