Your database.
Your path into EmpireOS.

STEP 1

Obtain a PostgreSQL database.

1. Create a database named empireos_source and a dedicated login such as empireos_import, owned by your company. The login should not have server-wide administrator privileges.
2. Record the host, port, database name, username, and provider’s CA certificate instructions. Keep the password in your company’s password manager or approved secrets store.
3. Limit database connections to approved machines or private networks. Enable verified TLS for remote connections, automated backups, and a tested restore.
4. Install a database client: PostgreSQL’s psql command-line tool or pgAdmin.

CREATE ROLE empireos_import LOGIN NOSUPERUSER NOCREATEDB NOCREATEROLE;
\password empireos_import
CREATE DATABASE empireos_source OWNER empireos_import;

psql "host=YOUR_DB_HOST port=5432 dbname=empireos_source user=empireos_import sslmode=verify-full sslrootcert=/path/to/provider-ca.pem" -W

STEP 2

Load your company’s data into PostgreSQL.

1. Export the calling-list records from your CRM or spreadsheet as a UTF-8 CSV with a header row. Keep phone numbers and postal codes as text so plus signs and leading zeros survive.
2. Save a copy of the original export. Use a separate staging table for each batch so repeated imports do not silently append the same records again.
3. Arrange the columns in the order shown below. Use true or false for both boolean fields. Preserve existing do-not-call flags. Mark approved_for_import true only after your team has reviewed that record for this campaign.
4. Create the staging table in empireos_source, then import the CSV using one of the methods below.

CREATE TABLE public.lead_import_staging (
  phone text,
  first_name text,
  last_name text,
  email text,
  state text,
  postal_code text,
  source text,
  do_not_call boolean NOT NULL DEFAULT true,
  approved_for_import boolean NOT NULL DEFAULT false
);

\copy public.lead_import_staging (phone,first_name,last_name,email,state,postal_code,source,do_not_call,approved_for_import) FROM '/absolute/path/source-leads.csv' WITH (FORMAT csv, HEADER true, ENCODING 'UTF8')

STEP 3

Review and export approved leads.

Compare the loaded row count to your original file. Resolve missing numbers and duplicates, preserve suppression records, and have the campaign owner review the list. These example queries find exact trimmed-number duplicates; EmpireOS also validates phone numbers during import.

SELECT count(*) AS source_rows FROM public.lead_import_staging;
SELECT count(*) AS approved_rows FROM public.lead_import_staging
WHERE approved_for_import IS TRUE AND do_not_call IS FALSE
  AND NULLIF(btrim(phone),'') IS NOT NULL;
SELECT btrim(phone), count(*) FROM public.lead_import_staging
GROUP BY btrim(phone) HAVING count(*) > 1;

In psql, run this export on one physical line. It includes only explicitly approved, non-DNC records with a phone value. The result is a local CSV file ready for field mapping.

\copy (SELECT phone,first_name,last_name,email,state,postal_code,source FROM public.lead_import_staging WHERE approved_for_import IS TRUE AND do_not_call IS FALSE AND NULLIF(btrim(phone),'') IS NOT NULL) TO '/absolute/path/empireos-approved-leads.csv' WITH (FORMAT csv, HEADER true, ENCODING 'UTF8')

Keep the original source database and its DNC records. Excluding a suppressed row from an export does not create a corresponding DNC record inside EmpireOS; confirm the destination’s suppression list with your administrator before any dialing.

STEP 4

Bring the CSV into EmpireOS.

Sign in to your own company’s EmpireOS address as an administrator. Start with a small authorized sample in a dedicated campaign with dialing paused and no advisors ready. Imported lists can become available to that campaign.

1. Open campaign administration and choose Upload Lead List.
2. Select the destination campaign or playlist and give the list a recognizable name. Enter the lead provider, anticipated lead count, and actual cost paid when requested. Use your company’s source name for an internal export; enter zero cost only if that is accurate.
3. Select empireos-approved-leads.csv. Choose the intended distribution; Campaign only — assign advisors later avoids assigning it prematurely.
4. Map phone to Phone. Map the other columns to the matching contact fields shown by your deployment. Create any necessary custom fields before importing, or deliberately ignore columns you do not need.
5. Choose Review Mapping, inspect examples and required fields, then choose Confirm and Import Leads when the mapping is correct.
6. Reconcile the result: accepted, invalid, duplicate, and DNC totals. Inspect sample customer records and the campaign’s list counts. Correct rejected rows before retrying them.
7. Confirm scripts, time zones, calling rules, DNC handling, and advisor assignment. Complete an authorized test call and review the result before enabling production dialing.

FOR YOUR IMPLEMENTATION ADMINISTRATOR

Using PostgreSQL as EmpireOS’s operational database.

This is a deployment change, separate from uploading a source list. An arbitrary source table is not the EmpireOS application schema.

1. Provision customer-owned PostgreSQL and Redis resources and credentials. Keep the source staging database separate from the application datastore.
2. Back up the running application data and verify recovery. Configure the protected DATABASE_URL and Redis connection for the approved deployment, then apply the EmpireOS schema migrations.
3. Begin with the documented shadow-mode migration and reconcile campaigns, lists, lead records, assignments, callbacks, and suppression records.
4. Run a controlled pilot and verify import, disposition, callback, DNC, and CRM workflows, plus database backup restoration and rollback.
5. Activate required database mode only after the implementation team approves the reconciliation and readiness checks. Confirm the deployment’s administrator datastore status and service health.

Database credentials belong in the deployment’s protected configuration. The onboarding questionnaire is not a database-connection form, and raw SQL inserts into EmpireOS’s internal tables bypass the importer’s validation.

If something does not work