How to Import Offline Entries

Modified on 16 February

How to Manually Import Registrations




As the Race Director, you are able to manually enter registration information via our Import feature. This is beneficial for Race Directors wanting to add registrants who paid offline (cash or check) or wants to register a participant without them registering for the Race.


This feature can be found via Race Dashboard > Participants > Import (Paper Entries).





There is no cost for this, and with RunSignUp you can be assured the names will stay confidential - we do not spam your runners. With all of your runner information in one place, you can then easily do reports (such as how many S, M, L and XL shirts were ordered).



Import Participants


There are two options for importing participants:

  1. Manual Imports (Single Entries) 
  2. CSV file (Bulk Import) 


Most of our Race Directors prefer to use the single entry import as they receive offline payments at irregular times but occasionally there are Race Directors who creates a list of registrants who paid offline so that they could import their registrations all at once. Either way, both options achieve the same results.


Manual Imports


If you collected payments offline and would like to add the registrant to your Race, please fill out the form on the Import Participants page. 

Here is an example of what the process will look like:



By default, manually imported registrations will override the participant cap (if a cap is set), if this does not pertain to your Race, you can ignore this option. 


Manually import registrations do not receive a confirmation email when imported. If you would like the imported registrant to receive a confirmation email, please check this box.


Once you have finished reviewing the Import Options, you are complete the Import process by clicking on the button "Import Participants".



Important: Event specific questions like Giveaways, Custom Questions, Registration Add-ons, etc will be shown once you have selected the Event from the drop-down menu.


CSV File Import


If you already have a list of participants who have paid offline, then you are able to upload your CSV file to Import your list of participants. Our system will try its best to auto-fill information from your CSV file to your Race's Import page. If there are any missing information, you will need to either:

  1. Manually fill out the missing information
  2. Fix the header on your CSV file in order for the system to pull the correct information
    1. For assistance, please contact info@runsignup.com.


You can upload your CSV file by clicking on the button "Choose File" located under Upload CSV File.



Once the CSV file is selected, you will be prompt to fill out the CSV Import Mapping form. This form will help our system better pull information from your CSV file to your Race. You should see two columns:

  1. RunSignUp Column
  2. CSV Column


The fields listed on the CSV column are the headers available on your CSV file. Please make sure the fields on the CSV Column matches the fields on the RunSignUp Column. For example, the First Name field on the CSV Column should match the First Name field on the RunSignUp Column.


For fields that are showing as "Ignore Column", this means thats our system was not able to find information from your CSV file that matches the fields on the RunSignUp Column. Using the example above, the "Ignore Column" field is showing for Date of Birth. This means that the CSV file that I've uploaded does not contain the Date of Birth for the registrants.


Once you completed filling out the CSV File Mapping form, you will be prompt to select the DOB formatting for your CSV file.


By default, our system assumes the Date of Birth formatting is mm/dd/yyyy. If you have a different formatting for your DOB on your CSV file, please select the appropriate formatting by clicking on the drop-down menu. Otherwise, proceed by clicking Continue.


Next, you will be prompt the following CSV File Import Options.


By default, the two options available are enabled for your convenience. Our system assumes that the first row of your CSV File contains the headers and also assumes that if the information from your CSV file cannot be imported, then the question response field will be created. Using the previous example, the Date of Birth field is shown as "Ignore Column" meaning the imported value does not exist. When enabled, the Date of Birth question will be created regardless of the "Ignore Column".


In most cases, you are able to leave both options enabled and click Continue.


Finally, the list of registrants from your CSV file your be shown as multiple Rows. Please review over the registrations ensuring the CSV File import process is accurate. Once confirmed, please review over the following Import Options:


By default, manually imported registrations will override the participant cap (if a cap is set), if this does not pertain to your Race, you can ignore this option. 


Manually import registrations do not receive a confirmation email when imported. If you would like the imported registrant to receive a confirmation email, please check this box.


Once you have finished reviewing the Import Options, you are complete the Import process by clicking on the button "Import Participants".


This concludes the CSV File Import process. For any questions, you can contact our general support team: info@runsignup.com.


Frequently Ask Questions


Q: Why are the fields under CSV Column showing strange characters/letters on the Import Mapping screen?

A: This means that you uploaded a different file type other than CSV file. For this Bulk Import to work properly, only CSV file types can be imported via Upload. Please convert your file type to CSV before the bulk Import process.