Contact list formatting and upload issues in GOCare Reach

This article explains the required structure for contact list uploads in GOCare Reach and outlines common reasons for upload failures. It covers all supported fields, formatting rules, and troubleshooting techniques to ensure smooth campaign execution and proper list visibility.

GOCare Reach relies on well-formatted contact lists to deliver SMS and email campaigns. Uploading contact data with structural or naming issues can lead to confusing behavior: successful uploads that “disappear,” misnamed lists, or campaigns that silently fail.

Use this guide to structure your files correctly and resolve common issues.

Before formatting your contact list for GOCare Reach, you’ll need to start with the correct CSV template. This ensures your headers match system expectations and avoids upload issues later.

The Reach Contact Import Template can be downloaded at the bottom of this article.

If the template is not working correctly, an updated version may exist. This would be available to download directly in Front, within the Contacts interface. Here’s how to access and download it:

1. In Front, navigate to the Contacts tab in the left-hand panel.

2. Click on Private Contacts (this is where your personal lists are managed).

3. In the upper-right corner, click the Import button.

4. A pop-up will appear — click More Options at the top of this window.

5. Click Download CSV Template.

6. This will open a new tab in your browser with a Google Sheet. Click the download icon in the top right portion of the page.

This will download a pre-formatted CSV file with all the correct column headers (name, email, phone, contactlist, etc.). You can open this file in Excel or Google Sheets and begin populating it with your campaign contacts.

💡 Tip: Even if you’re only using a few columns (like name, email, phone, and contactlist), leave all column headers intact to avoid system confusion during upload.

Your contact list should be uploaded as a CSV file. The platform recognizes the following fields:

💡 Tip: Including a contactlist name helps organize your campaign data and improves visibility in dropdown filters. If this field is left blank, the system will auto-name your list using the date of upload (e.g., 04-28-25).

• Keep all column headers from the original template—even if some are unused

• Use clear, unique values in the contactlist field for naming and filtering

• Include at least one valid email and phone number

• Save files as CSV format

• Delete headers like contactlist2 or phone2, even if they’re empty

• Use spreadsheet formulas or merged cells

• Upload lists with only dates as names—these get lost easily in dropdown views

When a file fails to load, a failure report is generated explaining why it would not load.

⚠️ Likely Cause 1: You’ve hit the 50-list dropdown limit in Reach.

Fix: Go to Lists section in the Contacts tab.

Select and delete older lists, especially one-time-use or date-named ones. The dropdown only shows the 50 most recent or alphabetically sorted.

⚠️ Likely Cause 2: Missing or malformed contactlist headers.

Fix: While contactlist is not required, it’s strongly recommended. If omitted, your list will upload—but the system will auto-name it using the upload date, which can make it difficult to find later.

💡 Example: Miles uploaded a file without a contactlist. The list was named 02-03-24 by default, which caused confusion when selecting it in the campaign dropdown.

• The dropdown menu in Reach shows only 50 list names at a time.

• If your file is valid but unnamed, GOCare will auto-name the list using the upload date (e.g., 04-28-25)

• Tags like FastSpeed, NewBuild_2025, or NoPromo in the contactlist field help with:

  • Campaign grouping

  • Automations

  • Filtering for follow-up or exclusion

✅ Best Practice: Use consistent naming conventions (e.g., SpeedUpgrade_Apr2025, Install_Reschedule_List2) for all contactlist uploads.