> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.maestra.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How to Import Touchpoints

A **touchpoint** is the way you reach the customer — sometimes the place the action happened — through which the action takes place. A website, a store, or a social network, for example.

Touchpoints can be grouped, or classified, using channels. For more on those, see [how to add](/customers-orders-and-products/actions/channels-and-touchpoints/channels/how-to-create-a-channel) and [how to import](/import-data/references/how-to-import-channels) channels.

To load touchpoints into your account in bulk, go to **Customer Data Platform → Imports**. Click **New import** to open the import settings.

<Note>
  You can also add touchpoints one at a time through the interface — see [How to create a touchpoint](/customers-orders-and-products/actions/channels-and-touchpoints/touchpoints/how-to-create-a-touchpoint).
</Note>

## Step 1. Choose what to do with the data

Pick the import type — **Reference data → Touchpoints**.

## Step 2. Prepare and upload the file

Work out which fields you need.

### Fields for loading new touchpoints

| Field                                                     | Required       | Description                                                                                              |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | -------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Maestra parent channel ID<br />Parent channel external ID | ✅ At least one | The parent channel the new touchpoint will be attached to                                                |
| Touchpoint external ID                                    | ✅              | The unique ID the new touchpoint is loaded under. A Maestra ID is generated automatically after the load |
| Touchpoint name                                           | ❌              | A unique touchpoint name. If omitted, it's taken from the external ID                                    |
| Touchpoint description                                    | ❌              | Extra information about the touchpoint — what it's for                                                   |
| Custom fields                                             | ❌              | Any custom fields configured on the account for the **Touchpoint** entity                                |

### Fields for editing existing touchpoints

| Field                                                     | Required       | Description                                                               |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Maestra parent channel ID<br />Parent channel external ID | ✅ At least one | The parent channel the touchpoint is attached to                          |
| Touchpoint external ID<br />Touchpoint Maestra ID         | ✅ At least one | The ID of the touchpoint you're editing                                   |
| Touchpoint name                                           | ❌              | A unique touchpoint name. If omitted, it's taken from the external ID     |
| Touchpoint description                                    | ❌              | Extra information about the touchpoint — what it's for                    |
| Custom fields                                             | ❌              | Any custom fields configured on the account for the **Touchpoint** entity |

<Accordion title="How do I find a parent channel's Maestra ID or external ID?">
  Find the parent channel under **Settings → Customers and actions → Channels**.
</Accordion>

Build the file. Use the first row for the names of the fields you're loading data into — the wording is up to you.

* File format: `.csv` or `.txt`.

See [Preparing a file for import](/import-data/preparing-a-file-for-import) for the full set of recommendations.

Upload the file and click **Continue**.

## Step 3. Map the file's fields

Maestra Platform maps the file's fields to its own automatically. Check the result and adjust it by hand if you need to:

* In the **Import** column, tick the fields you want to load. Unticked columns are skipped.
* In the **Maestra field** column, map each file column to a field on the account. Optional fields left unmapped are skipped.

If a custom field you need doesn't exist yet, create it with the **Create custom field** button.

Click **Continue**.

## Step 4. Review and start the import

Before you start, Maestra Platform shows the first rows of the file with the mapping already applied.

* Check that the data looks the way you expect.
* Add an import comment if you want one.
* Start the import.

## How to track the import

Once started, the import appears in the list on the **Import** page. For each task you'll see:

* start date,
* import type,
* source file with its comment,
* load progress,
* rows imported and errors,
* who started it.

If errors came up during the import, some rows were skipped. Open the import details to see which rows had a problem and why. Fix them in the file and run the import again.

## The result

Once the import finishes, the touchpoints show up in the data section.