How to import an external attendee CSV into an event

1. Define what each source row represents

Download the attendee import and admission verification card (Markdown, English)

Choose the exact destination event and source of truth. Decide whether each row is a registrant, issued ticket or member of a group order. Count source rows, unique people and expected admissions separately. Define which pending or confirmed statuses may be imported. Keep personal values out of the public worksheet; record only field names, counts and decisions.

2. Prepare a clean file against the provider template

Download the provider's current import template, if offered, and keep only needed columns. vFairs provides a CSV template and mapping screen; Brella requires ticket-type ID and registered email for its registrant import. These are provider-specific requirements. Check identifiers, ticket type, event and date against the destination. Prepare a small authorized sample or safe test event before importing everything.[1][3]

3. Map fields and test duplicate behavior

Match each source column to the correct field. Before reimporting, determine how existing records are identified. vFairs treats email as unique and warns that duplicate-email imports may overwrite users. Guest Manager can update a ticket when its barcode matches; repeating a file without the matching key can create duplicates. These rules are not universal. Record the pilot's expected create, update, skip or reject outcomes.[1][2]

4. Run the import with the right notification choice

Select the event, import type and file, then review the mapping preview. Check the email option: creating a record and notifying its holder are separate decisions. vFairs offers an optional email-template choice. In Brella, join-code invitations require Publish Invites to be enabled. If processing runs in the background, wait for the result rather than treating submission as completion.[1][3]

5. Reconcile records and test admission

Compare accepted, rejected, created and updated rows with the source count. Inspect authorized samples across ticket types and statuses; verify event, date, registration or ticket state, and any notification. Guest Manager says its import creates tickets in the event attendee list, but not Shopify orders. The vFairs attendee-import guide does not establish check-in entitlement. Test one valid and one excluded record in the actual admission path before relying on the roster.[2][1]

6. Hand off the verified result

Save the import identifier, field mapping, count reconciliation, unresolved errors and owner. Give door staff only the verified check-in view or approved roster. Before reimporting, determine whether the platform updates existing records, creates new ones or needs a different update file. Resolve mismatches with the registration owner; an imported contact is not automatically a paid order or valid ticket.