Data Formatting Instructions

In order to import your existing account and member data or wait list data into Member Splash it needs to be organized in one of the specific file formats listed below:

• Csv - Comma Separated Values
• Xlsx - Microsoft Excel

To ensure that the migration is as smooth and accurate as possible, we encourage you to, first, review the documents below to assist you in the process of formatting and sending us your data file:

• Data Formatting Tips
• Download the Data Import Template

Single Rows of Data Per Account

Each of your member accounts consists of two types of data: account data (like the street address and account type) and member data -- the information for each person on the account. To import your data into Member Splash each account and associated member records should be on a single row in your data file.

Example of Data on a Single Row

Standard (and Required) Account Fields

Member Splash has a default set of account fields that are common to all clubs. Each of these fields would be a column in your data file with the field name in the header row. All fields are optional except username, acct_type, payment_status, m1first, m1last, m1type those marked with a red asterisk (*).

Field Name	Description
username *	Username: Clubs typically use the billing contact's email address as the username for the account as it is unique and something they will know. If your data does not include email addresses or is missing some you can use anything else such as a phone number or concatenation of a last name and street number. If nothing is available we will auto-generate a username for the account.
legacy_acct_id	Legacy Account ID: Member Splash will automatically generate a unique ID number for each account. This is the number that will be used throughout our system to link payments, visits and other information. If your club has an existing account ID that you would like to retain for historical purposes we can import it as the legacy account ID. If you plan to continue using a legacy account ID please be aware that you will need to manage them manually -- Member Splash will not automatically assign them.
acct_type *	Account Type: Member Splash supports unlimited account types. Typically clubs will have full accounts (usually those who have purchased a bond or paid an initiation fee), summer-only accounts and possibly several others.
address1	The street address for the account.
address2	If the address includes an apartment or suite number.
city	The city for the account.
state	The state for the account.
zip	The zip codes for the account.
guest_credits	Guest Credits: If your members have existing guest credits they can be carried over to Member Splash.
date_registered	Date Registered: Should be formatted as yyyy-mm-dd. Typically clubs have this information for all of their wait list accounts but not necessarily for their full accounts.
payment_status *	Payment Status: If your club is already accepting payments for the upcoming season you can mark which accounts should be imported as paid. Use paid and unpaid. Default:  unpaid
m1first *	Primary Member First Name
m1last *	Primary Member Last Name
m1type *	Member Splash supports unlimited member types. Most clubs just use Adult, Child and House Guest (for a relative or caregiver who will be using the club regularly). Default: Adult

Custom Account Fields and Notes

In addition to the standard account fields Member Splash supports unlimited custom account fields as well as account notes.

Custom Account Fields are used to track a single value. For example, many clubs require the purchase of a bond upon joining that is refundable if the account is closed. Those clubs may want to track the bond amount paid in a custom field. To do so simply add it as a column after the standard account fields as shown below. Custom fields are stored as strings in the database which means that they can include text, numbers and special characters like currency signs.

Example showing two Account Custom Fields

Account Notes are a flexible catch-all type of field that can be used to store more complicated or non-standard information. For example, tracking an issue with a specific account. Accounts can have unlimited account notes and account notes can be categorized. To import account notes add them as columns after the standard and custom account fields, as shown below.

Example showing Account Note Fields

Member Fields

Each member record in Member Splash has a standard set of fields, listed below. Those that are required are marked with a red asterisk (*). There are two important requirements to note when organizing your data file:

1. The first member listed in each row is marked as the billing contact. This is the person considered to be the primary contact for the account. Your terminology may vary (shareholder, voting member, etc.), the key is that they must be the first person listed.
2. Each member field should be prefixed with the letter m and a number. This is what allows Member Splash to correctly link the data for each individual member. Suppose an account has three members, two adults and one child.

Example showing Member Fields

In the example above Bob Smith will be marked as the billing contact for the account.

The available member fields are:

Data Formatting and Consistency

The biggest challenges with importing data accurately are inconsistent formatting and incorrectly stored data. 

Problems with formatting data? Read: Data Formatting Tips

Example of Inconsistent Formatting

Many data formatting issues can be corrected easily in Excel. In the example above using Excel's Cell Formatting options would allow you to specify that the column should be in the format yyyy-mm-dd. Data that is stored incorrectly, however, may require manual cleanup. 

Example of Incorrect Data Storage

In the example above there are multiple email addresses as well as descriptors in the m1email field. Because the importer expects a single email address that record will get rejected.

What to do if your data is a disaster

First, take a deep breath! Most swim clubs have been run more or less by hand for decades. When you're tracking things manually there is nothing to enforce consistency and with different volunteers and policies over the years it's inevitable that the information will get messy. 

The team here at Member Splash is adept at advanced scripting to automate cleanup and if you're stumped on how to handle some of your data we're happy to provide data cleanup and formatting services for an additional fee of $100/hour. If interested, please contact our Support Center.

But if it's really a mess? Dump it. Literally. Aside from any issues with how the data is stored or formatted, many clubs have lots of incomplete or out-of-date information. Rather than starting off with bad information we recommend that in those cases we simply import the minimum data necessary to create the accounts -- street address and billing contact name -- and you have the members enter their current information the first time they log into the system.