Key takeaways
- One CSV file can hold up to 5,000 rows and 10 MB; a bigger list is split into several files.
- Comma, semicolon, tab and pipe delimiters are detected, in UTF-8 or Latin-1 encoding.
- Ten-digit numbers get +1; other numbers need their country code in E.164 form.
- Each list keeps up to 20 custom fields from extra columns.
Why dialing a spreadsheet by hand breaks down
- Copying numbers from a spreadsheet into a phone app one by one is slow and easy to get wrong.
- Lists arrive with mixed phone formats, missing country codes and duplicate rows.
- Nobody can tell from the spreadsheet who was already called, by whom, and what happened.
- Extra columns like a property address or a CRM id get lost when the list moves into a dialer.
From CSV file to dialing queue
Upload the file
Choose a CSV up to 10 MB. Comma, semicolon, tab and pipe delimiters are detected, and UTF-8 or Latin-1 encoding is accepted.
Check the preview
See how many rows become new leads, merge into existing leads, are already on the list, have a bad or missing phone, are duplicates, or are on your Do Not Call list.
Confirm the columns
Phone, first and last name, email, company and a CRM id are matched automatically. Change any match, and tick extra columns to keep as custom fields.
Import and dial
Set an owner and tags if you like, import, and open the list in the Dialer with Power Dial on.
How do you call a list of phone numbers automatically?
To call a list of phone numbers automatically from your computer, save the list as a CSV, import it into Rapidialer, and press Start in the Dialer with Power Dial on. Rapidialer rings the first contact through Twilio in your browser; when you log an outcome, a five-second countdown runs and the next number dials itself.
Nothing rings while you are still on a call or writing notes, so every answered call reaches you. You can skip the countdown to dial at once, or cancel it to pause. This is the auto dial a CSV list workflow in full: no desk phone, no app to install, and no numbers typed by hand. A contact outside the list’s calling hours waits in the queue until its local time comes around, instead of ringing.
Spreadsheet users have two routes. From Excel, save as CSV UTF-8 and upload; for Google Sheets, the walkthrough on power dialing a spreadsheet covers the export. Rapidialer is not an Excel auto dialer that reads the workbook itself; the CSV upload is the one way in.
Which phone number formats does the CSV import accept?
Rapidialer accepts any number it can turn into E.164, the + and country code form Twilio dials. Numbers are stored in international E.164 format. A number that starts with + is kept as is; ten digits are treated as a US or Canadian number and get +1; eleven digits starting with 1 get a +; other numbers of 11 to 15 digits get a + in front. Anything else is reported as a bad number in the preview.
That means numbers from outside North America need their country code in E.164 form. A UK mobile written as 07700 900123 should be +44 7700 900123 before you import.
Which column headers does Rapidialer recognize?
Rapidialer recognizes common names for phone, name, email, company and CRM id columns, matched without regard to case or spaces. You can always change a match in the preview, but these names are picked up on their own:
- Phone: phone, mobile, phone_number, tel, telephone, number, or any header containing phone, mobile, cell or tel.
- Name: first_name, firstname, first, given_name, full_name, name; last_name, lastname, surname, family_name.
- Email and company: email, email_address, e-mail; company, organization, org, account, business_name, business or title. A job-title column named “Title” is therefore read as the company, so change that match in the preview if your file uses it for job titles.
- CRM id: external_id, crm_id, lead_id, id.
Duplicates and leads
A number that is already on the list is skipped, and leads are matched by phone number across your whole organization, so importing an overlapping list adds the new rows to the existing leads instead of creating copies. Each list keeps up to 20 custom fields from your extra columns.
Preparing a CSV for dialing
Before the import:
- Put the number to call first in the phone column. Rapidialer dials one phone column per row.
- Add country codes to numbers outside the US and Canada, so they are stored correctly.
- Remove people who asked not to be called, and scrub consumer lists against the National Do Not Call Registry. Rapidialer’s own Do Not Call list only knows the numbers your team has added to it.
- Keep the columns reps need on screen, such as company, last contact date or property address, and drop the rest; a cold calling spreadsheet template starts you with the basics.
- Split very large files into lists of up to 5,000 rows by region or campaign, so each list can have its own calling hours and retry rules.
What the import does with each row
Every row in the file ends up in one of a few places:
- New number: a new lead and a contact in the list, ready to dial.
- Number you already have as a lead: merged into that lead, so its call history stays in one place, and added to this list.
- Number already on this list: skipped and counted as a duplicate.
- Number on your Do Not Call list: imported as a closed contact with the DND outcome, so it shows in the list but is never dialed.
- Missing or unreadable number: not imported. After the import, a notice lists each one by line, such as “Line 214: Invalid phone number length,” so you can fix the file and import those rows again.
Worked example: a 7,200-row list from a data provider
A file over 5,000 rows stops at the limit, and the rest are reported as “Exceeded 5000 row limit.” Split it in your spreadsheet into one file of 5,000 rows and one of 2,200, keeping the header row in both, and import each into the same list. Overlapping numbers are caught as duplicates, so importing a file twice does no harm.
Before the first file, set Assign new leads to if one rep owns the list, or leave it unassigned so several reps can share it, and use Tag imported leads to mark the source (for example “provider-oct”). Then open List settings → Dialing rules to set calling hours and retries before anyone presses Start, and pick the caller ID strategy: one default number, each rep’s own line, or local caller ID matched to the lead’s area code. Every option draws on numbers bought in the Twilio account; Rapidialer can’t call from a Twilio Verified Caller ID.
What does dialing an imported list cost?
Importing is free; you pay Twilio only for the calls a list produces, plus $5 per seat a month. A 3-rep team at about 1,000 billed minutes per rep pays roughly $64.95 to Twilio and $15 for seats, $79.95 in all; ten reps pay about $216.50 and $50 (Twilio US voice pricing). A calls cost estimate runs your own volume.
Two Twilio Console checks belong before the first import: upgrade the account from trial, which can only call verified numbers, and allow every country in the file under voice geo permissions.
Why won’t my CSV import cleanly?
A CSV usually fails because no column was matched as the phone, the encoding is wrong, or a spreadsheet reformatted the numbers. The preview shows each problem before anything is saved:
- “Choose which column holds the phone number.” No header looked like a phone column. Pick it in the Phone match.
- Accents and names look garbled. Save the file as CSV UTF-8 from your spreadsheet app and upload it again.
- Numbers show as 4.16E+09 or lost their leading +. A spreadsheet reformatted the column. Format it as text, retype or paste the numbers in E.164, and export again.
- Many rows are bad numbers. They are often extensions or two numbers in one cell. Put one number per cell, and move extensions to a custom field.
The features behind it
- Power DialSequential power dialing: the next contact is dialed after each wrap-up and a five-second countdown.
- Leads and pipelineA lightweight lead pipeline with custom stages, temperature, saved views and CSV export.
- Do Not Call listAn organization-wide internal Do Not Call list that blocks outbound calls to listed numbers.
- Calling hoursPer-list calling windows checked in each contact’s own time zone.
Teams that use it this way
- Real estate wholesalersHow wholesalers and investors work skip-traced seller lists and cold-calling VAs in Rapidialer.
- Real estate agentsHow listing agents work expired, FSBO and sphere lists in Rapidialer.
CSV dialer: questions and answers
Can I upload an Excel file?
Save it as CSV first: in Excel or Google Sheets, export the sheet as a CSV file. Rapidialer imports CSV files; it does not read XLSX workbooks or Google Sheets directly. In Excel, choose CSV UTF-8 when you save so accented names survive.
How big can a list be?
Rapidialer’s CSV import takes up to 5,000 rows per file and files up to 10 MB. Rows past the limit are reported as “Exceeded 5000 row limit” and not imported. For a bigger list, split it into several files with the same header row and import each into the same list; numbers already on the list are skipped as duplicates.
What happens to columns Rapidialer does not recognize?
You choose. In the import preview, tick any column Rapidialer did not match to keep it as a custom field on the list, up to 20 per list, or leave it out. Custom fields suit details like a property address or the lead’s source.
Can I import contacts with several phone numbers?
Rapidialer dials one phone column per row, so a contact with a mobile and an office line needs two rows. Put each extra number on its own row with the same name and details, and each number becomes its own lead with its own call history.
Does Rapidialer scrub my CSV against the National Do Not Call Registry?
No. Rapidialer checks each row against your organization’s own Do Not Call list during the import and closes any match with the DND outcome, but it does not check the National Do Not Call Registry. For consumer telemarketing lists, scrub the file against the registry before you upload it, as the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule expects.
Can several reps dial the same imported list?
Yes. Leave Assign new leads to empty when you import, and every rep with access can work the list in the Dialer. Rapidialer hands each rep a different contact, and each call is logged under the rep who made it.
Is there a CSV template for a Twilio dialer list?
Rapidialer needs no fixed template: any CSV with a header row and one phone column imports, and the preview lets you match the columns by hand. A simple layout that matches on its own is phone, first_name, last_name, email, company and notes, with numbers in E.164. Add extra columns, such as a property address, and keep up to 20 of them per list as custom fields.