Managing your gift recipients is entirely in your hands with Zest Concierge — no engineering or developer involvement required. You can upload a recipient list using a CSV or Excel file, assign specific products, add personalized gift messages, and schedule individual ship dates, all from within your Concierge project. This guide walks you through every step, from downloading the template to resolving validation errors.
Before you start:
You have an active Concierge project.
You have your recipient information (names, addresses, and any product assignments) ready to enter.
Your file is formatted using the Zest-provided template (covered below).
Overview: Uploading Recipients via CSV
Zest Concierge lets you upload an entire recipient list from a CSV or Excel file. The platform validates every address, surfaces any issues, and gives you tools to fix them before finalizing.
Two upload paths are available:
You upload the list on behalf of your team or customer directly in the project.
You share an upload link so your customer fills out and uploads the list themselves.
Both paths use the same CSV template and address validation process.
Finding and Downloading the CSV Template
The CSV template is built into every Concierge project. To access it:
Open your Concierge project.
Click the More actions button (the vertical three-dot icon) in the project header.
Select Import recipients.
In the dialog that opens, click Download template to save the file to your computer.
Always use this template. The Import Recipients template for Concierge includes the SKU, Quantity, and Order Name columns needed for product assignments. Do not substitute a template from a different project type or a previous version.
Understanding Template Columns and Required Fields
The Concierge Import Recipients template includes the following columns:
Column | Required? | Notes |
First Name | Yes |
|
Last Name | Yes |
|
Address 1 | Yes | Street number and street name |
Address 2 | No | Apartment, suite, floor, etc. |
City | Yes |
|
State | Yes | Required for all countries, including international addresses |
Postal Code | Yes |
|
Country Code (US) | No | Defaults to US if left blank; use two-letter ISO code for all other countries |
Company | No |
|
Gift Message | No | Appears only when gift messages are enabled for the project |
Phone | No |
|
SKU | No | Shopify SKU for the product |
Quantity | No |
|
SKU | No | Use the second pair for recipients receiving a second product |
Quantity | No |
|
Order Name | No | Groups recipients into named order groupings |
Formatting Rules: Column Headers, Country Codes, Dates, and Special Characters
Column headers
Do not rename, remove, or add text to any column header. The system uses flexible matching for common variations (e.g., "ZIP code" maps to Postal Code, "address" maps to Address 1), but significantly changed headers — like "Recipient Company" instead of "Company" — will cause import failures.
Never add instructions or notes to the header row. If you need to communicate guidance to customers, use a separate tab in the spreadsheet.
If your column is labeled "Name" instead of "First Name," the system will attempt to split the value into first and last name. If only a first name is provided, the split may not populate correctly. Use separate First Name and Last Name columns for best results.
Country codes
Use two-letter ISO codes: US, CA, GB, FR, BE, AU, and so on.
"UK" is not a valid code — use GB for all United Kingdom addresses.
If the Country Code field is left blank, the system defaults to US. If your list includes international recipients, always enter the country code explicitly to avoid misrouting.
Postal codes
Format the Postal Code column as Plain Text in Excel or Google Sheets before entering any data. Spreadsheet apps automatically strip leading zeros from cells formatted as numbers, which affects ZIP codes in states like Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York (e.g., 02134 becomes 2134).
Zest auto-corrects 4-digit US ZIP codes by prepending a "0" and 3-digit ZIP codes by prepending "00," but formatting as Plain Text before entry is the safest approach.
Special characters
Avoid smart/curly apostrophes (the typographic ' character from Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and similar apps). These do not encode correctly in CSV files and will display as garbled characters in gift messages. Use straight apostrophes (') instead, or enter gift messages directly in the Zest UI after upload rather than in the CSV.
Assigning Products and Quantities (Import Recipients Feature)
The Import Recipients template is designed for sending different products to different recipients in a single upload.
In your CSV, enter the Shopify SKU in the first SKU column and the desired quantity in the corresponding Quantity column for each recipient row.
If a recipient is receiving a second product, enter its SKU and quantity in the second SKU and Quantity column pair.
For recipients receiving three or more products, add additional SKU and Quantity column pairs to the spreadsheet. Each pair must follow the same pattern.
Enter quantities as whole numbers. Do not leave the SKU column filled while the Quantity column is empty (or vice versa).
How order groupings are created
Order groupings are automatically created based on unique combinations of products and quantities across your recipients. For example, if 50 recipients receive one product and 50 recipients receive a different product, two order groups are created automatically.
Use the optional Order Name column to create custom groupings. Recipients sharing the same Order Name and the same products are grouped together. Leaving Order Name blank generates an automatic name based on the SKU combination and the upload date.
Tip: Use Shopify SKU numbers rather than product names for the most reliable matching. If a SKU matches multiple Shopify products (e.g., an active product and an archived one with the same SKU), the system may be unable to identify the correct product and will leave the product field empty. Archive old duplicate products in Shopify first, then re-upload.
Watch out for SKU auto-increment: When copying SKU numbers down a column in Excel or Google Sheets, the auto-fill feature may increment values (e.g., 1001, 1002, 1003 instead of all being 1001). Double-check all SKU values after filling down a column.
Adding Gift Messages and Scheduled Ship Dates
Personalized gift messages
The Gift Message column appears in your template only when gift messages are enabled for the project. Each row in the CSV can contain a unique message.
Important: If you edit the gift message field at the order level in the Zest UI after upload, it will override all individual per-recipient messages from the CSV for that order grouping. Only use the UI gift message field if you intentionally want a single uniform message for all recipients in that group.
Scheduled ship dates
The Scheduled Date column is not included in the default template — you add it manually when needed.
Open your CSV or spreadsheet and add a column with the header Scheduled Date anywhere in the file.
Enter a date in each row. Different recipients can have different ship dates in the same file.
Save and upload the file to the project.
This is especially useful for birthday programs, anniversary gifting, and any send where timing varies by recipient.
Uploading the File and Address Validation
Once your file is ready:
Open your Concierge project.
Click the More actions button and select Import recipients.
Click Upload and preview, or drag and drop your file into the upload area.
Accepted formats: .csv, .xls, and .xlsx.
After upload, Zest validates every address. Addresses with issues are surfaced at the top of the list for easy review.
Error types:
Errors (must be resolved before completing the upload): Undeliverable or invalid addresses, missing required fields, PO boxes if your account is configured to block them.
Warnings (can be accepted or dismissed): Suggested address corrections (e.g., corrected street name or zip code), missing apartment or suite numbers at business addresses.
For each flagged address, you can:
Accept the suggested correction — updates the address to the validated version.
Manually edit the fields — enter the correct information yourself.
Dismiss the warning — proceed with the address as entered after verifying it is correct.
You must resolve all errors before completing the upload.
Always spot-check after upload. Verify that the recipient count matches the number of rows in your CSV minus the header row, and spot-check at least two recipient records per 100 rows to confirm names and addresses imported correctly.
Handling International Addresses
Use two-letter ISO country codes (US, GB, CA, FR, BE, AU, etc.). "UK" is not valid — use GB for United Kingdom addresses.
The State field is required for all countries. Enter the region, province, or county as appropriate (e.g., "Greater London" for UK addresses, "BC" for British Columbia in Canada).
For Canadian addresses, use the standard two-letter province abbreviation (e.g., BC, ON, QC).
For international phone numbers, include the + prefix and country dial code (e.g., +44 for the UK, +33 for France) to prevent the system from treating the number as a US number.
US phone numbers do not require a +1 prefix — 10-digit numbers are automatically recognized as US.
Zest supports automated address validation for most countries. A small set of regions cannot be validated automatically; those addresses will be flagged with a note and a warning, and you can dismiss the warning to proceed.
Re-uploading, Editing, and Reusing Recipient Lists
Re-uploading a new CSV
When a recipient list already exists in a project, uploading a new file will prompt a confirmation step. Confirming will replace the entire existing list.
Best practice: Download your current recipient list before re-uploading. This preserves any manual address corrections made after the previous upload and gives you a backup.
For small changes (adding one or two recipients), use the Add Recipient button rather than re-uploading the full file.
Reusing a list from a previous project
Navigate to the previous Concierge project.
Download the recipient list using the Download recipients button on the order groupings view.
Adjust column headers in the downloaded file to match the current Import Recipients template.
Upload the adjusted file into your new project.
This approach is particularly useful for recurring programs such as annual holiday gifting.
Sharing Upload Links with Customers
You can share a direct upload link so customers can manage their own recipient list without needing access to your Zest account.
Open the relevant Concierge project.
Click Share upload link to open the link configuration modal.
Configure the options:
Set a maximum recipient count limit (optional).
Enable individual gift messages — this adds the Gift Message column to the template the customer downloads.
Copy the link and share it with your customer.
When the customer opens the link, they download the CSV template, fill it out, and upload it themselves. They see the same address validation prompts and can resolve issues on their end, reducing back-and-forth. All uploaded addresses automatically appear in your Concierge project.
Troubleshooting Common Upload Errors
Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
"Column not recognized" or column data in wrong field | Header was renamed or modified | Use exact column headers from the downloaded template. |
Names or addresses assigned to wrong recipients | Data shifted during import | Check for merged cells or row offsets. Spot-check records after every upload. |
ZIP codes missing leading zeros | Postal Code column formatted as Number | Format as Plain Text before entering data. |
Gift message shows garbled characters | Smart/curly apostrophes in message text | Replace with straight apostrophes, or enter messages in the Zest UI instead. |
Scheduled dates off by one day | Excel file uploaded with Scheduled Date column | Export as CSV before uploading. |
Product field empty after upload | SKU matches multiple Shopify products | Archive duplicate products in Shopify, then re-upload. |
PO box error | Account is configured to block PO boxes | Use a street delivery address, or contact your Zest account team. |
Upload times out or fails mid-way | Very large file (600+ recipients) | Split the file into batches of 250–400 recipients. |
Duplicate recipients after delete and re-upload | Re-uploaded too soon after deletion | Wait 20+ minutes, or start a new project. |
Gift messages identical for all recipients in a group | Order-level UI gift message field was edited after upload | This field overrides per-recipient CSV messages. Only edit it for intentional group-wide messages. |
Common formatting mistakes that cause failures:
Adding extra rows above the column header row.
Combining first and last name in one column.
Entering a full address in one cell instead of using separate Address 1, City, State, and Postal Code fields.
Leaving Sku filled but Quantity empty, or vice versa.
Using duplicate Sku column headers instead of adding new Sku/Quantity column pairs.
Omitting country codes for international recipients (they will default to US).
Always start from the template downloaded directly from Import recipients rather than building your own format.
Best Practices for Large and Complex Uploads
Batch large files. The maximum per upload is 1,000 recipients. For projects exceeding this, create multiple order tiers within the same Concierge project and upload batches of up to 1,000 recipients each. All tiers appear under a single invoice. For files over 600 recipients, use batches of 250–400 to reduce the risk of timeout errors.
Format Postal Code as Plain Text in your spreadsheet before entering any data.
Export as CSV, not Excel, if your file includes a Scheduled Date column.
Know that your list will be sorted alphabetically. Uploaded recipient lists are automatically sorted by first name. If you need to maintain a specific order for your own records, keep a separate master file.
Verify after every upload. Confirm the recipient count and spot-check at least 2 records per 100 rows.
Back up before re-uploading. Download your current list first — re-upload replaces everything, including manual edits.
Consolidate before sharing upload links. Have one person compile all recipient data into a single CSV. Simultaneous uploads to the same link have caused errors in some cases.
Verify SKU values after copy-pasting. Spreadsheets may auto-increment SKU numbers when you copy-fill a column. Check that all SKU values are correct before uploading.