Bring your people over from your old system
Retyping a whole congregation isn't an option. Aligned reads your old system, shows you what it found (with counts and a few names), and brings over only what you tick. Nothing changes until you approve it, and nobody gets an email or text because of it.
1/6 · Go to Manage → People and press Import
Good to know
- Run it again any time. A second run updates the people it already brought over instead of making duplicates.
- Bring people in before lists, because a list only carries people Aligned already has, and one whose members aren't here yet is skipped with a note.
- Moving from a different system? Export your people as a CSV file and use From a file on the People tab instead.
- Starting from scratch? While Manage is still empty, its home page offers Start fresh, which walks you through setting up your church in the chat.
If it’s not working
An app says “Couldn't read”
The red line says why, and the button under it is the fix: Reconnect (it carries the app's name, like Reconnect Planning Center) when the sign-in expired or was turned down, Try again in a minute when the app is busy, or Try again when it timed out. If it says your Planning Center account doesn't include something, like Groups, turn that on in Planning Center first, then reconnect. A category that couldn't be read can't be ticked, and it's never counted as empty.
I pressed Connect Breeze ChMS or Connect Elvanto and nothing seemed to happen
Its form can open behind the Import window. Close Import with the × at its top right and the form is there. Connect, then open Import again.
It says “An import is already running for your church”
Imports run one at a time. Wait for the running one to finish, then press Import what I ticked again. Anything already brought over is updated, not doubled.
The import brought in people we didn't want
Tick them on Manage → People and press Archive in the bar above the list (see “Change many people at once”). It asks first. Archived people leave the roster but are never deleted.
It asks “Ready to make this live?”
Your church hasn't finished Setup yet. Connecting an app and running an import both wait for it, and nothing you've done so far is lost. Finish Setup, then open Import again and carry on.
Next, you might want to
- Import people from a spreadsheetUpload a CSV of your members from any system or spreadsheet, match its columns once, and bring everyone in without duplicates.
- Bring over donors and giving historyImport donors and past gifts from Planning Center, Breeze, Donorbox, Givebutter or any platform's export file. They arrive as records, and no money moves.
- Undo an import or fix one that failedRoll back your most recent import by asking the Manage chat, or fix an app that says it couldn't read part of your old system.
- Bring over Planning Center lists and workflowsImport your Planning Center lists with the same people on them, and rebuild your follow-up workflows as automations that wait for your OK.