> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://breederbuddy.com/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Importing & Exporting Your Data > How to import your dogs, puppies, litters, contacts, and expenses into BreederBuddy from a spreadsheet, CSV, GoodDog export, or other software — use Buddy Intake to read any file, undo or fix an import, migrate your records with our team, and export your data to CSV or PDF. # Importing & Exporting Your Data > **Video walkthrough:** [Watch on Loom](#) *(link coming soon)* *** Already running your program somewhere else? You don't have to start from scratch. The fastest way in is **Buddy Intake**: drop almost any file — a spreadsheet in your own format, an Embark or OFA report, registration papers, even a photo of a pedigree chart — and Buddy reads it, fills in the records, and shows you everything for review before a single thing is saved. You can also import dogs, contacts, and expenses yourself with a CSV, or send us your records and our team will migrate them for you. *** ## What You Can Do Here * Drop any file on Buddy — spreadsheets, DNA reports, vet records, registrations, pedigree charts — and review what it found before it's saved * Drop a file that lists several animals (a litter record, a "dogs on hand" roster, a microchip report) and have every animal read row by row * Paste a table straight into Buddy's chat and turn it into an import * Undo a whole Buddy import with one click if something isn't right * Bulk import your dogs from a CSV spreadsheet — litters, parent links, and owner contacts come along automatically * Bulk import your contacts and your expenses from CSV * Send your export from GoodDog, a spreadsheet, or other software and have our team migrate it for you * Export your contacts, expenses, other income, and waitlists as CSV files * Download your Litter Planner timeline as a PDF *** ## Import with Buddy (Drop Any File) Buddy Intake reads your file, figures out what's in it, and builds an import plan you review before anything is saved. It handles spreadsheets in **your** format (no template needed), Embark and OFA test reports, registration certificates, vaccine and vet records, pedigree charts, and files that list a whole group of animals: litter records, puppy lists, "dogs on hand" rosters, and microchip registration reports. Send them as PDFs, photos, or spreadsheet files, up to 5 files at a time. You can start an import from any of these places: * **Buddy's chat** on your dashboard. Drop a file right onto the chat box, click the paperclip, or paste a picture or a table you copied from another program. When you paste a table, Buddy asks if you want to import it. * [**Buddy Intake**](https://app.breederbuddy.com/intake) in the left menu under **Tools & Analytics** * A dog's profile — the **Import with Buddy** button files everything straight to that dog * The [**Dogs**](https://app.breederbuddy.com/animals) page — cloud icon next to **Add Dog** → **Import with Buddy** Here's how it goes: 1. Drop your file (or a few). Buddy shows its progress while it reads. Most files take under a minute, big scans a little longer. 2. Buddy shows you what it found: new records to add, blanks it can fill in (like a missing registration number or microchip), and where it will file the document itself. 3. Look everything over. You can edit any step, skip the ones you don't want, and answer any questions Buddy has. Pedigree charts show up as a family tree, laid out just like the chart you gave it. 4. Click **Approve & Import**. Nothing is saved to your account until you do. 5. Changed your mind? Open the import and click **Undo this import**. Everything it created or changed is reversed. **Where to find an import again:** every import you start in the chat has a **Review & import** button right there in the conversation, and all of them are listed under **Recent imports** on the **Buddy Intake** page. Click any one to review, finish, or undo it. A few things worth knowing: * Buddy only **fills in blanks** on existing records — it never overwrites something you've already entered. * Tell Buddy what's in the file when you ask it to read one ("these are four female puppies, the registration numbers end 01 to 04"). It uses what you say to read the file properly. * If a document looks like it belongs to a different dog than the one you're importing to, Buddy warns you before anything is applied. * Re-importing the same document won't create doubles — Buddy recognizes records it has already added. * Buddy Intake needs an active plan, and your plan includes a monthly number of Buddy imports. The counter in the drop window shows how many you have left this month. See [**Settings → Subscription**](https://app.breederbuddy.com/settings?tab=subscription) for your plan. ### If an Import Stops Partway Once in a while an import gets partway through and stops on one step, usually because that step is missing something. Nothing is lost, and nothing after the step that stopped was saved. 1. Open the import. It tells you how many steps went in and why the next one stopped. 2. Click **Fix and retry**. The import goes back to review with the steps that already ran marked as done. 3. Fix that step or skip it, then click **Approve & Import** to finish the rest. 4. Rather start over? Click **Undo this import** to reverse the part that ran. Finishing an import that stopped partway doesn't use another one of your monthly imports. *** ## What You Can Import Yourself Three record types have a built-in CSV import: **Dogs**, **Contacts**, and **Expenses**. Each one works the same way — download the template, fill it in, upload it. ### Import Dogs 1. Go to **Dogs** in the left menu. 2. Click the cloud icon next to the **Add Dog** button (the tooltip says **Import/Export Dogs**). 3. Under **Import Dogs**, click **Import from CSV**. 4. Click **Download Template** to get a CSV with the correct column headers and example rows. 5. Fill in your dogs — one per row. Use the **Type** column to mark each as "Puppy", "Active Breeding Dog", "Retired", "Pet / Other", or "Deceased", and dates as YYYY-MM-DD. **Name** and **Type** are the only required columns. 6. Drop your file into the upload box and click **Import Dogs**. 7. Review the results screen. It shows how many dogs were imported, plus any litters, contacts, and breeds BreederBuddy created along the way, and flags any rows with warnings or errors. The dog import does more than just dogs: if you fill in **Litter\_Name**, **Sire\_Name**, and **Dam\_Name**, BreederBuddy creates the litters and links parents automatically. If you fill in **Owner\_Email**, it matches an existing contact or creates a new one. The same cloud-icon menu also shows **Import from External Registry**. Those registry imports are marked **Coming soon** and can't be used yet. ### Import Contacts 1. Go to [**Contacts**](https://app.breederbuddy.com/contacts) in the left menu. 2. Click the cloud icon next to the add-contact button (tooltip: **Import/Export Contacts**). 3. Click **Import Contacts**, then **Download Template**. 4. Fill in your contacts. **First Name** and **Email** are required; the rest (phone, address, notes) are optional. 5. Upload your file and click **Import Contacts**. BreederBuddy checks emails as it goes — anyone already in your contacts is skipped as a duplicate, so it's safe to re-upload a list without creating doubles. ### Import Expenses 1. Go to [**Expenses**](https://app.breederbuddy.com/expenses) in the left menu (under **Finances**). 2. Click the cloud icon near the **Add expense** button (tooltip: **Import/Export Expenses**). 3. Click **Import Expenses**, then **Download Template**. 4. Fill in your expenses. **Paid Date**, **Line Item Title**, and **Line Item Amount** are required; vendor, category, and tax fields are optional. 5. Upload your file and click **Import Expenses**. *** ## What We Migrate for You For a full-program migration — health records, pedigrees, photos, waitlists, past litters, or anything the CSV imports don't cover — you don't have to do it yourself. Our team migrates it for you. 1. Open the chat in the bottom right corner of your screen. 2. Tell us where your records live today — a GoodDog export, a spreadsheet, or another breeding software. 3. Send us the export file (or spreadsheet) right in the chat. 4. We take it from there and import your records into your account, then let you know when everything is in place. You don't need to reformat anything first — send us what you have, and we'll sort out the rest. *** ## Exporting Your Data Your records are yours. Here's what you can download today: * **Contacts:** On the **Contacts** page, click the cloud icon, choose **Export Contacts**, then click **Export Contacts CSV**. You get a spreadsheet of names and emails, ready for email tools — archived contacts are left out. * **Expenses:** On the **Expenses** page, click the cloud icon, choose **Export Expenses**, then click **Export Expenses CSV**. The file includes your expenses with line items and totals, ready for your accountant. * **Other Income:** On the **Other Income** page (under **Finances**), click **Export CSV**. * **Waitlists:** Open any waitlist, click the **download icon** at the top (hover text: **Download options**), and choose **Export CSV** for a spreadsheet or **Download PDF** for a printable copy. * **Litter Planner:** Click **Export PDF** in the top right of the Litter Planner for a PDF of your breeding timeline. Dog export to CSV is coming soon — the button is already on the Dogs import/export screen but isn't active yet. If you need a copy of your dog records in the meantime, ask us in the chat and we'll get them to you. *** ## Tips & Common Questions > **Can I import both my customers and my dogs?** > > Yes. Import your customers (buyers, families, guardians) with the **Contacts** CSV import, and your dogs with the **Dogs** CSV import, or drop either spreadsheet on Buddy. Tip: fill in **Owner\_Email** in the dog file and BreederBuddy links each dog to the matching customer, creating the contact if it isn't there yet. > **Can I undo an import?** > > Buddy imports: yes — open the import and click **Undo this import**, and everything it created or changed is reversed. The CSV imports don't have an undo button, so for those the best protection is to start with a small test file — import a few rows first, check that everything looks right, then upload the rest. If an import didn't go the way you expected, reach out through the chat in the bottom right corner and we'll help you clean it up. > **What if I'm coming from GoodDog, BreederZoo, or another platform?** > > Send us your export through the chat and we'll migrate it for you — you don't need to convert it into our CSV format yourself. Spreadsheets in any reasonable shape work too. If you'd rather do it yourself, the Dogs, Contacts, and Expenses CSV imports are open to you anytime. > **What happens to duplicates when I import?** > > Buddy imports recognize records that already exist — a health test, payment, dog, or contact that's already in your account is reused instead of doubled, so re-importing the same document is safe. The contact CSV import skips anyone whose email already exists, and the results screen lists exactly which rows were skipped. For dog CSVs, review the warnings and errors on the results screen after each import — every flagged row shows its row number and the reason. > **Do I have to use the template?** > > Your file needs the template's column headers (they're case-sensitive), so starting from the template is strongly recommended. Download it, paste your data under the headers, and you're set. The contact and expense imports accept CSV files up to 5MB. *** ## Still Have Questions? We're here to help. If something isn't working the way you expect, or you'd like to have a discussion around a certain topic, please reach out to us anytime through the chat in the bottom right corner of your screen. Thank you. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.