How to Import Your Mahjong Club Roster Online

Export your existing member list as a CSV file, upload it to Bam Good Time, map the columns, and your roster is imported in under a minute. Every contact gets an account automatically — they can log in with email and start RSVPing right away.

If you've been managing your mahjong club with a spreadsheet, a notebook, or — let's be real — a mental list of who usually shows up on Tuesdays, this is the post that gets you out of that. Moving your roster online is the single highest-leverage thing you can do for your club's operations, and it takes less time than playing a single hand.

Why Migrate Your Roster Online?

A paper list or spreadsheet works until it doesn't. And it usually stops working right around the time your club gets interesting — more players, more tables, more moving parts.

Here's what changes when your roster lives online instead of in a notebook:

• Players can RSVP themselves. No more "Can you put me down for Tuesday?" texts. They log in, see the event, and tap a button.
• You always know who's coming. Real-time headcount means you set up the right number of tables every time.
• New members onboard instantly. Import a contact and they can log in the same day — no invitation flow, no account setup, no friction.
• Waitlists work automatically. When someone cancels, the next person in line gets notified without you lifting a finger.
• Your data is yours. Search, filter, tag, and export your roster anytime.

If you're already running a club and thinking about getting organized, our complete guide to managing a mahjong club online covers the full picture. This post focuses on the first step — getting your people into the system.

Preparing Your CSV File

CSV stands for "comma-separated values" — it's the universal format that every spreadsheet app can export. If your roster lives in Excel, Google Sheets, Apple Numbers, or even a contact manager like Outlook, you can export a CSV in a few clicks.

Here's what to include:

• Name (required) — This is the only column you truly need. First and last name in one column works fine, or separate columns for each.
• Email (strongly recommended) — This is what lets your members log in and manage their own RSVPs. Without an email, the system creates a placeholder account that you can update later.
• Phone (optional) — Useful if your club sends SMS reminders or if you want a quick way to reach people.
• Any other columns — Notes, membership status, tags, dietary preferences — include whatever you track. You'll choose which columns to map during import.

A Few Tips for Clean Data

• One header row at the top. Column names like First Name, Last Name, Email — the import wizard uses these to suggest mappings.
• No merged cells or formatting. CSV is plain text. If your spreadsheet has merged cells, color coding, or formulas, they'll be stripped during export. That's fine — the data comes through.
• Watch for duplicates in your file. If the same person appears twice in your CSV, both rows will be processed. The system handles duplicates gracefully (more on that below), but cleaning your source file saves a step.
• UTF-8 encoding. This is the default for Google Sheets and most modern apps. If you're exporting from an older version of Excel, look for "CSV UTF-8" as the file format option.

The Import Wizard: Five Steps

Bam Good Time's import wizard walks you through the entire process in a single modal. No page reloads, no waiting — just five steps from file upload to a fully populated roster.

Step 1: Upload Your File

Drag and drop your CSV file or click to browse. The wizard reads your file instantly and shows you a preview of the data it found — column headers and a sample of rows so you can confirm it looks right.

Step 2: Map Your Columns

This is where you tell the system which columns in your file correspond to which fields. The wizard auto-suggests mappings based on your header names — if your column is called "Email," it'll map to the email field automatically.

You'll see dropdowns for each field: first name, last name, email, phone. If your file has a single "Name" column, the system splits it into first and last name for you. Any columns you don't map are simply skipped.

Step 3: Configure Options

Choose how to handle the import. You can decide whether to create tags from your data, set default values for missing fields, and review any rows that might have issues — like missing names or malformed email addresses. The wizard flags these so you can fix them before processing.

Step 4: Process

Hit the import button and the system processes your roster. For each row in your CSV, here's what happens behind the scenes:

• A full account is created — not just a contact entry, but a real account with login capability. Your members are ready to go the moment the import finishes.
• Duplicate detection — If someone in your CSV already exists in the system (matched by email address), they're linked to your club without creating a duplicate. This is especially useful if a player belongs to multiple clubs on Bam Good Time.
• No email? No problem. For contacts without an email address — common when migrating from a paper list — the system generates a temporary placeholder. You or the member can update it later through the admin panel or their profile.

Step 5: Results

The wizard shows you a summary: how many contacts were imported, how many were already in the system, and whether any rows were skipped. You'll see exactly what happened with each row — no black box, no guessing.

What Happens After Import

Here's the part that makes this different from just uploading a spreadsheet somewhere.

Every Member Gets a Real Account

When you import a contact with an email address, they can log in immediately. Bam Good Time uses email-based one-time codes — no passwords to create, no invitation to accept. Your member enters their email, receives a six-digit code, and they're in. They'll see your club in their hub and can start browsing events and RSVPing right away.

This means you can import your roster on Monday, create your weekly Tuesday game, and your members can RSVP that same afternoon without you doing anything else.

Members Who Belong to Multiple Clubs

Some of your players might already have a Bam Good Time account through another club. The import handles this seamlessly — it recognizes the existing account by email and links them to your club as well. No duplicate accounts, no confusion. They'll see both clubs in their hub.

Updating Contacts Later

Imported a paper list with no emails? No problem. You can update any contact's email address later through the admin panel. Once they have an email on file, they can log in with a one-time code like everyone else. There's also a dedicated tool for resolving temporary email placeholders in bulk.

Tagging and Organizing Your Members

Once your roster is imported, you'll probably want to organize it. Bam Good Time's tagging system lets you slice your member list however makes sense for your club.

Common tags organizers use:

• Skill level — Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
• Membership type — Regular, Sub, Guest
• Play day — Tuesday Group, Thursday Group, Weekend Warriors
• Status — Active, On Break, Snowbird

Tags aren't just labels — they're filters. When you're creating an event and want to invite only your Tuesday regulars, or when you're looking for subs who've played before, tags make that instant.

You can add tags during import (if your CSV has a column for it) or add them manually afterward. Most organizers start simple — two or three tags — and add more as their club grows.

From Spreadsheet to System in Five Minutes

The whole point of importing your roster is to stop managing your club in your head. Once your members are in the system, everything else gets easier — events, payments, communication, waitlists. It all flows from having a real roster.

If you're running a mahjong club and still working off a spreadsheet or a group text, create your free club on Bam Good Time and import your roster today. Five minutes now saves you hours every month.

And if you want the full picture on what you can do once your roster is set up, our complete guide to managing a mahjong club online covers events, payments, leagues, and everything in between.