Data Append Services: Phone and Email Append, Billed Per Match

What is data appending?

Data appending is adding missing fields to records you already hold by matching them against a larger reference database. A customer file, a lead list, a membership roll or a CRM export usually has names and postal addresses and is missing the fields that make outreach possible: a phone that still connects and an email address. An append service tries to match each record to a person and writes those fields back onto the same row, so the file you get back is the file you sent, with more columns.

Data appending is different from buying a list. A purchased list brings new names; an append works on the names you already have — past customers, aged leads, a list built from public records, a file from a partner. It is worth running before a calling, texting or email campaign on any list more than a few months old, because phone numbers and email addresses change when people move or switch providers.

Ava Data is narrow on purpose. It appends phones and emails to people, from a name and an address. The table below says what that covers and what it does not, so you can tell in one read whether this is the append service you need.

How does phone and email append work on Ava Data?

There are three ways to run an append, and all three bill the same per match.

• Bulk file. Upload a CSV through the dashboard — up to 250,000 records per file — map your own column names onto the fields, choose phone, email or both, and review the estimated credits before the job starts. address is the only required column; first name, last name, city, state and ZIP narrow the match. The finished file comes back with your original columns plus the appended data. See bulk skip tracing for the file checklist.
• Bulk API. POST the same CSV to /api/v1/bulk/upload with a dataTypes value such as ["phone","email"], poll /api/v1/bulk/{jobId}/status, and download the result as JSON or CSV. This is how an append runs on a schedule, inside your own system. API access is enabled per account.
• One record at a time. POST /api/v1/standard-search takes a name and address and returns phones and emails in the response, at 60 requests per minute — the pattern for appending each new record as it arrives. The contact enrichment API page covers that workflow, and the API reference has the fields.

Credits are reserved when a file is submitted and adjusted down to the actual matches when it completes, so rows with no match release their credits rather than being charged. The identity graph behind every append refreshes every 24 hours, and a re-run of an old file queries the current state of that graph rather than a stored copy.

What does data appending cost?

Ava Data prices appends per matched record, not per row submitted: 1 credit (2¢) for a phone, 1 credit for an email, 2 credits (4¢) for both, on the $9/month plan that every account is on and that includes 100 credits. There is no order minimum. Your balance — plan credits plus any wallet credits — has to cover a file's ceiling when you submit it, and the credits for rows with no match are released when the job completes. The ceilings for common file sizes:

The ceilings assume every row matches, which most files won't. Where a service bills per record submitted, the rows that come back empty are paid for anyway; on a per-match bill they cost nothing — so compare vendors on the effective price per usable phone, not the headline rate. The skip tracing cost guide works through that per-row versus per-match arithmetic.

How to choose a data append service

Five questions separate append services more than any headline price does.

1. Per row or per match? A per-row price is charged on every record you send. A per-match price is charged only on records that come back with data. On an old list the difference is most of the bill.
2. Is there a minimum? Order minimums, setup fees and annual commitments turn a small test file into a large purchase. Ava Data has no order minimum beyond the $9/month plan.
3. How fresh is the reference data? An append is only as current as the database it matches against. Ask how often it refreshes; Ava Data's refreshes every 24 hours.
4. Does a phone come with its line type? Mobile, landline and VoIP are different channels — a landline cannot take a text — and an append without line type pushes that sorting onto you. Ava Data tags each phone with its line type where it is known.
5. What does it not append? Check the scope before you compare prices. If you need reverse phone, change-of-address or business data, Ava Data is the wrong service, and the table above says so.

Who uses phone and email append?

• Real estate investors and wholesalers appending phones to absentee-owner, pre-foreclosure and driving-for-dollars lists. See skip tracing for real estate investors.
• Real estate agents, teams and brokerages re-tracing an aged client database or a farm. See skip tracing for realtors.
• Roofing and solar contractors appending phones and emails to homeowner lists and new homeowner lists.
• Collection agencies re-establishing contact with account holders. See skip tracing for collection agencies.
• Developers and operations teams running appends inside their own software through the API.

Whatever the list, outreach to the appended numbers is regulated: you are responsible for the calling and texting rules that apply to you, including Do Not Call scrubbing where required. Ava Data provides the data and does not place calls or send messages.

Frequently asked questions

What are data append services?

Data append services add missing fields to a list you already own. You send records with what you have — usually a name and a postal address — and get the same records back with phone numbers, email addresses or other fields filled in. Ava Data appends phones and emails, charging 1 credit (2¢) per matched phone and nothing for rows that return no match.

What is the difference between phone append and reverse phone append?

Phone append starts from a name and address and returns that person's phone numbers. Reverse phone append starts from a phone number and returns the name and address behind it. Ava Data does forward append only: every search needs a name or an address to anchor on, so it cannot identify the owner of a number you already hold.

How much does data appending cost per record?

On Ava Data, a phone append costs 1 credit (2¢) per matched record, an email append 1 credit, and phone plus email at most 2 credits (4¢), because each is billed only when found. Records with no match are not charged. A 100,000-record file costs at most $2,000 for phones, or $4,000 for phones and emails, on the $9/month plan. There is no order minimum.

How large a file can I append?

Up to 250,000 records per file, uploaded through the dashboard or POSTed to the bulk API endpoint. Larger lists run as several files. The per-match price is the same for a 10-row file and a 250,000-row file, and unmatched rows release their reserved credits when the job finishes.

Does Ava Data append demographics, addresses or business data?

Mostly no. Bulk files and Standard Search append phones and emails. A single-record Deep Search also returns current and previous addresses, and age and date of birth when available. Household demographics such as income are available only as an enrichment option inside the Follow Up Boss integration. Ava Data does not process change-of-address (NCOA) files or append firmographics or business contacts.

Can I use appended data for credit, employment, insurance or tenant decisions?

No. Ava Data is not a consumer reporting agency, and its Terms of Service bar using the data to decide anyone's eligibility for credit, employment, insurance, housing or tenancy. Appended contact data is for reaching people — prospecting, marketing and re-establishing contact with your own customers — under the calling and texting rules that apply to you.

Related: Bulk Skip Tracing · Contact Enrichment API · Phone Number Lookup API · CRM Enrichment · Pricing