Most businesses arrive at ReploChat with customers spread across a phone's address book, an Excel sheet from the shop and a CSV export from their store. This guide shows how to import WhatsApp contacts from CSV or Excel with the three-step import wizard: upload, match columns, check the result. It then shows how to merge duplicate contacts, where the same customer was saved twice as 0300… and +92 300….
Import and merge are part of Contacts & CRM on every plan. How many contacts you can store depends on your plan; the import page shows how many you've used ("Plan: 240/1000 contacts used"). See pricing.
Prepare your file
- Format: a
.csvor Excel.xlsxfile, up to 5 MB. - Required: one column with the phone number.
- Optional: a name column, a labels column (several labels separated by commas, e.g.
VIP, Lahore), and a column for each of your custom fields, such as city, birthday or last order. - Numbers: the full international format (
923001234567or+92 300 1234567) is safest. Local numbers like0300 1234567work too: the wizard adds the country code you choose. - Custom fields first: to import a column such as "Birthday", create the field under Contacts → Fields before you import, so it shows up when you match columns.
Sample file
| Phone | Name | Labels | City | Birthday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03001234567 | Ayesha Khan | VIP, Repeat buyer | Lahore | 12/03/1994 |
| +971501234567 | Omar Siddiqui | Wholesale | Dubai | 1988-07-25 |
| 0321 7654321 | Sana | Karachi |
Import contacts from CSV or Excel
1. Upload
- Open Contacts, then the Import tab.
- Choose the WhatsApp number the contacts belong to. Contacts are saved per number, so import twice if the same list is for two numbers.
- Pick the file under File (.csv or .xlsx, up to 5 MB).
- Leave The first row has column titles ticked if your first row is headings, then click Continue.
2. Match columns
- You'll see the file name, the number of rows and a preview. Above each column, choose what it is: Phone number, Name, Labels, one of your custom fields, or Don't import. The wizard guesses from your headings; check its guesses.
- Exactly one column must be the phone number, and each detail can come from only one column.
- Under If the contact already exists, choose Skip it, or Update it (name, fields, labels) to refresh existing contacts from the file.
- Check Country code for numbers without one (92 for Pakistan by default), so
0300 1234567becomes+92 300 1234567. - Click Import N rows.
3. Result
The result screen shows four counts:
| Count | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Added | New contacts created |
| Updated | Existing contacts refreshed (only with "Update it") |
| Skipped | "Already a contact", "Same number as row 12" (a repeat inside the file) or "Plan contact limit reached" |
| Invalid | "No phone number" or "Invalid phone number — use the country code, e.g. 923001234567" |
Under Rows to check you'll see the most common reasons. Click Download rows to check (CSV) to get exactly those rows with their reasons, fix them and import that file. A row can also be imported with a note, such as "Imported without: Birthday "32/13/1990" is not a valid date". The contact was added, but that value was left out.
What the import does with labels and dates
- Labels that don't exist yet are created for you.
- Dates are understood as
2026-03-12,12/03/2026,12-03-2026or12.03.2026(day before month), and Excel date cells work too. That makes an imported birthday column ready for date reminders. - Each new contact's timeline records that it was imported.
- Labels added by an import don't start label-triggered follow-ups. Imports never message anyone.
Merge duplicate contacts
The same customer often ends up saved twice: 03001234567 from an old import, +923001234567 from WhatsApp, 923001234567 from your store. ReploChat finds contacts on the same number that are really the same phone number, and merges them.
- Open Contacts, then the Duplicates tab. Pick the WhatsApp number if you have several.
- Each group shows the number and its contacts, with the name, how each was "saved as", the date it was created and an opted out tag where relevant.
- Under Keep, choose the contact to keep. A suggestion is pre-selected.
- Click Merge and confirm, or use Merge all to merge every group into its selected contact.
When "No duplicates on this number." appears, you're done.
What happens in a merge
- The kept contact's details win; the others only fill gaps (an empty name or missing custom field).
- Everything moves onto the kept contact: chats and their messages, labels, notes, follow-ups, chatbot sessions, form answers, campaign deliveries and recipient lists, timeline events and reminder history.
- If any of the merged contacts had opted out, the kept contact is opted out too, so you never message someone who said STOP.
- A merge can't be undone. Check the group before you confirm.
Frequently asked
Can I import contacts from my phone? Export them to a CSV first (most phone and Google contact tools can), then import that file.
The import stopped at my plan limit. What now? Rows over the limit are skipped with "Plan contact limit reached". Upgrade on the Billing page, then import the downloaded rows-to-check file.
Can I export contacts? Yes, from the main Contacts page.