Import client folders

Import client folders brings years of client files into Tidyflow from one folder on your computer. Owners and admins can run it from Settings > Import data.

Set up your folders before importing

Put one folder per client inside a single parent folder. Subfolders inside a client folder are kept as they are.

Client files/
  Abbott Family Trust/
    2024/
    2025/
  Baker Construction/
    Returns/

The folder must be on your computer. If your files are on a virtual or network drive, copy them to a local folder first, which is faster and more reliable.

Add your clients to Tidyflow first, so each folder has a client to match. See Add a client.

Import client folders into Tidyflow

1. Go to Settings > Import data.
2. Next to Client folders, click Import.
3. Click Choose folder and select the parent folder. Your browser may ask you to confirm the upload.
4. Review the list of folders and clients.
5. Click Start import. Keep the page open until the import finishes.

Importing doesn’t notify your team or your clients, and nothing is shown in the client portal.

Review how client folders matched

Each folder shows a status on the review screen:

• Matched: the folder name is the same as a client’s name, ignoring capitals, punctuation, word order and endings such as LLC or Inc.
• Check: Tidyflow found a likely client. Click Confirm if it’s right, or Change to pick another. Confirm all accepts every suggestion.
• No match: click Choose client, or choose Skip folder to leave it out.

Only Matched folders are imported. Check the list carefully, because files added to the wrong client have to be deleted by hand.

What happens to files that are already in Tidyflow

A file with the same name in the same folder counts as already there, and Tidyflow leaves it alone. Tidyflow never overwrites or renames an existing file. Folders that already exist are reused, and missing ones are created.

This means a changed file with the same name isn’t updated. Upload it to the client’s Files tab to replace it. A file you renamed in Tidyflow is added again under its original name.

Resume a client folder import that stopped

To continue an import, run it again. Click Run again on the results screen, or if you closed the page, choose the same folder. Only the files still missing are uploaded.

If the import is large, you can import part of it first. Move the older years out of your folders, import, then move them back and import again.

Files a client folder import doesn’t add

The results screen counts these files under Not added. Click Download list of files not added to see each file and the reason.

• Files in a folder shared with a client, or inside one. This stops an archive appearing in the client portal by accident. If you want the files there, stop sharing the folder, import, and share it again. See How to share files with contacts.
• Files directly inside the parent folder, not in a client folder.
• Program files such as .exe, .bat and .sh.
• Files with a name or folder path Tidyflow can’t read, such as a name containing a backslash. Rename the file and import again.
• Files that failed to upload. Run the import again to retry them.

System files such as Thumbs.db and .DS_Store are ignored.

Searching imported client files

Imported files appear in each client’s Files tab, with Import as their source. You can find them by file name. Search doesn’t look inside imported documents.