Feature Summary: Importing members into CourtReserve allows administrators to quickly add existing players and assign them to memberships using a spreadsheet template. Following the recommended formatting and data guidelines ensures the import runs smoothly and helps prevent skipped rows, incorrect memberships, or billing errors.
This guide outlines the best practices, requirements, and common issues to review before submitting your member import file.
Member Import Requirements and Best Practices
Before importing members into CourtReserve, it’s important to review the key requirements and formatting guidelines that ensure your file processes correctly. The following best practices highlight common issues to watch for and explain how specific fields should be completed to avoid skipped rows, billing errors, or failed imports.
Always Use the CourtReserve Template
Admins should always use the official CourtReserve member import template. Do not create your own spreadsheet or attempt to mimic the formatting. Find it attached here.
Using the official template ensures:
The correct column order
Proper formatting
Faster troubleshooting if issues occur
Blue Columns in Template
If the membership being imported has a fee, all blue billing columns must be filled in. The columns in blue are: Membership Start Date, Membership Next Payment Date, and Membership Frequency.
If the membership is free, these columns must be left blank.
Notifications After Import
Players will not receive notifications when they are imported.
The only possible notification is an Upcoming Membership Dues reminder if the Next Payment Date is approaching soon. This notification can be turned off in Player Notification Settings if needed.
Age-Restricted Memberships
If members are being imported into a membership with an age restriction, the Date of Birth (DOB) field must be included.
The DOB must match the age requirements of the membership. If it does not, the member will not be imported.
Import Limitations
The member import process can only add players to memberships. Members cannot be imported directly into:
Member Groups
Waitlists
These must be managed separately after the import.
Date Formatting Requirements
All date fields must match the date format configured in your organization settings.
You can find this under: Settings → Organization Settings → General → Date & Currency Format. Example format: MM/DD/YYYY
Initiation Fee Considerations
If a membership has an initiation fee at the time of import, the system will bundle the initiation fee with the membership fee.
If you do not want imported members to pay the initiation fee, add the initiation fee to the membership after the import is completed.
Field-Specific Guidelines
The following guidelines outline important requirements for specific fields in the member import template. Reviewing these recommendations will help ensure each column is formatted correctly and that member data—such as contact information, memberships, and billing details—imports successfully.
First Name and Last Name
Both First Name and Last Name fields are required.
Rows missing either field will not import successfully.
Email Address
Email addresses must be unique.
If duplicate emails exist in the spreadsheet, those rows will be skipped entirely.
Emails are strongly recommended because members cannot receive their Welcome Email without one.
If using the Family tab, at least one person in the family who is marked as Primary must have an email address.
This allows the primary account holder to: log in, set passwords, and
manage family members who may not have emails.
Username
A common best practice is to copy the email address into the username field to ensure uniqueness.
Example:
Email: [email protected]
Username: [email protected]
If the username field is left blank, the system will automatically populate it with the email address.
Gender Field
The Gender field only accepts the following values:
Male
M
Female
F
Prefer not to disclose
Any other values will not be accepted.
Family ID and Family Role
These fields are only required if you want to link players together as a family.
Important rules:
If one field is used, both must be used
These fields can also be used on the Individual Membership tab to link family members together even if they are not on a family membership.
Member Number
If the Member # field is left blank, the system will automatically generate a number.
This field can also be used for things like:
HOA house numbers
External member IDs
Membership Name
The Membership Name must match the membership name in your organization exactly.
This includes:
Exact spelling
Exact spacing
If the membership name does not match, the member will not be imported correctly.
Membership Start Date
Best practice is to set this date to:
When the member last paid their dues, or
When the club will begin operations
While you can technically enter older dates (such as when the member originally joined the club years ago), this field is not intended for historical records.
Membership Next Payment Date
This field determines when the member is expected to pay for their membership.
Important considerations:
If this date is set too far in the past, the system may generate multiple charges depending on the membership frequency.
For example, a monthly membership with a payment date far in the past may generate several fees at once.
If a lifetime membership has already been paid, set the Next Payment Date far into the future.
Membership Frequency
Accepted values include:
Monthly
Quarterly
Annually
Lifetime
Custom
Phone Number
The system ignores formatting characters and only reads the numbers.
Examples that will all work:
(555) 555-1234
555-555-1234
5555551234
Date of Birth
DOB must follow the same date format rules as the date format configured in your organization settings. You can find this under: Settings → Organization Settings → General → Date & Currency Format.
Example:
01/05/1996
It does not need leading zeros.
Address Fields
The following fields are straightforward:
Address
City
State
Zip Code
These can be filled in normally if you want to store member address information.
Custom Ratings and Custom Fields
Any custom ratings or custom fields must be created in the system before the import. The import will not automatically create new custom fields.
Example: If you have a Pickleball Rating category, you must first create the rating options such as:
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
These must exist before importing members with those values.
Balance Forwards and Account Credits
This field only accepts:
Numbers
Decimal points
A minus sign (-) for account credits
Do not include currency symbols.
Correct examples:
50
25.00
-10
Incorrect examples:
$50
$25.00
If there is no balance forward or credit, leave the field blank. You do not need to enter 0.
Summary
Preparing your member import file carefully helps ensure a smooth and accurate import process. By using the official CourtReserve template, following the required formatting rules, and double-checking fields such as memberships, dates, emails, and billing details, admins can avoid common errors and skipped rows. Taking a few extra minutes to review these best practices before submitting your file will help ensure your members and memberships are imported correctly the first time.