Imports in LianaAutomation

Import process overview

Starting an import opens a three-step wizard:

1. Upload file — Select a CSV or Excel file from your computer. The file is validated and uploaded immediately.
2. Channel and mapping — Choose which channel to import into and review how your file's columns map to LianaAutomation properties. Exclude any columns you don't need.
3. Review and import — Check a summary of mapped fields and a preview of up to 10 sample rows, then start the import.

The Imports page

Go to Settings → Imports to see your import history and start a new import.

Each completed import shows the date and time it ran, the number of rows in the file, and the source filename. To start a new import, click + Add new import.

When no imports have been run yet, the page shows an empty state with an + Add new import button.

Preparing your import file

File format

Accepted file types: .csv, .xls, .xlsx Maximum file size: 20 MB

For CSV files:

• Values should be wrapped in quotes (")
• Delimiter can be ; or ,
• The file must end with a newline
• Encoding: UTF-8 recommended

Column header format

The first row of your file must contain column headers. Each header must follow the verb-property format, where the verb is the event type and the property is the field name. For example:

Dates and times must be in ISO 8601 format, for example: 2016-01-04T16:51:00+0400

Identifier columns

At least one identifier column is required so LianaAutomation can match or create the contact. Use one of the following header names exactly — no variations are accepted:

Note: When you use the contact- prefix (e.g. contact-email), the value is used as an identifier and stored as a property on the contact event. Without the prefix (e.g. email), it is only used as an identifier and not stored as a property.

Example file structure

A well-formed import file with contact and order data looks like this:

"contact-email","contact-sms","contact-firstname","contact-lastname","contact-nationality","order-product","order-category","order-date"
"user1@example.com","+358400000001","Alex","Smith","FI","Pro Plan","SaaS Subscriptions","2026-06-08T01:00:00+0200"
"user2@example.com","+358400000002","Sam","Jones","FI","Business Plan","SaaS Subscriptions","2026-06-08T01:00:00+0200"

How to import a file

Step 1 — Upload file

Click + Add new import on the Imports page. The wizard opens on the upload step.

Click Browse file... and select your CSV or Excel file. The file is uploaded to the server immediately. Click Continue to proceed.

If the file is too large or in an unsupported format, an error is shown and you can select a different file.

Note: If you leave the wizard or close the page before completing the import, all progress is lost and you will need to start again from Step 1.

Step 2 — Channel and mapping

Select the channel you want to import data into and review how the columns from your file have been mapped to LianaAutomation properties.

Selecting a channel

Choose a channel from the Select a channel for import dropdown. Only channels with importing enabled are shown — internal system channels are not listed.

Reviewing the mapping table

The table lists every column header from your file alongside the property it will be imported as. LianaAutomation automatically matches headers to existing properties where possible.

Each row shows:

• The column header from your file and a preview of sample values
• The property it maps to in LianaAutomation
• A tag indicating whether the field is an Identifier or New (a property that does not yet exist and will be created on import)

You can uncheck any column to exclude it from the import.

Handling column errors

If a column header does not follow the required verb-property format, it is highlighted in the mapping table and cannot be mapped. A tooltip explains the issue.

For columns with errors you can either:

• Uncheck the column to exclude it from the import and continue, or
• Click Go back to return to Step 1 and upload a corrected file

When you are happy with the mapping, click Continue.

Step 3 — Review and import

Before the import runs, you see a summary and a preview of your data.

The summary shows:

• Selected channel — where the data will be imported
• Mapped fields — number of columns that will be imported
• Excluded fields — number of columns that will be skipped
• Rows to import — total number of data rows in the file

The preview table shows up to 10 sample rows from your file. Scroll horizontally if your dataset has many columns.

When everything looks correct, click Start import → to run the import. The file is removed from the server once the import is complete.

How contacts are matched during import

LianaAutomation identifies contacts using the identifier columns in your file:

1. Email address
2. Phone number (SMS)
3. External identifier (extra1)

When an imported row matches a single existing contact, the contact's data is updated with the new values. Fields not present in the import file are left unchanged. Importing via the UI also allows updating a contact's identifier fields (email and phone number), meaning those identity fields can be overwritten by the import.

When an imported row's identifiers match two (or more) separate contacts (e.g., the email matches one contact and the SMS matches another), the row results in a conflict error. The import row is skipped, no data is changed, and the conflict is logged in the Errors section under Settings → Errors. No merge takes place.

Read more: How contacts are combined during import

When the same event data is imported more than once for the same contact, it is treated as a duplicate. The duplicate counter is incremented and the event timestamp is updated to the latest import date.

Troubleshooting