When a family has more than one child, students must be imported in a specific way so My Studio Manager (MSM) can correctly attach each child to the same parent account without overwriting data. This guide explains the only safe way to import multi-student families.
In My Studio Manager, parents live on one contact record, and students are added to that record as Student 1, Student 2, Student 3, etc.
You do not manually choose Student 1, 2 or 3 during import.
Instead:
You import each child separately
MSM’s built-in automation automatically places the child into the next available student slot
If you try to manually map Student 1 / 2 / 3 fields, you risk:
Overwriting existing students
Mixing up siblings
Breaking the automation that keeps families organised
Your original export will usually have one row per student, even if they share the same parent.
You must split this file into separate spreadsheets, one per child position.
Example:
Spreadsheet 1 → first child from every family
Spreadsheet 2 → second child from every family
Spreadsheet 3 → third child from every family
Each spreadsheet should still include:
Student details
Parent details (same parent info repeated where needed)
If a family only has one child, they will only appear in Spreadsheet 1.
In every spreadsheet, student columns must be named and mapped as:
Student First Name
Student Last Name
Student Date of Birth
Student Medical Conditions (if applicable)
Student Notes (optional)
When Importing Do NOT use:
Student 1 First Name
Student 2 First Name
Student 3 First Name
These should never be mapped during import.
The automation relies on the generic “Student” fields to work properly.
Go to Contacts → Import
Upload the Student 1 spreadsheet
Choose Update Existing Contact
Map:
Parent fields (email, phone, name, address, etc.)
Student fields using Student First Name / Last Name / DOB
Complete the import
MSM will:
Create the parent contact (if they don’t exist)
Add the child into Student 1 automatically
Upload the Student 2 spreadsheet
Choose Update Existing Contact
Map the same parent fields
Map student fields again as:
Student First Name
Student Last Name
Student Date of Birth
Even though this is the second child, you still use the same student fields.
MSM will:
Find the parent using email/phone
Detect Student 1 already exists
Automatically place this child into Student 2 after import
For third (or more) children:
Import the next spreadsheet
Always use Update Contact
Always use generic Student fields
MSM will continue adding students into the next available slot.
Behind the scenes, MSM:
Matches the parent by email and/or phone number
Checks which student slots are already filled
Adds the new child into the next empty student position
Prevents duplicates where possible
This is why manual Student 1 / 2 / 3 mapping must never be used.
Importing all children in one spreadsheet
Using Student 1 / Student 2 fields during import
Using “Create New Contact” instead of “Update Contact”
Changing field names between imports
Any of the above can cause students to overwrite each other.
Split your file into one spreadsheet per child
Import one spreadsheet at a time
Always use Update Contact
Always use Student First Name / Last Name / DOB
Never use Student 1, 2 or 3 fields manually
If you follow this process, MSM will correctly build each family with all students attached safely and cleanly.
Think of each family like one folder.
Inside that folder, there are spots for:
Child 1
Child 2
Child 3
You don’t want to choose the spot yourself. My Studio Manager does that part for you.
What you do instead is this:
Add one child at a time
Always use the same “Student Name” fields
Let the system decide where the child goes
When you import:
First child → goes into the first empty spot
Second child → goes into the next empty spot
Third child → goes into the next one again
If you try to say “this is Student 1” or “this is Student 2” yourself, the system gets confused and might replace a child that’s already there.
So the rule is simple:
One spreadsheet per child
Import them one after the other
Always choose “Update Contact”
Never use Student 1, 2 or 3 fields
Do that, and My Studio Manager will quietly put everyone in the right place for you.
