Import Customers
Most invoicing tools make you export a CSV, wrestle with column mapping, fix encoding errors, and hope the data lands correctly. docs101 takes a different approach: upload any file — a spreadsheet, a PDF, or even a photo of a business card — and AI extracts the customer data for you. Review the results, confirm, done.
This feature uses artificial intelligence to read and understand your files. Whether it is a structured spreadsheet or a scanned business card, docs101 intelligently identifies customer fields, maps columns across languages, and handles messy real-world data — no manual mapping required. Each import uses one AI credit from your plan's included daily allowance.
Supported File Formats
| Format | Best for | File types |
|---|---|---|
| CSV | Bulk migration from other tools | .csv |
| Excel | Spreadsheets with customer lists | .xlsx |
| Invoices, letters, or contracts that contain customer data | .pdf | |
| PNG | Photos of business cards or printed contact details | .png |
All uploads are limited to 5 MB per file.
Switching from another invoicing tool? Export your customer list as CSV or Excel and upload it directly — docs101 recognizes common column names automatically. For one-off imports, a PDF or photo works just as well.
How It Works
Step 1 — Upload your file
- Navigate to Customers in the main menu.
- Click the Import button (upload icon) in the top-right corner.
- Drag and drop your file into the upload area, or click to browse.
Step 2 — AI-powered extraction
After uploading, docs101 processes your file in the background using AI. What happens depends on the file type:
- CSV / Excel: AI parses the table, identifies column headers, and intelligently maps them to customer fields — regardless of language, abbreviation style, or column order. No manual column mapping needed.
- PDF: AI reads the document and extracts the recipient's contact information — from invoices, letters, contracts, or any document that contains customer data.
- PNG: AI analyzes the image using vision capabilities to extract visible contact data — ideal for business cards or printed letterheads.
A progress indicator keeps you updated while processing runs.
Step 3 — Review the results
Once processing is complete, docs101 shows you the extracted data for review:
- Single customer (PDF, PNG): A form pre-filled with the extracted fields. You can edit any field before confirming.
- Multiple customers (CSV, Excel): A table showing all extracted rows. You can deselect individual rows, edit fields inline, and review warnings for incomplete data.
If an imported customer matches an existing record (by name, email, or VAT ID), docs101 flags it as a potential duplicate. You can choose to skip the entry, update the existing customer, or create a new one.
Step 4 — Confirm the import
After reviewing, click Import to create the customers. Imported customers appear in your customer list immediately with status Active.
Recognized Fields
docs101 extracts and maps the following customer fields:
| Field | Examples of recognized column names |
|---|---|
| Contact type | Type, Typ, B2B/B2C |
| Salutation | Salutation, Anrede, Mr/Mrs |
| Title | Title, Titel, Dr., Prof. |
| First name | First Name, Vorname |
| Last name | Last Name, Nachname, Familienname |
| Organization | Company, Firma, Organisation |
| Email, E-Mail, Mail | |
| Phone | Phone, Telefon, Festnetz |
| Mobile | Mobile, Mobil, Handy |
| VAT ID | VAT ID, USt-IdNr., UmSt.-ID |
| Website | Website, URL, Homepage |
| Customer number | Customer No., Kundennummer, Knd.-Nr. |
| Street address | Street, Straße, Address Line 1 |
| Postal code | ZIP, PLZ, Postal Code |
| City | City, Stadt, Ort |
| Country | Country, Land, Country Code |
Column names are matched regardless of language, capitalization, or abbreviation style. Columns that don't match any customer field (such as IBAN, fax number, or internal categories) are ignored automatically.
Preparing Your CSV or Excel File
For the best results, keep your file simple:
- Include a header row as the first row with column names.
- Use one row per customer — no merged cells or grouped rows.
- Keep postal codes as text (not numbers) to preserve leading zeros.
- Use ISO country codes where possible (e.g.,
DE,AT,FR), though full country names are also recognized.
There is no required column order — docs101 maps columns by their header names, not by position.
Migrating From Other Tools
If you are switching to docs101 from another invoicing tool, you can export your customer list there and import it here. Below are step-by-step instructions for common tools.
sevdesk
- Log in to your sevdesk account.
- Navigate to Kontakte in the left sidebar.
- Click Exportieren in the top-right corner.
- Select CSV (Excel) as the export format.
- Save the downloaded file.
- In docs101, open the customer import and upload the CSV file.
docs101 automatically recognizes the sevdesk column format and maps fields accordingly.
We are adding migration guides for additional invoicing tools. If your current tool supports CSV or Excel export, you can already upload that file — docs101 maps common column names automatically.
AI Credits and Usage
Each import uses one AI credit from your plan's included daily allowance — regardless of file type or how many customers are in the file.
| Plan | Daily AI credits |
|---|---|
| Free | 10 |
| Professional | 100 |
You can check your remaining credits on the Subscription page. The allowance resets daily.
Related Topics
- Manage Customers — Create and edit customers manually
- B2B vs. B2C Customers — Understand customer type differences
- VAT Validation (VIES) — Validate imported VAT IDs after import