Xero contactswithout the spreadsheet.
Collect customer and supplier details with a form that checks every row, and download a CSV with the column headers Xero's contact import expects.
Xero Contacts
Try the template with up to 3 contacts
What You'll Collect
Contact Name
StringThe customer or supplier name, exported as *ContactName. Xero matches existing contacts on it, so each must be different.
Account Number
StringYour own reference for the contact. Kept as text, so leading zeros stay. Each must be different.
Email Address
EmailWhere invoices and statements are sent. Checked as a real email format.
First Name / Last Name
StringThe main person at the contact.
Postal Address
StringAttention to, two address lines, city, region, postal code and country, in Xero's PO address columns.
Phone / Mobile
PhoneAny common layout. Letters, Excel's scientific notation and too few digits are flagged.
Website
URLChecked as a web address.
Legal Name
StringThe registered name, if different from the contact name.
Tax / Company Number
StringSuch as a VAT, GST or ABN number and a company registration number. Kept as text.
Bank Account Name / Number
StringFor paying suppliers. Kept as text, so leading zeros and long numbers aren't changed.
Need more than three contacts?
Collect up to a thousand contacts instead.
The free template is limited to three rows so you can try the workflow. Create your own Import Builder form when you need a client or supplier to send you their full list.
Create your own formUp to 1,000 rows
Take a client's whole customer or supplier list in one go.
Xero-ready headers
The export uses Xero's column names, so the import maps itself.
Checked as they type
Missing names, duplicate names and bad emails are fixed before you get the file.
Reusable forms
Send the same form to every new client you onboard.
How it works
From contact list to Xero import in three steps.
01
Collect
Send the form to whoever has the contacts: a new client, a colleague or a supplier.
02
Complete
They type, paste or import their list. Problems are highlighted until every row is fixed.
03
Download
Download the CSV and upload it in Xero under Contacts, then Import.
Why use a form?
Xero's import is strict. Spreadsheets aren't.
Send a client Xero's template and you get it back with renamed columns, blank contact names and the same customer entered twice. Each one means another round of emails.
A form fixes those problems where they start, with the person who knows the right answer.
Missing contact names
Xero rejects rows without one. The form won't export until every row has a name.
Duplicates
Two rows with the same name would update one contact. Repeats are highlighted before export.
Changed headers
People rename or delete columns in a spreadsheet. The form's export always uses Xero's names.
Xero CSV template
Importing contacts into Xero
Xero imports customers and suppliers from a CSV file. In Xero, go to Contacts, choose Import, and you can download its template and upload the finished file. The contact name is the only required column, and Xero uses it to match existing contacts, so a name that's already in Xero updates that contact rather than adding a new one.
The hard part is usually getting the list in the first place. Accountants and bookkeepers onboarding a new client, or a business moving from another system, often need someone else to fill in the details. This template gives them a form with the same columns, instead of a spreadsheet they might reshape.
Account numbers, tax numbers and bank account numbers are kept as text, so leading zeros and long numbers come through exactly as entered rather than being changed by Excel. Phone numbers, emails and websites are checked as they're typed.
Xero's template has more columns than this one, such as a delivery address, payment terms and default accounts. If you need them, create your own form with the extra columns: the export uses whatever headers you set, so they can match Xero's exactly.
How-To Guides
Related Templates
More for accounting teams: Import Builder for accountants and finance and accounting templates.
Need a CSV form of your own?
Create a custom Import Builder form with your own fields, validation and row limits.
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