Contact Management: CSV Import and Custom Fields

Managing contacts effectively is the foundation of successful voice AI campaigns. Whether you're running appointment reminders, lead qualification calls, or customer surveys, how you organize and import your contact data directly impacts campaign success rates.

Burki's contact management system handles the complexity of bulk imports, custom data fields, and compliance requirements so you can focus on what matters: connecting with your customers through intelligent voice AI.

Why Contact Management Matters for Voice AI

Voice AI campaigns are only as good as the data behind them. Poor contact data leads to:

Wasted minutes calling disconnected numbers
Compliance violations from calling opted-out contacts
Failed personalization when custom fields are missing
Duplicate calls that frustrate customers and inflate costs

A robust contact management system prevents these issues before they happen.

CSV Import: Bulk Contact Upload

The fastest way to populate your campaign is through CSV import. Burki accepts standard CSV files with flexible column mapping.

Supported Import Formats

Format	Extension	Max Size	Encoding
CSV	.csv	50MB	UTF-8
JSON	.json	50MB	UTF-8

Required Fields

Every contact needs at minimum:

Phone Number: E.164 format preferred (e.g., +14155551234)
Name: First name, last name, or full name

Column Mapping

Burki's intelligent column mapper automatically detects common field names:

Auto-Detected	Variations Recognized
Phone	phone, phone_number, mobile, cell, telephone
First Name	first_name, firstname, fname, first
Last Name	last_name, lastname, lname, last
Email	email, email_address, e-mail
Company	company, company_name, organization, org

For non-standard columns, manually map them during import.

Import Process

Upload File: Drag and drop your CSV or click to browse
Map Columns: Match your columns to Burki fields
Preview Data: Review the first 10 rows for accuracy
Handle Duplicates: Choose skip, update, or create new
Import: Process begins with real-time progress

Phone Number Validation

During import, phone numbers are automatically:

Formatted to E.164 international standard
Validated against known patterns
Flagged if potentially invalid
Deduplicated against existing contacts

Invalid numbers are logged but don't block the import. You can review and fix them after.

Custom Fields: Personalize Every Call

Generic calls convert poorly. Custom fields let you personalize every conversation with data specific to each contact.

Built-in System Fields

Every contact includes these fields automatically:

Field	Description	Editable
phone	Primary contact number	Yes
first_name	Contact's first name	Yes
last_name	Contact's last name	Yes
email	Email address	Yes
created_at	When contact was added	No
updated_at	Last modification time	No
last_called	Most recent call timestamp	No
call_count	Total calls to this contact	No

Creating Custom Fields

Add fields specific to your use case:

For Real Estate:

property_address
listing_price
bedrooms
showing_date

For Healthcare:

appointment_date
provider_name
appointment_type
insurance_provider

For Sales:

company_name
deal_value
lastcontactdate
lead_source

Field Types

Type	Use Case	Example
Text	Names, addresses	"123 Main St"
Number	Quantities, IDs	50000
Date	Appointments, deadlines	"2026-01-25"
Boolean	Yes/no flags	true
Select	Predefined options	"hot", "warm", "cold"

Using Custom Fields in Campaigns

Reference fields in your campaign templates with Jinja2 syntax:

Hello {{first_name}}, this is a reminder about your appointment 
on {{appointment_date}} with {{provider_name}}.

The template engine automatically substitutes values for each contact.

Duplicate Detection and Handling

Duplicate contacts waste resources and annoy customers. Burki's duplicate detection catches them before they cause problems.

Detection Methods

Phone Number Matching The primary deduplication key. Two contacts with the same phone number (after normalization) are considered duplicates.

Fuzzy Name Matching Optional secondary check. Catches variations like "Bob Smith" vs "Robert Smith" if phone numbers differ slightly.

Import Duplicate Handling

When importing contacts that already exist:

Option	Behavior
Skip	Keep existing record, ignore new data
Update	Merge new data into existing record
Create	Add as new contact (allows duplicates)

The "Update" option is most common—it refreshes contact data while preserving call history.

Manual Deduplication

For existing duplicates:

Navigate to Contacts → Duplicates
Review suggested matches
Choose primary record
Merge or delete duplicates

Merged contacts combine call history from both records.

Do-Not-Contact Lists: Compliance Built In

Respecting contact preferences isn't just good practice—it's legally required for many use cases.

DNC List Types

Internal DNC Contacts who've requested not to be called by your organization. Automatically populated when contacts opt out.

Campaign-Specific DNC Contacts excluded from specific campaigns but available for others.

Global DNC Numbers that should never be called, regardless of campaign or organization.

Adding Contacts to DNC

Manual Addition Add individual numbers through the dashboard or API.

Automatic Opt-Out When your AI assistant hears phrases like "don't call me again" or "remove me from your list," contacts are automatically flagged for DNC review.

Bulk Import Upload a CSV of numbers to add to your DNC list.

DNC Enforcement

Before each call, Burki checks:

Internal organization DNC list
Campaign-specific exclusions
Previous opt-out requests
Call frequency limits

Contacts on any DNC list are automatically skipped—no manual intervention required.

Contact Segmentation

Not all contacts should receive the same campaign. Segmentation lets you target specific groups.

Segment by Custom Fields

Create segments based on any field:

Lead Score > 80: Hot leads get priority calling
Last Contact > 30 days: Re-engagement campaign
Industry = Healthcare: HIPAA-compliant messaging

Segment by Call History

Target based on previous interactions:

Never Called: First-time outreach
No Answer (3x): Try different time
Completed Call: Follow-up sequence

Dynamic Segments

Segments update automatically as contact data changes. A contact who was "warm" yesterday might be "hot" today based on new activity.

Contact Enrichment

Incomplete contact data limits personalization. Enrichment fills in the gaps.

Auto-Fill from Calls

After a call completes, structured data extraction can update contact fields:

Confirmed appointment times
Updated contact preferences
New requirements mentioned
Objections raised

Third-Party Integration

Connect CRM systems to sync contact data:

Salesforce: Bi-directional sync
HubSpot: Contact and company data
Custom API: Webhook-based enrichment

Best Practices for Contact Management

Data Hygiene

Regular Cleanup Monthly review of contacts with:

No answer in 5+ attempts
Invalid phone numbers
Duplicate entries

Number Verification Before large campaigns, verify phone numbers are still active. Disconnected numbers waste calling minutes.

Import Workflows

Staging Environment Test imports with a small sample before processing full lists. Catch mapping errors early.

Backup Before Update When updating existing contacts, export current data first. Easy rollback if something goes wrong.

Compliance Documentation

Consent Records Track where each contact came from and what consent was provided. Essential for TCPA compliance.

Audit Trail Burki logs all contact modifications—who changed what, when. Required for many compliance frameworks.

API Access

Manage contacts programmatically for integration with your systems.

Create Contact

curl -X POST https://api.burki.dev/v1/contacts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "phone": "+14155551234",
    "first_name": "John",
    "last_name": "Smith",
    "custom_fields": {
      "company": "Acme Corp",
      "lead_score": 85
    }
  }'

Bulk Import

curl -X POST https://api.burki.dev/v1/contacts/import \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F "[email protected]" \
  -F "duplicate_handling=update"

Search Contacts

curl "https://api.burki.dev/v1/contacts?search=acme&limit=50" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Frequently Asked Questions

What phone number formats does Burki accept?

Burki accepts most common formats and normalizes them to E.164 automatically. Examples: (415) 555-1234, 415-555-1234, +1 415 555 1234, 14155551234. International numbers require country code.

How many contacts can I import at once?

CSV imports support up to 50MB files, typically 100,000+ contacts depending on field count. For larger imports, split into multiple files or use the bulk API.

Can I import contacts with missing fields?

Yes. Only phone number is strictly required. Missing fields are left blank and can be populated later through enrichment or manual updates.

How do I handle contacts who change their phone number?

Create a new contact with the new number, then merge with the existing contact to preserve call history. The old number is kept as a secondary contact method.

Are contact imports HIPAA compliant?

Yes. Contact data is encrypted in transit and at rest. For healthcare use cases, ensure your BAA is in place before importing PHI. Avoid including unnecessary health information in contact records.

How long is contact data retained?

Contact data is retained according to your organization's data retention policy (configurable). Default is indefinite retention until manual deletion. GDPR-compliant deletion is available on request.

Get Started with Contact Management

Effective contact management is the foundation of successful voice AI campaigns. With Burki's CSV import, custom fields, and built-in compliance tools, you can focus on conversations rather than data wrangling.

Ready to import your first contacts? Start your free trial with 200 minutes included—no credit card required.

Last updated: January 2026