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How to Separate Contacts into Customers and Terminals in Shipper TMS

Sam
Updated

Introduction

Keeping your contacts organized as Customers and Terminals helps you create orders faster and keeps pickup/delivery details consistent. This guide shows you how to export your current contacts, separate them into two groups, and re-import them into the correct lists in Shipper TMS.

How to Separate Contacts

First, you’ll export your existing contacts and label which ones belong in Customers vs. Terminals.

Step 1: Export your contacts

  1. Go to the Customers tab in Shipper TMS.
  2. Open the menu and select Export.
  3. A CSV file containing your contacts will download.

Step 2: Review and label contacts in the CSV

  1. Open the exported CSV file in Excel or Google Sheets.
  2. Decide which contacts should be Customers and which should be Terminals.
  3. Highlight your rows to make sorting easier:
    • Yellow = Customers
    • Green = Terminals

Step 3: Group rows by color

  1. In your spreadsheet, open the Data menu and turn on Filter.
  2. Use the filter dropdown to sort by cell color:
    • Sort Yellow (Customers) to the top
    • Sort Green (Terminals) to the bottom

How to Import Customers

Next, you’ll use the Customers sample file format to re-upload only your Customer contacts.

Step 1: Download the Customers sample file

  1. Go to the Customers tab in Shipper TMS.
  2. Open the menu and select Import, then click Download Sample File.

Step 2: Prepare your Customers CSV

  1. Open the sample file in Excel or Google Sheets.
  2. Delete the sample rows (keep the header row).
  3. Copy your yellow-highlighted rows (Customers) from the exported contacts file and paste them into the sample file.
  4. Make sure each column matches the sample header formatting.
  5. For Business Type, use one of these values (or leave it blank): BUSINESS, DEALER, AUCTION, PRIVATE, REPO_YARD, PORT.
  6. Save/export the file as CSV.
Tip: Keep a backup copy of your original exported contacts CSV before you make changes.

Step 3: Back up and clear your existing Customers list

  1. Keep your exported file from Step 1 as a backup.
  2. In the Customers tab, scroll to the bottom, select all customers, and delete them to clear the list.

Step 4: Upload the Customers CSV

  1. Return to the Customers tab and select Import.
  2. Upload your prepared Customers CSV.
  3. Your Customer contacts will now appear in the Customers list.

How to Import Terminals

Repeat the import process using the Terminals sample file format and your Terminal contacts.

Step 1: Download the Terminals sample file

  1. Go to the Terminals tab in Shipper TMS.
  2. Open the menu and select Import, then click Download Sample File.

Step 2: Prepare your Terminals CSV

  1. Open the Terminals sample file in Excel or Google Sheets.
  2. Delete the sample rows (keep the header row).
  3. Copy your green-highlighted rows (Terminals) from the exported contacts file and paste them into the sample file.
  4. Remove extra columns so the file matches the sample headers.
  5. For Business Type, use one of these values (or leave it blank): BUSINESS, DEALER, AUCTION, PRIVATE, REPO_YARD, PORT.
  6. Save/export the file as CSV.

Step 3: Upload the Terminals CSV

  1. Return to the Terminals tab and select Import.
  2. Upload your prepared Terminals CSV.
  3. Your Terminal contacts will now appear in the Terminals list.

Additional Tips for Uploading Contacts

  • To add new contacts to an existing Customer or Terminal, the Business Name must match exactly. (Other fields can be left blank.)
  • Use the appropriate sample file for each import to avoid formatting errors.