How to Import Contacts and Deals from a CSV File

Bring the contacts, companies and deals you already have into your workspace from a CSV file.

If your records live in a spreadsheet, you do not have to type them in again. Save the sheet as a CSV file and import it. This guide walks through the four steps, Upload, Map Fields, Review and Import, and shows how to read the result.

1. 1

   Open Import in Settings

   Open Settings and choose Import. If you do not see Import in Settings, your role does not include it, so ask an admin. The page shows the four steps along the top: Upload, Map Fields, Review and Import.
2. 2

   Choose what you are importing

   Under What are you importing?, pick one of Contacts, Companies, Products, Deals, Line Items or Deal Contacts. Import one kind of record per file.
3. 3

   Upload the CSV file

   Drag and drop your CSV file onto the page, or click to browse. Only a .csv file is accepted, and the file can be up to 5 MB. It needs a header row, so the first line of the file holds the column names. If the file is refused, the page shows the reason.
4. 4

   Map each column to a field

   Map Fields lists every column in your file with a few sample values beside it. Under Maps To, choose the field each column should fill, or choose skip. Columns you leave unmapped are ignored. If you map the same field twice, a warning appears beside it.
5. 5

   Choose how duplicates are handled

   Under Duplicate Handling, choose Skip duplicates to leave existing records unchanged, or Update duplicates to overwrite the fields of an existing record. Then choose Continue. The button shows how many fields you mapped, and it stays off until you have mapped at least one.
6. 6

   Review

   Review shows the total rows in your file, the number of fields mapped, the duplicate rule you chose and the full field mapping. Use Back if anything looks wrong.
7. 7

   Start the import

   Choose Start Import. The button shows how many rows it will process. A progress line counts the rows processed out of the total as the import runs.
8. 8

   Read the result

   When it finishes, the page reads Import Complete, or Import Finished with Errors when some rows could not be imported. It shows how many rows were imported, skipped and failed. Any errors are listed in a table with the Row and the Reason, so you can fix those lines in your file. Choose Import Another File to start again.
9. 9

   Check past imports

   Past Imports lists every earlier import with its Date, Source, Total, Imported, Errors and Status.

A few things worth knowing

Prepare your file before you upload it. Give every column a clear name in the first row, and keep one kind of record in each file, so a file of contacts and a file of deals are two separate imports. The fields you can map to depend on the kind of record you chose.

If a few rows fail, the error table tells you which row and why. Once your records are in, the guide on managing your pipeline shows how to work with your deals, and the guide on adding a product covers a product one at a time.