Studio treats one source as the source of truth per workspace per module. Before you start any import (people, donors, giving, events, projects, groups), make sure the system you're exporting from has the latest data. Otherwise you'll either miss recent records or end up with duplicates.
The Common Trap
Most orgs run more than one tool that holds the same kind of data:
- Churches: an online giving platform (Kindrid, Pushpay, Tithe.ly) plus a primary CHMS (Church Office Online, Planning Center, Breeze, CCB).
- Nonprofits: a fundraising tool plus a CRM, or a CRM plus a separate accounting system.
- Agencies: a project tracker (Basecamp, Asana, Monday.com) plus a separate CRM for clients.
If you import both systems into Studio for the same module, every record that exists in both gets imported twice, once from each system, creating cross-source duplicates.
The Playbook
- Pick your primary system per module. This is whichever one is the master record. For giving that's usually the CHMS / accounting system, not the online giving tool. For projects it's usually the project tracker, not the email thread or spreadsheet.
- Sync any pending data into the primary system. If your online tool isn't fully synced into the primary system yet, get that done first. Check with whoever owns that data on your team.
- Export from the primary system. One CSV, current up to today.
- Import that one CSV into Studio. Done.
What If You Have a Gap?
If your primary system isn't fully synced yet and you can't wait, you have two options:
- Wait for the sync: usually faster than dealing with duplicates later.
- Import the gap only: export from your secondary system, but filter the CSV to only records after your primary system's last recorded date. That way the two imports don't overlap.
What Studio Will Tell You
When you start a second import for a module that already has imported data in this workspace, the import wizard shows a warning banner reminding you of this. If you see that warning, stop and check whether your primary system is actually current.