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Import members from a CSV

How to create and issue digital membership cards to all your existing members.

Paul Tomes avatar
Written by Paul Tomes
Updated this week

Introduction

Digital membership cards are a convenient and eco-friendly way to engage your members. With PassKit, you can easily create and distribute these cards, even if you’re not a developer or don’t have access to one. This guide walks you through the process of importing members from a CSV file, creating digital membership cards, and optionally emailing them to your members—all in just 10-15 minutes.

Whether you’re managing a small club or a large organization, this step-by-step guide will help you streamline the process and save time. Let’s get started!

CSV Import is enabled for Production Accounts only.

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Decide Whether to Enable the Welcome Email

Enabling the welcome email is optional and depends on how you want to distribute your digital membership cards:

  • Enable the welcome email if you want PassKit to automatically send an email with a link to the membership card.

  • Disable the welcome email if you prefer to create the passes now and send the emails later using your own email application or system.

If you choose to enable the welcome email, ensure the content is correct.


Add a Member Manually for Testing

To ensure everything works as expected, manually enroll a test member:

  1. Click “Add Member” in the PassKit portal.

  2. Enter the details of a test member, using your own email address or one you can access.

This step allows you to verify the card design, welcome email, and overall process before proceeding with bulk imports.


Confirm Your Card Design and Welcome Email

After adding the test member, check the following:

  • Confirm you’ve received the welcome email (if enabled).

  • Verify the digital membership card looks exactly as expected, paying close attention to the values displayed on the card.

Pro Tip: Test the card on both iPhone and Android devices to ensure compatibility.

If anything is not as expected, revisit the design, distribution, or settings tabs to make adjustments. Re-test until you’re satisfied.

Do not proceed until you're happy with the card design, email content and data fields.


Open the CSV import pop up

Once you’re ready to import your members:

  1. Go to the Members Table in PassKit.

  2. Click the “Import CSV” button to open the import pop-up.


Add your CSV File

Upload your CSV file by either dragging and dropping it or clicking to select it.

Important Notes

  • Your CSV file must include a ‘Tier’ column, as this is a required field. The ‘Tier’ field holds the Tier ID for your membership program.

  • If you’re using profile images on your membership cards, ensure one of the columns in your CSV contains a publicly accessible URL linking to the profile image (e.g., the image stored on Google Drive). This URL must be accessible for PassKit to create the pass successfully. (e.g. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ihEic9xnhNw9UCQPNl8YS-AJfI5pGCNs)

  • PassKit will display the first 5 entries of your CSV file for confirmation. Click “Next” to proceed.


Map your data

In this step, map the data from your CSV file to the corresponding fields in PassKit. Ensure each column in your CSV aligns with the correct field on your membership card.

Profile Image URL Mapping

If your CSV includes a column with profile image URLs, ensure this column is mapped to the profile image field during the mapping step. This ensures the images are correctly assigned to each member’s digital card.


Review and Submit

After mapping your data:

  1. Review the data mapping to ensure accuracy.

  2. Click “Submit” to complete the import process.

Important: If your program is configured to send a welcome email, all members in the CSV file will receive an email as soon as you click “Submit.”


Review Import Results

After submitting, you’ll receive an email with two files:

  1. success.csv: Contains a new column with the Pass ID for each successfully imported member.

  2. error.csv: Lists any rows that failed to import, along with the reason for the error.

Next Steps:

  • For members in the error.csv file, review the errors, correct the issues in a new CSV file, and repeat the import process from Step 5.

  • Continue this process until the error.csv file is empty, indicating all members have been successfully imported.


Additional Recommendations

Test with a Small Group First

When importing a CSV for the first time, we recommend testing with a small group (e.g., a test group or just one row with your details). This allows you to verify that the fields are mapped correctly and that the profile image works (if used). Once you’re confident everything is set up correctly, you can proceed to import larger CSVs.

Break Down Large CSVs

For large CSV files, we recommend breaking them down into smaller files (the maximum size for a CSV is 4MB). This ensures smoother processing and reduces the risk of errors during import.


Conclusion

Creating and distributing digital membership cards with PassKit is a simple and efficient process, even for non-developers. By following this guide, you can save time, avoid manual data entry, and ensure your members receive their cards seamlessly.

Whether you choose to use PassKit’s welcome email feature or handle email distribution yourself, this tool provides the flexibility you need to manage your membership program effectively.

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