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Importing Your Data

Import companies, people, and opportunities from CSV files

Bring Your Data Into the CRM

The import tool lets you migrate existing data from spreadsheets or other systems into your CRM. You can import companies, people, and opportunities from CSV files with an intuitive column-mapping interface that validates your data before committing any changes.

Permissions required
Only users with the Manager or Adminrole can access the import feature. If you do not see the Import option, contact your organization's admin to request the appropriate role.

Import Process

Follow these steps to import records from a CSV file.

1

Navigate to the Import page

Open the entity list you want to import into (Companies, People, or Opportunities) and click the Import button in the toolbar. Alternatively, go to Admin → Import to access the import tool directly.

2

Select the entity type

Choose which type of record you are importing: Companies, People, or Opportunities. Each entity type has its own set of required and optional fields that you will map in the next step.

3

Upload your CSV file

Drag and drop your CSV file onto the upload area or click to browse your file system. The file must be in CSV format with UTF-8 encoding and include column headers in the first row. The importer reads the headers to prepare the column-mapping interface.

4

Map CSV columns to CRM fields

The column mapper displays each CSV header alongside a dropdown of available CRM fields. The system auto-matches columns by header name when possible — for example, a column named "Company Name" will automatically map to the Name field. Review each mapping and adjust any that were not matched correctly. Required fields are marked with an asterisk and must be mapped before proceeding.

5

Review validation results

After mapping, the importer validates every row against the field requirements and data types. Validation errors are displayed per row with a description of the issue (for example, "Invalid email format on row 15"). You can fix errors in your CSV and re-upload, or proceed with a partial import that skips invalid rows.

6

Execute the import

Click Import to begin. A progress indicator shows how many records have been processed. When the import completes, you will see a summary with the number of records created, skipped, and any errors encountered. Imported records are immediately available in the CRM.

File Requirements

Ensure your CSV file meets these requirements before uploading.

  • Format: Comma-separated values (.csv). Excel (.xlsx) and other formats are not supported — export to CSV first.
  • Encoding: UTF-8. If your file contains special characters or non-Latin scripts, verify it is saved with UTF-8 encoding to avoid garbled text.
  • Headers: The first row must contain column headers. Files without a header row cannot be mapped correctly.
  • Delimiter: Commas are the expected delimiter. If your file uses semicolons or tabs, convert it to use commas before uploading.
  • Empty rows: Remove any blank rows at the end of your file, as they may be counted as invalid records during validation.
Download a sample template
On the import page, click Download Template to get a sample CSV with the correct headers for the selected entity type. Use this template as a starting point to format your data, or compare it against your existing file to verify column names. Cleaning your data before importing — removing duplicates, fixing formatting, and filling required fields — significantly reduces validation errors.

Field Mapping

How the column mapper matches your CSV headers to CRM fields.

The mapper uses header-name matching to automatically pair your CSV columns with CRM fields. Common variations are recognized — for instance, "Phone Number", "Phone", and "Tel" all map to the Phone field.

If a column cannot be auto-matched, it is left unmapped. You can manually assign it using the dropdown, or leave it unmapped to skip that column during import. Unmapped columns are not imported but do not cause errors.

Custom fields defined in your organization are also available as mapping targets. If you have created custom fields under Admin → Custom Fields, they will appear in the dropdown alongside the standard fields.

Duplicate Detection

How the importer identifies and handles potential duplicates.

During validation, the importer checks each record against existing data to identify potential duplicates. Matching is based on key fields depending on the entity type:

  • Companies — Matched by company name
  • People — Matched by email address
  • Opportunities — Matched by opportunity name within the same company

When a duplicate is detected, the row is flagged in the validation results. You can choose to skip duplicates, which is the default behavior, or review them individually before proceeding with the import.

Error Handling

What happens when rows fail validation.

Validation errors are displayed per row with specific error messages explaining the issue. Common errors include:

  • Missing required fields (e.g., company name is blank)
  • Invalid email format
  • Invalid date format (expected YYYY-MM-DD)
  • Value exceeds maximum field length
  • Unrecognized option for select/dropdown fields

The import supports partial completion — valid rows are imported while invalid rows are skipped. After the import finishes, you can download a report of skipped rows, fix the issues in your CSV, and re-import only the corrected rows.

Row limits
Each import is limited to 10,000 rows for people and 100,000 rows for companies and opportunities. If your file exceeds these limits, split it into multiple files and import them separately. Large imports are processed in batches to avoid timeouts.
Clean your data first
Spending a few minutes cleaning your CSV before importing pays off. Remove duplicate rows, standardize formatting (e.g., consistent country names, phone number formats), and ensure required fields are populated. This reduces validation errors and avoids creating duplicate records in the CRM.