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How to Import Contacts with the Minor/Guardian Link

Import guardians and minors into Patch while keeping their profiles connected. This guide covers preparing your data, creating a unique identifier field, mapping each import, and confirming the links after importing.

Before you begin

  • Import guardians first. Guardians must exist in Patch before minors can be linked to them. If guardians are already in Patch, make sure the unique identifier needed for your import is populated on their profiles.
  • Use a unique ID for each contact. Use an ID from your source system or assign your own unique numbers. For this workflow, do not use an email address or Patch’s internal contact ID as the import’s unique identifier.
  • Keep guardian and minor data clearly labeled. You can use one spreadsheet or separate files, but distinguish columns such as Guardian First Name, Guardian Last Name, Child First Name, and Child Last Name. Import guardians and minors separately.
  • Include the guardian’s email with the minor’s data. During the minor import, map this column to Guardian Contact ID to establish the relationship.

Important: A minor’s own unique ID identifies the minor. The guardian reference establishes the link between the two profiles. Keep these separate when mapping your data.

Step 1: Create a unique identifier field

  1. Open Account Settings → Fields.
  2. Click the plus (+) button to create a field.
  3. Name the field Import Unique ID, or choose another clear name.
  4. Select Use this field as a unique identifier.
  5. Save and close the field.

The unique identifier option must be selected. Creating the field without enabling this option will not support the linking workflow demonstrated here.

Step 2: Import the guardians

  1. Go to Account Settings → Imports and start a new import.
  2. Upload the file containing the guardian information.
  3. Select Add new and update existing contacts.
  4. Map the guardian’s unique ID column to Import Unique ID. Your spreadsheet column may have another name, such as Guardian ID.
  5. Set the import’s unique identifier to Import Unique ID. The importer may default to Email Address, so check this selection.
  6. Map the remaining guardian columns to their corresponding Patch fields.
  7. Review any unmapped columns and manually select the correct fields. Differences in column names or capitalization may prevent automatic matching.
  8. Review the import name and settings, complete the required confirmation, and start the import.

Confirm the guardian import has completed before importing the minors.

Step 3: Import the minors

  1. Return to Account Settings → Imports and start another import.
  2. Upload the file containing the minor information, or use the same spreadsheet with the minor columns mapped for this import.
  3. Select Add new and update existing contacts.
  4. Map each minor’s own unique ID to Import Unique ID, and select that field as the import’s unique identifier.
  5. Map Child First Name and Child Last Name to the minor’s First Name and Last Name fields. Map the remaining minor information as appropriate.
  6. Map the guardian’s email address column to Guardian Contact ID.
  7. Review every mapping, complete the required confirmation, and start the import.

Important: During the minor import, map the guardian’s email to Guardian Contact ID. Do not map that column to the minor’s Email Address field.

Quick mapping reference

Import Spreadsheet data Patch field
Guardians Guardian’s unique ID Import Unique ID
Guardians Guardian first and last name First Name and Last Name
Guardians Guardian email address Email Address
Minors Minor’s own unique ID Import Unique ID
Minors Child first and last name First Name and Last Name
Minors Guardian email address Guardian Contact ID

For both imports, select Import Unique ID as the import’s unique identifier.

Step 4: Confirm the guardian/minor links

  1. Once both imports have completed, open Contacts.
  2. Search for a guardian using an email address from your spreadsheet.
  3. Open the guardian’s profile and check that the expected minors are listed.
  4. Open a linked minor’s profile and review Guardian Contact ID to confirm the guardian reference. Add this field to the visible profile fields if needed.
  5. Repeat these checks for a few additional families to confirm the import results.

Troubleshooting

A minor is not linked to the guardian

  • Confirm the guardian exists in Patch and the guardian import completed before the minor import.
  • Check that the guardian email in the minor’s source data matches the intended guardian’s email in Patch.
  • Review the minor import mapping: the guardian email column should map to Guardian Contact ID.
  • Confirm the custom ID field has Use this field as a unique identifier enabled and was selected as the unique identifier for both imports.

A column is not automatically mapped

Manually select the corresponding Patch field. Column labels and capitalization may differ from Patch’s field names. Review all mappings before starting the import.

The wrong name appears on a minor’s profile

Check that the minor import used the child’s first and last name columns. Clearly labeled guardian and child columns help prevent mapping the guardian’s name to the minor’s profile.

Video walkthroughs