Instead of a notebook and Excel: your client list online
On 13 and 14 October 2026 I took files the way a small salon actually keeps them: a notebook retyped into Polish Excel and saved as plain "CSV", an export from Google Forms, and a list of services. I imported them into Slotsy as a studio owner. On 13 October a row without an e-mail was refused, and a notebook has almost no e-mails. Since 14 October a name and a phone are enough.
Quick answer. In Slotsy, since 14.10.2026, a name and a phone number are enough to import a client; an e-mail is not needed. A file from Polish Excel is read with Polish letters, the columns "Imię i nazwisko" and "Telefon" are recognised on their own, and a second import of the same file duplicates nobody. Write numbers with the country code (+48, +380). The import does not move future appointments; Booksy moves them in its free data transfer. The Free plan costs 0 zł for one person.
Create a Free account: 0 zł for one person, no card, works next to what you use now. If you would rather not do it yourself, leave your Instagram link and we set Slotsy up for you for free: we set it up for you.
What a notebook, Excel and a form do not do
In a notebook only you can see the free times. The client asks by message and waits for your answer. Excel is a list, but nobody gets a reminder from it. Google Forms collects a request for a time, but it does not hide hours that are already taken, so you still confirm each booking by message.
With online booking the client sees only free hours and books themselves. More: a simple booking system.
Preparing the file
- Columns. Name in one column ("Imię i nazwisko") or two ("Imię", "Nazwisko"), phone, optionally notes. E-mail is optional.
- Numbers with a country code. +48 for Polish, +380 for Ukrainian. A number without a code Slotsy reads by the studio's country, which it takes from the studio's time zone: in a studio in Warsaw "601 333 444" is +48 601 333 444. The online booking page proposes the Ukrainian code by default, so if you leave a number without +48 in the file and the client later books on their own, they may appear a second time.
- Ukrainian names in Polish Excel. Save the file as "CSV UTF-8 (rozdzielany przecinkami)". The plain "CSV" of Polish Excel turns Cyrillic into "?" already in the file, before Slotsy sees it. From Google Forms or Google Sheets, download the sheet as CSV.
What happened to my file
The test studio was set to Kyiv time, so numbers without a code were read as Ukrainian.
| Row in the file (Imię i nazwisko; Telefon; Notatki) | Result |
|---|---|
| Żaneta Kłos; +48 601 111 222; hybryda co 3 tygodnie | imported, number +48 601 111 222, note under the name, no e-mail |
| Bożena Wąs; 601 333 444 | not imported: "Phone "601 333 444" not recognised and no e-mail", a Polish number without +48 in a studio on Kyiv time |
| Iryna Kowal; +380 50 123 45 67; rzęsy 1:1 | skipped: a client with this number was already in the studio |
| Ania; (empty) | not imported: "E-mail or phone is required" |
| The same file a second time | 0 imported, 2 skipped |
Slotsy shows the error lines in English in every language, so I quote them as they appear.
The steps of the import:
- Start. The button at the bottom of the setup checklist: "Import data from CSV".
- Choose. "What do you want to import?" → "Customers". Drop the file and click "Upload & Preview".
- Column mapping. "Map your columns". In my file all 3 of 3 columns were matched by themselves. Any column can be set to "Skip this column".
- Preview. In my file: 3 "valid", 1 "with errors" (Ania with no number), button "Import 3 records". The preview only checks that a row has a name and a contact: Bożena's unreadable number and Iryna's duplicate showed up only at import.
- Result. "Import complete!": how many were imported, skipped, how many errors, and one line per problem row.
In the help centre: setup assistant.
A client who is already in the studio is skipped: by e-mail when the row has one, by phone number when it has not. So a second import of the same notebook adds nobody.
Services from the same Excel
On 13.10 I imported a services file from Polish Excel: "Manicure hybrydowy;60;120,00", "Pedicure;75;140", "Przedłużanie rzęs 1:1;120;1 250,50 zł". The durations 60, 75 and 120 minutes and the prices 120.00 / 140.00 / 1250.50 were read, in the studio's currency. After the import none of the services had a staff member assigned: open each service and tick who does it, otherwise nobody can book it online. Description: service management.
What does a client without an e-mail get?
A client without an e-mail gets no e-mails. They get reminders by SMS on paid plans; on Free there are no SMS to clients.
- SMS credits a month: Free 0, Start 70, Team 200, Business 400. One SMS to a Polish number is 2 credits, to a Ukrainian number 3. So Start (79 zł a month) is 35 SMS to Polish numbers a month.
- By default the reminder one hour before the visit is on and the other events are off. You set this in the notification settings.
- The client can connect Telegram themselves on their booking page; then reminders go there.
- When such a client books online for the first time with an e-mail and the same number, Slotsy treats them as the same client: the e-mail is added, the history stays one, there is no duplicate.
- On Free a client moved from the notebook gets no reminders from Slotsy until they book online themselves. You remind them as before.
You can add one client by hand: "Customers" → "New Customer". The form says: "An email or a phone is enough — clients from a notebook often have only the number." Descriptions: notifications, paid add-ons, customer management.
How others move a client list
Pages checked 13.10.2026.
| Slotsy | Booksy | Fresha | Bookero | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Client list from a file | CSV from Excel or Google Sheets; Polish and Ukrainian headers recognised | from the phone or a .csv file | CSV, with a template and column mapping | not described on the site or in the FAQ |
| What a client row needs | a name and a phone or an e-mail | not checked | only a first name | — |
| Duplicates | by e-mail or by phone number | not checked | by e-mail and phone | — |
| Future appointments | not moved | moved, in the free data transfer service | not stated on the page | — |
| Someone does it for you | free "we set it up for you": services, prices, schedule from your Instagram | free data transfer service | not stated on the page | help with configuring the system |
Sources: Booksy ("import your client contact info from your phone or a .csv file"), Fresha ("Mandatory: First name"), Bookero ("pomagamy przy konfiguracji systemu"). All checked 13.10.2026.
Booksy moves future appointments for you and Slotsy does not: you enter future visits by hand. Fresha needs only a first name; Slotsy needs a phone or an e-mail, but a notebook always has a phone. If your notebook is full of visits for the coming weeks and you do not want to retype them, Booksy's transfer does that work. If it is mainly a list of clients with numbers, Slotsy takes it as it is, at 0 zł for one person.
What does not work well yet
There are downsides.
- Future appointments are not imported.
- A row where Excel has already turned letters into "?" shows in the preview as valid and is imported as "??????". Check Ukrainian names before you press import.
- A client written with one word ("Ania") is imported, but to save changes in their card later you have to add a last name.
- Services come in without staff assigned; you assign them by hand.
- On Free a client without an e-mail gets no reminders from Slotsy.
Frequently asked questions
Do my clients need an e-mail to be imported? No. Since 14.10.2026 a name and a phone number are enough in Slotsy; a row with neither a readable number nor an e-mail is listed in the import result and not imported.
What if I import the same file twice? Nobody is added twice: Slotsy skips a client already in the studio, by e-mail or, without one, by phone number. My second import: 0 imported, 2 skipped.
Why did Ukrainian names turn into question marks? The plain "CSV" of Polish Excel saves Cyrillic as "?" in the file itself. Save as "CSV UTF-8 (rozdzielany przecinkami)" or export from Google Sheets.
Will a client from the notebook get reminders? Not by e-mail, if they have none. SMS reminders go out on paid plans (Start: 70 credits a month, 2 credits per SMS to a Polish number); on Free there are no SMS. After their first online booking with an e-mail they also get e-mails.
Can Slotsy move my future appointments? No, the import moves clients, services and staff. Booksy moves future appointments in its free data transfer. In Slotsy you can leave your Instagram link and we move services and prices and set up the schedule for free.
What if the client later books online themselves? If they give an e-mail and the same number, Slotsy adds the e-mail to the existing client; the history stays one.
Import checked 13 and 14.10.2026, Booksy, Fresha and Bookero pages 13.10.2026, plan prices 14.10.2026.
Export your list to CSV and import it from the setup checklist: Slotsy Free costs 0 zł for one person, needs no card and works next to your notebook. Or leave your Instagram link. See also: a free booking system.