TowingBossPro Blog — Accounts & Customers

Importing Your Existing Tow Customer List With CSV

The biggest reason tow companies put off new software is the fear of starting over. Years of customers, accounts and addresses live in an old program, a spreadsheet or a stack of index cards. Retyping them sounds like weeks of work nobody has time for.

You do not have to. Reports by Account: Which Tow Customers Actually Pay the Bills showed what account records can tell you once they are in the system. CSV import is how you get them there without starting from zero.

Export What You Have

Start by getting your customer list into a spreadsheet. Most programs can export customers to a CSV file — look for an export or download option in your old system. If your list is already in a spreadsheet, save it as CSV. If it is on paper, a few evenings of typing the active accounts into a spreadsheet is still faster than entering them one by one into new software.

Pull the list of customers who actually called you in the last year or two first. Those are the records that matter now. Older, inactive customers can come later or not at all; they will be added naturally if they call again.

You do not need everything. Names, phone numbers, email addresses and addresses are enough to start. Call history can stay in the old system for reference; new history will build from day one.

Clean Before You Import

An import copies your list exactly, including its mistakes. Spend some time cleaning it first:

• Remove duplicates — the same body shop entered three times
• Fix obvious typos in names and phone numbers
• Remove customers who are clearly gone — closed businesses, wrong numbers
• Use consistent names, the ones your dispatchers actually say
• Split combined fields if your old system mashed things together

Pay special attention to phone numbers. They are how dispatchers search for customers when the phone rings, and how texts reach them. Put them in a consistent format and make sure mobile numbers are in the column you will use for texting.

Cleaning a spreadsheet is much faster than cleaning records one at a time after import.

Decide How to Handle Accounts and Locations

Before importing, decide how multi-location customers will be set up. A dealer group with five stores should be one account with multiple locations, not five unrelated customers. If your old list has each location as a separate customer, decide which to merge.

For the biggest accounts, it may be easier to import the customer and then add their locations by hand, with proper names and driver notes. A handful of key accounts set up carefully is worth more than a perfect bulk import.

Run the Import

TowingBossPro includes CSV import. Match the columns in your file to the fields in the system, run the import and review the results. Check a sample of records — a few big accounts, a few retail customers — to make sure names, phones and addresses came through correctly.

Pick a quiet time for the switch. Importing on a slow weekday morning, with time to check the results before the evening rush, is much easier than doing it in the middle of a storm.

If something went wrong, it is usually a column mapped to the wrong field. Fix the spreadsheet or the mapping and try again before you start using the records.

After the Import

An imported list is a starting point. Over the first few weeks, finish the job:

• Add tags for account types — body shop, fleet, dealer and so on
• Add repeat locations for your busiest accounts, with driver notes
• Fill in custom fields your accounts need, like invoice references
• Set up contacts and billing preferences on key accounts
• Ask key accounts to keep a card on file if it suits them

Each call also fills in more detail naturally. Within a month or two, your active accounts will be complete.

Tell Your Team and Your Accounts

Keep the old system or spreadsheet available, read-only, for a while. Someone will eventually need to look up an old call from before the switch, and having it handy saves stress during the first few months.

Make sure dispatchers know to search before creating new customers, so the imported records are used instead of duplicated. Show them where locations, tags and notes live.

Let your key accounts know about anything that changes for them, like texts, the customer app or online invoices. Most will appreciate it. CSV import is one of the first steps in setting up towing account management software, and every plan includes a 14-day free trial with no credit card. Next, we look at who in your office should be able to see and change account records.