Prepare and import a recovery backlog

Recovery works with existing inquiries. You can use it without installing a website widget or connecting a calendar. You supply accurate records and confirm whether follow-up is permitted; guided setup can help prepare the export and explain the review steps. Importing alone never sends messages or enables a campaign.

Prepare your export

Use a CSV with a header row. Your column names can differ: you map them in Porchlight. Include Customer name, Customer email, Project, and Context / response evidence. Optional mappings are Customer phone, Native source ID, Business response time, and Customer response time.

Keep the evidence of the actual business answer and latest customer activity. Do not fill unknown dates with guesses. Mapped timestamps need a real past date with an explicit timezone, such as 2026-09-01T10:00:00Z. Missing response evidence may be saved for review but remains ineligible for follow-up until confirmed.

Split larger exports: each file supports at most 100 data records, 32 columns, 1 MiB of UTF-8 text, and 16,000 characters per record. Quoted commas, doubled quotes, and multiline context are supported. Use a stable Export namespace for repeat exports; native source IDs identify records within that namespace.

Import and review

1. Sign in as the current business owner with Recovery access. Open Recovery → Import a CSV backlog.
2. Enter the export namespace, choose the CSV file or paste CSV text, then select Map columns as needed.
3. Map the fields and choose Preview rows. Check original row and line references, mapped evidence, errors, and warnings.
4. Correct incomplete rows or conflicting IDs before importing. Select only the rows you intend to review, then choose Import selected rows.
5. Open each saved row for factual review. Confirm the customer, project, responsible owner, actual business-answer evidence, activity dates, and Permission to use this email for follow-up. Choose the existing project or explicitly create a separate project; a matching customer does not choose the project for you.

The import saves private review candidates. It does not create contacts or projects by itself. Reimporting equivalent records preserves existing facts; changed source evidence needs separate review and does not overwrite owner edits. Reimporting does not clear suppression or opt-outs.

Before starting follow-up

For the inquiry rule, explicitly select the CSV source and decide whether to include the eligible existing backlog. Review recipients, exclusions, messages, and future dates before approval. See Email setup and campaign review. A CRM export is not evidence of an ongoing CRM sync.

If an import fails, include the export namespace, original row/line number, mapping, and displayed error in your request. Avoid pasting a whole customer export into public support. Get recovery import help.