Import and manage customers, suppliers, and contacts
Import customer, supplier, and contact master data from CSV, then manage duplicate checks, company hierarchy, and contact associations in Sanka.
Last updated: May 16, 2026
This guide walks you through importing customer, supplier, and contact master data into Sanka from CSV, then managing it as partner data for sales, purchasing, billing, and related workflows.As an example, a beauty wholesale company imports customer accounts, supplier accounts, and contact people from existing spreadsheets. Ask Claude or Codex to review the CSV first, then confirm the data before creating or updating records.
Overall Flow
Partner data includes company names, customer or supplier classification, contact people, email addresses, and sometimes parent-child company relationships.
Review the CSV: Check companies, contacts, classifications, duplicate candidates, and missing fields.
Import companies: Create or update customer and supplier company records.
Import contacts: Create contact records and associate them with companies.
Manage relationships: Review parent-child companies, customer/supplier classifications, and contact associations.
Sanka manages customers and suppliers as company records, with contacts associated to those companies. When you use an AI agent, start with a review step so duplicate and missing data issues are visible before the import runs.
Before You Start
Confirm that you have:
Connected Claude or Codex to Sanka
Prepared CSV files for customers, suppliers, and contacts
Included fields for duplicate checks, such as company name, email address, or phone number
Decided how to store customer and supplier classification
Open a new chat in Claude or Codex, then share the CSV column names and a few sample rows.
Sample prompt
/sanka I want to import customer, supplier, and contact master data into Sanka from CSV. Review the column names, identify which fields should go to company records, which fields should go to contact records, how to map customer/supplier classification, duplicate company or email candidates, and missing fields. Do not run the import yet.
Claude
I want to import customer, supplier, and contact master data into Sanka from CSV. Review the column names, identify which fields should go to company records, which fields should go to contact records, how to map customer/supplier classification, duplicate company or email candidates, and missing fields. Do not run the import yet.
Review CSV before importing to SankaI reviewed the CSV columns. I can separate company fields, contact fields, duplicate candidates, and missing classification values. I will not run the import yet.
Ask for another check...
At this point, do not create records yet. Ask the agent to check:
Company name variations
Duplicate contact email addresses
Customer, supplier, or customer-and-supplier classification
Whether the company name on each contact row matches a company row
Whether parent-child company relationships need to be imported
2. Prepare the Company CSV
First, prepare the CSV that will create or update company records for customers and suppliers.
Text
Company name,Partner type,Email,Phone,Address,Owner
Midori Salon Inc.,Customer,info@example.com,03-0000-0000,Tokyo,Tanaka
Hana Supplies Inc.,Supplier,sales@example.com,06-0000-0000,Osaka,Sato
If customers and suppliers are currently in separate spreadsheets, align them to the same columns before importing into Sanka. This makes duplicate checks and property mapping easier.When updating existing companies, include a field that identifies the record, such as company ID or external ID. Updating by company name alone can be risky when names vary or multiple companies share a similar name.
3. Import Companies
After reviewing the company CSV, import it into the company object in Sanka.
Open the Company object.
Click Import in the top-right corner.
Upload the CSV file.
Map CSV columns to Sanka company properties.
Choose create or update.
For updates, select the key property such as company ID or external ID.
Review the mapping and run the import.
Store customer and supplier classification as a company property. If a company can be both a customer and a supplier, use a multi-select property, tag, or another workspace convention that fits your process.
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If supplier records will be used for purchase orders or bills, prepare payment terms, tax settings, and billing details before downstream purchasing workflows start.
4. Import Contacts and Associate Them with Companies
After companies are registered, import people and points of contact as contact records.
Text
First name,Last name,Email,Phone,Company name,Title
Misaki,Tanaka,tanaka@example.com,03-0000-0001,Midori Salon Inc.,Purchasing manager
Ken,Sato,sato@example.com,06-0000-0001,Hana Supplies Inc.,Sales representative
Include a column that identifies the company for each contact. If you map by company name, confirm that the value matches the imported company exactly. For safer matching, use company ID or external ID.Ask the AI agent to check the contact CSV before importing:
Sample prompt
/sanka Before importing this contact CSV into Sanka, check company names and email addresses. List rows that cannot be associated with a company, rows with duplicate email addresses, and rows missing first or last names. Do not run the import yet.
5. Manage Partner Data
After importing, review companies and contacts in Sanka.Check that:
Customer and supplier classification is populated
Contacts are associated with the correct companies
Duplicate companies and duplicate email addresses are resolved
Parent-child company relationships are set where needed
Fields used by downstream quotes, orders, purchase orders, bills, and invoices are complete
For parent-child company updates, see the parent-child company section in CSV import.
Checkpoints
Use logs to review AI checks and CSV import activity. Keeping a record of who imported which CSV and which records were created or updated makes cleanup easier later.
Search Sanka...
Review import history in logs
Logs
Search logsAll actionsAll dates
ID / ActionDateTarget / ItemChangeActor
3Imported contact CSV2026/05/10 11:20ContactsCreated 2 records and updated 1 recordCodex integration
2Imported company CSV2026/05/10 11:05CompaniesRegistered customer and supplier master dataCodex integration
1Reviewed CSV duplicate candidates2026/05/10 10:48Import preparationChecked company names and email addressesClaude integration
You can also review partner type, associated company, and email address in the company and contact tables.
Are customers and suppliers separate objects?
In Sanka, customers and suppliers can be managed as company records and separated by classifications or tags. Use them as customers in quotes and orders, and as suppliers in purchase orders and bills.
Can I import contacts first?
Import companies first, then import contacts and associate them with companies. Including company name, company ID, or external ID in the contact CSV makes association safer.
What if the CSV may duplicate existing data?
Ask the AI agent to list duplicate candidates between existing companies and the CSV. Review company name, email address, phone number, and external ID. If the decision is unclear, run a small test import before importing all rows.
Next Guides
CSV import — Supported objects and special CSV import cases
