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Square won't import your customers file?

Fix the errors Square shows when importing a customers CSV into your Customer Directory, then import clean every time.

Errors Square shows

A date has an invalid format

Invalid date format: The preferred date format is the ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD), but we also support other date formats.
Square Community

A phone number is invalid

Invalid phone number: The preferred phone number format includes the phone’s country code in E.164 format without brackets. If no country code is provided, it may be assumed based on the customer’s country.
Square Community

An email address has an invalid format

Invalid Email Format: Review to make sure that the email address is valid.
Square Community

The file is missing a header line

Invalid CSV headers or The file is missing a header line: Make sure a header row exists for your dataset. To add one, use a tool like Excel to add a row to the top of your document.
Square Community

What Square’s importer checks

  • A date is best written in the ISO 8601 format, YYYY-MM-DD.

    DocTransform fixes this: type

    Write Birthday as YYYY-MM-DD

    Or by hand

    open the Birthday column’s ⋯ menu → Format dates… → input DD/MM/YYYY, output YYYY-MM-DD (2024-12-31) → Save Rule

    Square Community

  • A phone number is best written with its country code, in E.164 format, without brackets.

    DocTransform fixes this: open Health → Phone formats → Convert 3 (the button shows how many numbers it writes); each readable number is written as +[country code][number], a number that names no country is read in your language’s region, and one it cannot read stays as written

    Square Community

  • The file must be in .CSV format; .xls and .numbers files are not supported.

    Square Community

  • An email address must be valid.

    Square Community

  • Inputs tied to a transaction, such as last visited, amount spent or total points, are not imported.

    Square Community

Before and after

3,500 customers

square_customers.csv
First NameBirthdayEmail AddressPhone Number
Elena18/04/19871elena.park@harbor.example+14155550132
Marcus05/12/19912marcus.reid@delta.example+442071838750
Priya23/08/1984priya.nair@kiln.example+919812345678
Tom11/01/1993tom.baker@cafe3+61412345678
Sara30/06/1980sara.lund@fjord.example+46701234567
Diego02/10/1996diego.mora@sol.example+525512345678
Yuki27/02/1989yuki.sato@kaze.example+819012345678

    Before

    Fix it in DocTransform

    By hand: 6 stepsDocTransform: 1 sentence

    1. 1. Upload square_customers.csv into DocTransform.
    2. 2. Type

      Write Birthday as YYYY-MM-DD

      and press Send. Check the steps it adds; Undo takes them all back.
      Or by hand

      Apply the fixes: open the Birthday column’s ⋯ menu → Format dates… → input DD/MM/YYYY, output YYYY-MM-DD → Save Rule. For a phone number with no country code, open Health → Phone formats → Convert 3. Correct an invalid email address, and remove a column tied to a transaction, yourself: DocTransform saves no step for them.

    3. 3. Download the cleaned file as CSV with Download, ready for Square’s importer.
    “Write Birthday as YYYY-MM-DD” typed into DocTransform; one step applied, seven Birthday dates rewritten; Undo shown
    1. Type the change in one sentence, in your own words.
    2. Wait about 5 seconds while the steps are written. Stop cancels.
    3. Check each step and how many cells or rows it changes.
    4. The file is clean. Not what you meant? One Undo takes it all back.

    Save this fix once, then rerun it on your next export with one click.

    Fix it by hand in Excel or Sheets

    1. Select the Birthday column, press Ctrl+1, choose Custom, type yyyy-mm-dd and click OK, so Excel shows the dates the way Square reads them.
    2. If Excel left a date as text, such as 18/04/1987, retype it as 1987-04-18.
    3. Check each phone number starts with + and its country code; to add one, right-click the column D header, choose Format Cells → Text and click OK so Excel keeps the +, then retype the number, e.g. 611 223 344 as +34611223344 for Spain.
    4. Check each Email Address for a missing domain suffix, as in row 4 here (tom.baker@cafe), and retype it as a valid address.
    5. Delete any column tied to a transaction, such as last visited or amount spent, and any empty column.
    6. Choose File → Save As, pick CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) (*.csv) and click Save.

    Questions

    Will DocTransform correct an email address that Square rejects?
    No — DocTransform saves no step for an invalid address, so it stays as written. Find those cells and correct them by hand before you import.
    Will DocTransform guess a country code that is missing from a phone number?
    Only from your language’s region: a number that names no country is read in that region, and a number DocTransform cannot read stays as written. Check those cells before you import.
    Can I reuse this fix next time I export my customers?
    Yes — save it once in DocTransform and rerun it on your next export.

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    Salesforce, HubSpot, Shopify, QuickBooks, Mailchimp, Pipedrive, WooCommerce, Klaviyo, Google Contacts, ActiveCampaign, Brevo, Zendesk, Square, Zoho CRM, and Xero are trademarks of their owners. DocTransform is not affiliated with them.