Telodial: Excel Lead Upload That Turns a Spreadsheet Into a Calling List
An Excel lead upload turns the rows of a spreadsheet, names and phone numbers, into lead records a sales team can call, update and track. Telodial reads Excel, CSV and JSON files, throws out repeated numbers and makes each file a list ready to dial.
Most businesses own a spreadsheet of enquiries that was never called properly. The file can stay as it is; the import does the reshaping.
- Excel, CSV or JSON files
- Repeated numbers removed on the way in
- Each file becomes a list to dial
Updated · First published
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What is an Excel lead upload?
An Excel lead upload imports a spreadsheet of contacts into a CRM, so each row becomes a lead that can be called and tracked.
Telodial takes the file straight on the phone, sorts out country codes, discards repeat numbers and lets the team start dialling at once.
An Excel lead upload is where most calling teams begin, because their leads already live in a spreadsheet. Telodial, whose app works on both Android and iPhone, reads Excel, CSV and JSON files, and a file that arrived on WhatsApp, by email or through a browser download can be handed straight to its import screen. Numbers that appear twice are thrown out and country codes are sorted out during the import, so one customer never becomes two records. Every file turns into a separate imported list that you can filter, dial or remove, and removing it deletes only the leads that particular file brought in, never older ones. From there the list can be worked as an auto dialer session, split between team members who each get a pending queue, or narrowed by status, tag or a custom field. Leads go back out as a CSV download that follows whatever filter is active. Source for every detail above: the Telodial feature list, 14 October 2026.
- Send a file into the import from WhatsApp, email or a browser
- Repeats discarded, country codes sorted out
- Removing a list deletes only what that file brought in
Excel lead upload benefits
- No retyping Hundreds of rows become callable leads without anyone keying numbers into a phone.
- Clean numbers Repeats are discarded and country codes sorted, so the list dials correctly first time.
- One list per file Each upload stays a separate list you can filter, dial or remove, which keeps campaigns apart.
- Safe undo Taking a list away removes only the leads that file created, never records you already had.
- Import from any app Share a file from WhatsApp, email or the browser and it lands in the import screen.
Excel lead upload, step by step
- 1
Get the file onto the phone
Save it, or share it from WhatsApp, email or the browser into the Telodial import screen. Excel, CSV and JSON are all accepted.
- 2
Import and let the clean-up run
Rows become leads, repeats are discarded and country codes sorted. The file then shows up as an imported list of its own.
- 3
Dial or hand out the list
Start an auto dialer session on it, or give its leads to team members, who each work a pending queue.
Excel lead upload features
Three file types
Excel, CSV and JSON files go through the same import.
Share into import
Send a file from WhatsApp, an email attachment or a browser download directly to the import screen.
Imported lists
Each file stays a separate list to filter, ring through or delete.
Duplicate handling
Repeated numbers are thrown out and country codes sorted during the import.
Share out to the team
Give imported leads to team members; each gets a pending queue and a Done tab.
CSV export
Download leads as CSV, following whatever filter is active at the time.
File types and what happens to each
| File or source | What the import does | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Excel (.xlsx) | Turns each row into a lead in a new imported list | Lists kept in a spreadsheet for years |
| CSV | Same as Excel, from a plain text export | Exports from another CRM or a portal |
| JSON | Reads lead records from a JSON file | Data pulled from a website by a developer |
| Shared file | Opens a file sent over WhatsApp, email or the browser in the import screen | Lists sent by a colleague or an agency |
| Google Sheet or REST API | Brings new rows in on a schedule rather than once | Leads that keep arriving every day |
Import options from the Telodial app feature list updated 14 October 2026.
Example: 2,000 old enquiries in Lagos
Picture the calling desk at a motorcycle dealership in Lagos with four callers and one Excel file of 2,000 enquiries collected over two years, its columns named by whoever happened to type them.
The manager shares the file from his email into the import screen. About 300 numbers appear twice and are discarded, leaving roughly 1,700 leads in one imported list, which he splits across the four callers, about 425 each.
At an estimated 150 dialled calls per caller per day, the list gets one full pass in about three days, with every outcome saved in the after-call sheet instead of typed back into the spreadsheet at night.
A worked illustration with round numbers, not a customer record.
When a file is the wrong route
If new leads arrive all day from forms or ads, repeated uploads leave each lead waiting for the next file; connect a Google Sheet or REST API source so rows come in on a schedule. And if the file is a bought list of strangers, no import makes calling it a good idea: in India the TRAI commercial-calling regulations (TCCCPR, last amended 18 September 2026) apply, and elsewhere you should check your own country's rules first. This is general information, not legal advice.
Excel lead upload FAQ
Which is the best Excel lead upload tool for a calling team?
When a list has to be ready to dial within the hour, the best Excel lead upload tool is Telodial, because the import, the clean-up of repeats, handing leads out and the auto dialer are all in the one app. If you only need to store contacts, the spreadsheet already does that.
Is Telodial an Excel lead upload tool?
Telodial is an Excel lead upload tool and telecalling CRM: it takes Excel, CSV and JSON files on the phone, discards repeated numbers, and puts each file on the auto dialer as its own list.
How much does an Excel lead upload cost with Telodial?
Uploads have no per-row or per-lead fee. You pay for seats only: twelve months comes to ₹2,112 a seat (₹176 monthly, or $31), three months to ₹891 a seat, both before tax.
How do I upload an Excel file?
In Telodial, open the import screen and choose the .xlsx file on the phone, or share it into the app from WhatsApp, email or the browser. The rows arrive as a new list, with repeated numbers left out.
Will uploading the same list twice create duplicate leads?
Repeated numbers are discarded during import, which is what stops one customer turning into two leads. If you are unsure how two of your files overlap, import a small sample first and look at the result.
Can I import leads from a CSV or JSON file instead?
Yes. CSV and JSON go through the same import as Excel, and each file becomes its own list.
Can I undo an Excel lead upload?
Yes. Delete the imported list and only the leads that file added disappear; anything that existed before stays untouched.
Can I upload leads from Excel on an iPhone?
Yes. Imports run the same on iPhone; the only Telodial feature missing there is reading the handset's call history.
Related features
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OpenLive Google Sheets and API lead import
A sheet or API that keeps filling becomes leads on a schedule, with skipped rows explained.
OpenAvoiding duplicates: what to check before you import
Excel lead upload checks before a big file
Your sheet has grown its own columns over two years.
Decide which columns matter before you import. Rewriting a working sheet to match somebody else's format is how a migration stalls on a Friday. Pick the columns worth keeping, create custom fields for them, and test a small file to see how they come through.
The same customer appears three times.
Trust the number, not the name. Names are spelled differently every time they are typed. The phone number is the only field that reliably identifies the same person, which is why Telodial drops duplicate numbers on import.
You are about to import forty thousand rows.
Import a hundred first. A small import shows you what your columns actually contain, which is rarely what the header claims. Fixing that on a hundred rows is a coffee break; fixing it on forty thousand is a weekend.
Excel lead upload questions about file format
How to upload in Excel format?
Keep one lead per row, the headers in the first row and every phone number in a single column, then save the file as .xlsx or .csv. Merged cells and two numbers squeezed into one cell are what usually trip an import up.
Why do some phone numbers come out wrong after an upload?
Usually because Excel changed them before the upload happened: a long number carrying a country code can turn into scientific notation, and leading zeros vanish from numbers stored as figures. Formatting the number column as text in Excel before saving avoids both.
What about the extra fields my sheet has?
Create custom lead fields for them before the import rather than dropping them, then check a small test file to see how they arrive. The columns a business invented for itself usually carry the real sales knowledge, and losing them in a migration is losing years of context.
How do I import without stopping the team calling?
Import the file as its own list and assign it while the team keeps working their current queues. There is rarely a reason to pause calling for a migration, and a pause is what sends people back to the spreadsheet.
Give the team a phone that keeps the record
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