Preparing a CSV File for Import

The Migration Wizard accepts CSV files (.csv, or .txt for platforms that export tab-separated data under that extension). If your subscriber list is in a spreadsheet — Excel, Google Sheets, or another app — you’ll need to save or export it as a CSV before uploading. This is a one-step process in every major spreadsheet app.

Why CSV and Not Excel?

CSV (Comma-Separated Values) is a plain-text format that every platform, tool, and database can read without knowing anything about the software that created it. An Excel file (.xlsx) is a proprietary binary format that requires Excel-compatible software to parse — and the structure varies between versions.

For subscriber data, CSV is the right format: it’s unambiguous, universally readable, and contains exactly the data you need with no formatting overhead.

When you export from Patreon, Supercast, or any other platform, you’ll always get a CSV — this is the standard format subscription platforms use for data portability.

Exporting to CSV

From Microsoft Excel

1. Open your spreadsheet
2. File → Save As
3. In the “Save as type” dropdown, choose CSV (Comma delimited) (*.csv)
4. Click Save
5. If Excel asks whether to keep the current format, click Keep Current Format (or Yes)

If your workbook has multiple sheets, only the active sheet is saved. Make sure the subscriber data sheet is selected before exporting.

From Google Sheets

1. Open your spreadsheet
2. File → Download → Comma-separated values (.csv)
3. The file downloads immediately — no save dialog

If your spreadsheet has multiple sheets, only the currently visible sheet downloads.

From LibreOffice Calc or Numbers

LibreOffice: File → Save As → choose “Text CSV (.csv)” from the format list → Keep Current Format if prompted.

Numbers (Mac): File → Export To → CSV → Next → Save.

What the CSV Needs

The wizard fills four fields from your file. Two are required:

• Email address — required. It is how each person is recognised, and where their private feed link is sent.
• Their tier on your old platform — required. You match these to your Benecaster tiers in the next step.
• Name — optional. Used to address people by name in the migration emails.
• When they first supported you — optional. Carried across so a long-time supporter does not arrive looking brand new.

The mapping step asks about all four, and waits until each has an answer. Each row shows a dropdown of your file’s own column headings and the first value in whichever column you choose. A recognised export opens already filled in under Does this look right?; anything else asks Which column holds what? For an optional field your file does not have, choose this is not in my file — leaving it blank is not an answer, because “my export has no join date” and “nobody looked” are different, and only the first is safe to import on. A required field has no such option.

If your CSV comes from a supported platform (Patreon and Supercast), the wizard auto-detects the format and pre-fills the column mapping for you — no manual setup required.

Coming from Hello Audio, Memberful or Castos? Each is a choice of its own under Where are you migrating from? Pick yours and the wizard shows how to get your export out of that platform, what happens to your audio, and a checklist line for it. It doesn’t recognise these files automatically yet, so it then asks you which column holds what, which takes about a minute.

Coming from anywhere else? Your export still imports. Pick Somewhere else and upload any CSV of your supporters, and the wizard asks you which column holds what.

A migration from Somewhere else still gets one pre-migration check: My episode audio is hosted by a podcast host, not by the platform I am leaving. Benecaster points feeds at audio wherever it already lives, so audio that stays with the platform you are leaving means broken feeds for everyone you bring across if that platform stops serving it. Beside it, Check my feed reads your podcast feed and tells you where the audio is served from. The check is advice only — the wizard knows nothing about the platform you are leaving, so it doesn’t stop you continuing. See Moving Audio Files Off Patreon — the same applies to any platform.

What the Wizard Handles for You

• Different separators. Files that separate columns with semicolons, tabs, or pipes are read as columns, not as one long line. Spreadsheets on many European language settings save CSVs with semicolons.
• Different text encodings. UTF-8, UTF-16, and Windows-1252 exports are all converted, so accented names come through intact.
• Blank rows above the headings. These are skipped automatically.
• Rows with the wrong number of values. A row with too few or too many values is kept and flagged for you to review, not dropped.
• Repeated column headings. If two columns share a heading, both are kept.
• Names with commas, accents or apostrophes. A name like "García, María" stays one name, and Aoife O'Sullivan comes through as written.
• Someone listed twice. Patreon lists a person twice when they re-pledge. They are imported once, with one account and one feed link, and the second row appears in the import report as listed twice in the file.
• A missing name. A row with an empty name cell is imported with no name, not a blank one.

File Limits

There are two limits, and the upload step tells you both before you choose a file.

• File size. The wizard accepts up to 20 MB, but your web host usually sets a lower limit on uploads — often 2 to 8 MB on shared hosting. The upload step shows whichever is lower on your site. If it’s your host’s limit, it says so: your host can raise it on request.
• People. One import reads up to 50,000 people from a single file. If your file has more, the wizard reads the first 50,000 and tells you it stopped there. It never imports a partial file without saying so.

A larger export works split into parts, imported one after another. Each part is its own import, and someone already brought across by an earlier part is left as they are.

Common Issues

“The wizard says my file is a spreadsheet” — The file was saved as an Excel or other spreadsheet file and then renamed to end in .csv. The wizard checks what is actually inside the file and tells you which format it found. Open it in Excel or Google Sheets and re-export it as CSV.

“Some rows imported but others didn’t” — The import skips rows with malformed or missing email addresses and reports them after the run. You can correct those rows and re-import. An email address already on the show is matched to the existing subscriber instead of being added twice.

“My file has a title row above the headings” — Blank rows above the headings are skipped, but a row with text in it is read as the heading row. If your file has a title or notes above the data, remove them before importing.