The Download CSV button, the nine columns in the file, opening it in Excel, date and phone formats, and what the file covers.
Last updated: September 30, 2026
When you need to hand your contact list to your accountant, load it into an SMS tool or simply keep a backup, one button downloads it as a spreadsheet file. This guide explains which columns the file carries, who is allowed to download it, and what to watch out for when opening it in Excel.
⚠️ Exporting is available only to the owner and administrator roles. In every other role the Download CSV button is not drawn at all. If your role's contact scope is narrowed, the file carries only the contacts in your scope. See Access and visibility policy.
The CSV file is the only way to take your contact list outside the panel. It does three jobs:
The button is an ordinary link: no new screen opens and no "preparing" notice appears. On accounts with many contacts the download can take a few seconds.
If your business is locked (because of payment or plan), the button takes you to the lock screen rather than to a raw error.
The file carries nine columns, always in the same order:
| Column | Content |
|---|---|
| Name | The name on the contact card; can be empty |
| Username | The Instagram username (empty on WhatsApp) |
| Phone | The number on the card |
| The address on the card | |
| Channel | The channel type: INSTAGRAM or WHATSAPP |
| Account | The name of the connected account the person wrote to |
| Tags | The person's tags, comma-separated in a single cell |
| Last message | When the person last wrote to you |
| First contact | When the contact record was created |
Column headings are written in the panel's language: if you use the panel in English, the headings are English.
The Channel column is not translated — it carries the system's own value, so the cell reads INSTAGRAM or WHATSAPP. If you want a readable name in your spreadsheet, replace them yourself with find-and-replace.
The Last message and First contact columns carry a full timestamp (year-month-day plus time, in universal time). The relative phrases you see on screen, such as "3 days ago", never reach the file. Use your spreadsheet's date functions to convert to local time.
If the person has never written to you, the Last message cell is empty.
The file does not carry everything on the contact card. These are not included:
If you need any of these, read them from the contact card. See The contact card.
This is the behaviour that surprises people most often: the CSV does not apply the filter you set on screen. If a tag filter has narrowed your list to 40 people and you press Download CSV, the file contains not those 40 but every contact you are allowed to see.
The only things that limit the file are:
If you need a filtered export, the practical route is: download the whole list and filter by the Tags column in your spreadsheet.
The file is produced in UTF-8 with a marker at the start; that marker makes Excel show accented characters correctly. Double-clicking the file is enough — you do not need to walk through any "text to columns" steps.
Watch out for two formatting details:
+90… gets a leading apostrophe so spreadsheets do not read it as a formula. The number looks right in the cell and is never evaluated. The same protection is applied to every value starting with =, +, - or @.In Google Sheets, load the file with File → Import; drag and drop works too.
The file carries your customers' names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses. The moment you download it, that data leaves the panel's protection.
Every export is written to the portfolio's audit trail: who downloaded what and when can be seen afterwards.
If the file will not download or comes back empty, check your permission and contact scope, then get in touch with our Support team.
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