The Virtuous Gift & Contact Import tool requires import files to be formatted as CSV files in order to import data. Overall, CSV format is generally preferred for managing and transferring data, because the format preserves the original data values better that the XLS or XLSX formats.
But if you already have an XLS (or XLSX) file, not to worry! You can easily convert your file to CSV format and still import your data. Assuming you are using Microsoft Excel, since you have an Excel-formatted file, you can just follow these steps.
Note: There are several versions of Microsoft Excel, so the appearance of these steps may vary slightly. The screenshots in this article represent the menu seen in Excel when using Office 365 on a Mac.
First, click on the File menu, and then select "Save As..."
On the save screen, you'll see an option to specify the file format. If you file is an XLS (or XLSX) file, you'll see that format set already.
Click on the drop-down and then select "CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited)." Depending on your version of Excel, you may just see an option for "Comma delimited (CSV)." If so, select this format.
You can use the existing file name or rename your file, and then click save. Now, your file is saved as a CSV file.
Once you save, you may see a warning that "some features might be lost" near the top of the screen.
It is safe to ignore this warning, since you must use a CSV file to import your data.
Now, you're all set to import!