CSV Import Stuck

User level: Agent

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Symptoms

You may experience one or more of the following:

• The status remains Contact import in progress for a long time
• The import screen does not show any progress
• Your file stays in the “processing” state even after re-uploading
• A similar file imported quickly before, but this one takes longer
• Only part of the file appears in Contacts, while the rest seems frozen

Sometimes these symptoms are temporary and resolve automatically once the queue moves.

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How CSV imports work

When you upload a CSV file, CloudTalk processes it in the background. The process includes several steps, but most of it is not visible in the interface.

1. CloudTalk checks whether the file meets the basic requirements (CSV format, size limit, required headers)
2. The file enters a shared processing queue
3. When your turn comes, CloudTalk processes the file and validates each row
4. Contacts that pass validation are added directly to your Contacts

There is no step-by-step progress indicator. Instead, you will see:

• “Contact import in progress” while the file is waiting or being processed
• “We couldn’t import your contacts” if the system cannot process the file

If the import is successful, contacts will appear in your Contacts list once processing finishes. Depending on the result, the import may be marked as completed in the Imported files section. The contacts simply appear in your Contacts list once processing finishes. Because CSV imports happen quietly in the background, any delay in the queue looks very similar to a “stuck” import.

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Root Causes

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⚠️ Your CSV import is waiting in the shared queue

This is the most common reason for delays. CloudTalk processes all CSV imports for all customers through one shared queue based on a simple rule: First uploaded, first processed. This means:

• Large files uploaded by other customers can delay your import
• Your file may wait until earlier jobs finish
• If your team uploads several CSVs, they will be processed strictly in order
• Uploading during high-traffic hours can increase waiting time

What you might notice during queue delays

• The status stays on Contact import in progress
• You do not see new contacts appearing
• Re-uploading the file results in the same waiting state

This behavior is normal during peak times.

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⚠️ The file is large and requires more processing time

CloudTalk supports CSV files up to 8 MB. Even when the file is within this limit, processing may take longer if it contains:

• A large number of rows
• Many columns
• Several custom fields
• Long text values
• Complex or diverse character sets

Larger files require more time to parse and validate.

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⚠️ The file contains elements that slow down validation

The import may complete successfully but still take longer if the file includes:

• Phone numbers CloudTalk needs to normalize
• Missing country codes that require automatic prefix handling
• Many invalid phone numbers
• Column formats CloudTalk needs to interpret
• Very large or complex rows
• Extra whitespace around values
• Very long names or free-text fields

These do not stop the import but may increase processing time.

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⚠️ The file cannot be processed due to structure or encoding issues

If the import never starts, or fails immediately after processing begins, the file may contain structural or encoding problems. For example:

• Incorrect encoding
• Wrong delimiter
• Hidden or stray characters from Excel or Numbers
• Broken or empty rows inside the table
• Unsupported symbols or emoji
• Header names that do not match CloudTalk requirements
• Missing required columns (name and at least one of: phone or email)
• Headers with uppercase letters instead of the required lowercase format

This issue is covered more thoroughly in Upload of CSV File Fails

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⚠️ Hidden Excel formatting

Even if the file looks correct visually, Excel or Numbers may add hidden formatting that slows down processing:

• Hidden characters
• Formatting copied from other spreadsheets
• Extra delimiters
• Encoded symbols
• Invisible empty columns

These issues often make imports slower or cause them to appear stuck, even if they eventually complete.

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Step-by-Step Solution

Below are practical steps that help you identify whether the import is genuinely stuck or simply waiting its turn.

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1. Check whether new contacts have appeared

Because CloudTalk does not display detailed import progress, the simplest way to check if the import is moving is to:

1. Go to Contacts
2. Search for several contacts from your file
3. Refresh the Contacts page

If new contacts begin to appear, the import is progressing.

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2. Give the import some time

During busy periods, CSV imports may take longer than usual. The waiting time depends on how many CSV files are currently being processed across all CloudTalk workspaces. Even if nothing seems to change in the interface, the system continues processing in the background. Most imports start automatically once earlier files finish.

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3. Try uploading outside busy hours

If you work with CSV files regularly:

• Try uploading early in the morning or later in the evening
• Avoid uploading several large files in a row
• Avoid peak hours for your team or workspace

This often speeds up the start of the import.

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4. Reduce the file size

CloudTalk supports importing large CSV files, including files with tens of thousands of rows. However, very large datasets require more processing time. As a general guideline:

• Larger files (for example above 5 MB) may take longer to process
• Files with hundreds of thousands of rows should be split into smaller batches
• For extremely large imports (for example 250,000+ rows), splitting the data into multiple files will significantly improve performance and reduce the chance of timeouts

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Tips to optimize large imports

To help your import process faster:

• Remove columns you do not need
• Shorten long free-text fields
• Reduce the number of custom attributes (if not required)
• Split very large files into several smaller CSV files
  • Example: instead of one file with 200,000 rows, use four files of 50,000 rows

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Maximum number of characters allowed for columns

Each field in CloudTalk has a maximum allowed number of characters. Exceeding these limits can cause import errors or field truncation.

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5. Use the CloudTalk CSV template

If your import never progresses or always gets stuck at the same point:

1. Download the CloudTalk CSV template
2. Open it in Google Sheets
3. Copy your data into the template
4. Export as CSV (UTF-8)
5. Try importing again

Google Sheets automatically cleans hidden formatting.

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6. Re-upload the file

Sometimes re-uploading can help if the previous upload failed or occurred during peak traffic, but it does not guarantee a faster queue position. This is especially useful if:

• You uploaded during a peak traffic moment
• Another import was blocking the queue
• You made changes to the file

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Faster alternatives to CSV import

If you regularly handle large amounts of contact data, CSV may not be the fastest option. Consider:

• Native integrations HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zoho, and others sync contacts automatically and bypass the CSV queue.
• CloudTalk API Ideal for large or frequent imports. The Bulk Requests endpoint supports high-throughput operations.
• Zapier or Make Best for dynamic sources such as Google Sheets. Once configured, updates flow into CloudTalk automatically.

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When to contact Support

You should contact Support if:

• The import stays on Contact import in progress for more than one hour
• The import never begins, even during low-traffic hours
• Re-uploading produces the same result
• No contacts appear after repeated attempts
• The file stalls consistently, even when split into smaller parts

Include:

• Your CSV file
• A screenshot of the import window, if available
• The approximate time of upload
• The size of the file

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