If you’re starting out or moving from another tool, you don’t need to add students one by one. Upload a CSV (a spreadsheet saved as comma-separated values) and LessonLoop brings your whole roster in at once — with a preview so nothing is saved until you’re happy.
Where the importer lives
The bulk import lives in Settings → Advanced → Data import.
| Way in | How |
|---|---|
| Settings | Open Settings, choose Advanced, then Data import. |
| Search | Press ⌘K / Ctrl-K and run “Import students (CSV)”. |
| Setup | It also appears as the add-your-students step in the onboarding wizard. |
Worth knowing Import is not a button on the Students page. The Students page is for adding and editing students one at a time — the bulk importer lives in Settings → Advanced.
What to put in your spreadsheet
Each row is one student. The columns LessonLoop reads are:
- Name
- Phone
- Date of birth — most common formats work (e.g.
12/03/2014or12 Mar 2014); the preview flags any date it can’t read or that isn’t a real past date. - Instrument
- Guardian name and guardian email (for younger students)
You don’t need every column — a name is enough to create a student, and you can fill in the rest later. Column headings don’t have to match exactly; you map your columns to LessonLoop’s fields during the preview step.
Import your students
- Go to Settings → Advanced → Data import.
- Upload your CSV file.
- Map the columns — confirm which of your spreadsheet’s columns is the name, the email, the instrument, and so on.
- Review the preview. LessonLoop checks every row and tells you how many are ready to import. Each row needs a first and last name — any row missing one is flagged so you can fix it before going ahead. The import is all-or-nothing, so the preview needs to be clean before you can continue.
- When the preview looks right, confirm the import. Only now are the students saved.
Good to know Every row becomes a new student, so import a fresh roster rather than re-uploading the same file — importing the same people twice creates duplicate students. Guardians are the exception: if a guardian's email matches one you already have, LessonLoop links to that existing guardian instead of creating another.
Moving from another tool
Switching from another teaching or scheduling app? Export your student list from that tool as a CSV (most have an “Export” or “Download” option), then upload that file here. You don’t need to reshape it first — map the columns and check the preview, and your roster comes across in one go.
Was this out of date or unclear? Tell us — we keep these guides matched to the live app.