Troubleshooting: Import Errors & Data Issues

Overview

CSV imports do not always go smoothly on the first attempt. This guide covers the most common errors you may encounter when importing members into GymPoint and how to resolve each one. If your import failed or produced unexpected results, start here.

Common Errors and Solutions

File Encoding Issues

Symptom: Special characters (accents, umlauts, etc.) appear as garbled text or question marks after import.

Cause: The CSV file is not saved in UTF-8 encoding.

Solution:

1. Open your CSV file in a spreadsheet application.
2. Re-export or "Save As" and explicitly select CSV UTF-8 as the format.
   • In Excel: File > Save As > choose "CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited)".
   • In Google Sheets: File > Download > Comma Separated Values. Google Sheets exports UTF-8 by default.
3. Re-upload the corrected file.

Date Format Errors

Symptom: Rows with date fields (Date of Birth, Membership Start Date) show validation errors.

Cause: Dates are in an unrecognized format.

Solution: GymPoint accepts dates in these formats:

• YYYY-MM-DD (recommended, e.g., 2026-03-27)
• MM/DD/YYYY (e.g., 03/27/2026)

Avoid formats like DD/MM/YYYY (European), March 27, 2026 (long form), or date serial numbers from Excel. If your spreadsheet uses a different regional format, reformat the date column before exporting.

Missing Required Fields

Symptom: Rows are flagged with "Missing required field" errors.

Cause: One or more rows are missing First Name, Last Name, or Email.

Solution:

1. Check the error report for the specific row numbers and missing fields.
2. Open your CSV and fill in the missing values.
3. Re-upload the corrected file.

If some contacts genuinely do not have email addresses, you will need to add them manually through the Add Member form instead of the CSV import.

Invalid Email Format

Symptom: Rows are flagged with "Invalid email" errors.

Cause: The email column contains values that are not valid email addresses (e.g., missing "@" symbol, extra spaces, or trailing commas).

Solution:

1. Open your CSV and review the flagged rows.
2. Correct the email addresses or remove invalid entries.
3. Check for hidden whitespace by trimming the column in your spreadsheet application.

Membership Plan Not Found

Symptom: The Membership Plan column shows "Plan not found" warnings.

Cause: The plan name in the CSV does not exactly match any plan name in GymPoint.

Solution:

1. Go to Members > Memberships in GymPoint and note the exact plan names.
2. Update your CSV so the plan names match exactly, including capitalization and spacing.
3. Re-upload. Alternatively, import without the Membership Plan column and assign plans manually after import.

Duplicate Detection

How Duplicates Are Detected

GymPoint identifies duplicates by matching on the email address field. If a row in your CSV has the same email as an existing member in GymPoint, it is flagged as a duplicate.

Handling Duplicates

During import, you choose one of two strategies:

• Skip — Duplicate rows are ignored entirely. Existing records remain unchanged.
• Update — Existing member records are updated with the data from the CSV row. Only non-empty fields in the CSV will overwrite existing data. Empty cells in the CSV will not blank out existing values.

Multiple Duplicates in the CSV

If your CSV file itself contains duplicate email addresses (two rows with the same email), GymPoint will import only the first occurrence and skip the rest. Review your CSV for internal duplicates before uploading if you want to control which row is kept.

Re-importing After Fixing Errors

After correcting issues in your CSV:

1. Go to Settings > Members > Import / Export.
2. Upload the corrected CSV file.
3. Re-map columns if needed (GymPoint remembers your last mapping).
4. Review the validation summary to confirm errors are resolved.
5. Run the import.

There is no penalty for re-uploading. If you set duplicate handling to Skip, previously imported members will simply be skipped, and only the new or corrected rows will be processed.

Large File Performance

For files with more than 5,000 rows:

• The import runs as a background job. You will receive a notification when it completes.
• Keep your browser tab open or check back later for the results.
• If the import times out, try splitting your CSV into smaller files (2,000-3,000 rows each) and importing them sequentially.

Getting Further Help

If you encounter an error not covered here, export the error report from the import summary screen and contact GymPoint support with the error details and a sample of the problematic rows.