How to load leads into VICIdial

Getting phone numbers into the dialer is the first real job of every campaign. In VICIdial you do this with the Lead loader, a web-based importer that takes a flat file of records and writes them into your list. Each row becomes a Lead the dialer can call. You reach it from the LOAD NEW LEADS link at the top of the LISTS section, and the whole import usually finishes in a few seconds for a normal-sized file.

Before you upload anything, two things have to be true. First, the list ID you want the records under must already exist. Second, every row needs a phone number of at least eight digits. The loader strips non-digit characters from the phone and alt phone fields for you, but it does not clean anything else, so the file you hand it should already be tidy.

It is worth doing a quick sanity pass on the file in a spreadsheet first. Look for empty phone cells, obviously wrong area codes, and stray header rows that sneaked into the data. Five minutes of cleanup before the import saves you from a list full of dead records that your agents waste time on later. If you spot a column you are not sure about, leave it out rather than guessing, because a mismapped column is harder to unpick than a blank one.

Prepare the file and pick a list

You can put the list ID in every row of the file, or you can leave it out and use the list ID override field on the loader page to stamp the same list onto every record as it imports. The override is the easier path when a whole file belongs to one campaign. There is also a Phone Code Override that sets the country or region code, which matters because the phone code helps the system work out each lead's time zone later on.

What the loader does to each row

The import is not a dumb copy. As records flow in, you can turn on a string of checks: catch duplicates, validate USA and Canada numbers, scrub against a DNC (do not call) list by country, and look up the correct time zone. Each option is a guard rail you decide on before the file lands in the list.

flowchart TD
  A[Upload file] --> B[Parse rows]
  B --> C[Strip non-digits from phone]
  C --> D[Duplicate check]
  D --> E[USA-Canada validate]
  E --> F[DNC scrub by country]
  F --> G[Time zone lookup]
  G --> H[Insert into list]

Standard, custom, or template layout

• Standard layout expects columns in a fixed order, starting with vendor lead code, source, list ID, phone code, and phone number.
• Custom layout lets you map each file column to a VICIdial field by hand at import time.
• Custom template saves a mapping you reuse, ideal when the same file shape arrives over and over.

If any of these terms are new, start with the VICIdial lists and leads guide, which lays out how lists, leads, and campaigns fit together. For the basics of what a list actually is, the what is a VICIdial list walkthrough is a good companion.

Loading leads is where good campaigns are made or lost, so it pays to have a clean dialer under you. VICIfast spins up a hardened VICIdial box in under 40 seconds, ready for your first import. See VICIfast pricing and start loading today.