Importing Data to the CRM

Importing Data to the CRM

Importing Data to the CRM

  • Import Checklist
  • Import Limits
  • Import Data to a Module
  • Import Notes

Data can be gathered through various sources such as, purchasing a record database, collecting from trade shows and campaigns, and so on. Importing records from such external sources to the CRM is one of the most important lead creation activities in any business. For that reason, importing should be easy and should help you maintain clean data without duplicates. 

You can import your data using either of the two options mentioned below: 

Importing data to individual modules in the CRM : Individual files can be imported, one at a time, to a specific module. 

Importing or Migrating data from other CRM accounts to the CRM : The  Data Migration  wizard helps you to migrate data from other CRM systems to the CRM. The wizard enables you to attach the CSV file of the module to be migrated and set the supported Date and Time format in the import file to avoid values being ignored during the migration. You can also ask the CRM to notify you when the import is complete by selecting the  Send Email Notification  option. After the necessary details are specified, you will need to map all the mandatory fields in the CSV file with those in the CRM. 

Availability 
Permission Required 
Users with Import permission in their profile can access this feature. 

Import Checklist 

Before importing the data, please go through the following checklist: 

  1. Permission 
    Make sure you have the access and privilege to Import data. If you do not have this permission, the Import link will be hidden in your user interface. 
  2. File Format 
    The supported formats are  Excel (XLS, XLSX), Comma Separated Value (CSV), and Business Card or vCard  Format  (VCF) . All file attachments should be separated from the data. 
    Unexpected errors may occur if the XLS/XLSX files contain any special controls such as combo filters or images embedded in them. 
  3. Characters not allowed 
    Any data for the file to be imported should not contain the following characters: 
    • Double quotation marks(") use only as a field delimiter 
    • Vertical bar (|) 
    • Angle brackets (<>) 
  4. Mandatory Fields 
    Each required (mandatory) field must contain a value. Make sure you do not leave any mandatory fields blank, in the import file. For instance, when you are importing account information, each account record must include an  Account Name . Please note that you cannot proceed to the next step without mapping the mandatory fields. 
  5. Check ox Data 
    Make sure that the data you plan to import from Boolean or check box fields contain values that will properly convert during the import process. 
    Imported data from Boolean and check box fields are converted as follows: 
    • If check box is selected: True or 1 
    • If check box is not selected: False or 0 
  6. Drop-down List 
    All data values displayed in the drop-down lists must exist in the corresponding the CRM fields. 
    For instance, if you plan to import account information that contains a value for the industry type drop-down list, before you import the account information, make sure all the industry values in the source file already appear in the drop-down list. If the values do not exist, you must either change the values in the source file to match the existing values in the CRM, or have your administrator add the new values. 
    If values are not added in the drop-down list, data can still be imported. After importing, if you change the value for the field, you cannot change it back to the old one as it will not be available in the list. 
  7. Field Names 
    Make sure the first row of data (records) in the source file contains the column headings or field names rather than the actual data values. These heading field name values help identify the data when you map the new data to the existing fields in the CRM. 
  8. Blank rows in the import file 
    More than 10 blank rows in the file might indicate the end of the file. Data after the blank rows will be ignored during import. Make sure not to leave blank rows in between rows of data. 
  9. File Size 
    Make sure the file size does not exceed the following limits according to your edition of the CRM: 
    CSV files - Enterprise -  25 MB , Professional and Standard -  10 MB , Free -  5 MB . 
    VCF files -  5 MB  for all editions. 

The modules along with their defined mandatory fields are described in the table below. Please make sure to map these fields when you import. There maybe other mandatory fields in each module too, but you can always customise and mark the fields as non-mandatory, if required. 

Modules 
Mandatory Fields 
Modules 
Mandatory Fields 
Leads 
Last  
Cases 
Case Origin 
Subject 
Status 
Accounts 
Account Name 
Solutions 
Solution Title 
Contacts 
Last Name 
Price Books 
Price Book Name 
Deals 
Deal Name 
Date 
Closing Date 
Products 
Product Name 
Campaigns 
Campaign Name 
Vendors 
Vendor Name 

Note 
  • Using the Import feature, you cannot import activities, reports, invoices, quotes, purchase orders, forecasts, sales orders, and templates into the CRM. 
  • However, you can import events in ICS format from Calendar. 

Import Limits 

If the import file is in XLS, XLSX or VCF format, you can import a maximum of 5000 records/batch. Records more than 5000 can be imported in CSV format.  


Note 
  • The supported formats are  Excel (XLS, XLSX), Comma Separated Value (CSV) and Business Card or vCard  Format (VCF) . 
  • If your records exceed the specified limits mentioned above then you can split the records in two or more files and import them. 

Import Data to a Module 

Import all the records that are owned by (assigned to) the users in your organisation, including the records owned by you. 

To import data 

  1. Click the appropriate [Module] tab (e.g., Leads, Contacts, Accounts, etc). 
  2. In the  [Module] Home  page, click  Import [Records] . 

  3. Click  Browse  or Drag and drop, to upload a file. 
    The character encoding will be automatically detected. 
     
  4. If needed, change the character encoding from the drop-down list and click  Next . 

  5. Select the  Layout  into which you want to import the records. 

    If you do not have a layout created, the records will be imported to the standard layout and the option to choose a layout will not be available. 
  6. Select one of the following options. 
    • Add as new [Records] : Choose this option to import all the records in the import file to the CRM. 
      Select  Record ID  or  Email / Record Name  from the drop-down list. In order to avoid data duplication, you have this additional option to skip records from the file that match existing records in the CRM. These can be filtered based on record ID, name or email address, as per the module. 
       
    • Update existing [Records] only : Choose this option to make changes only to the existing records.
      Select  Record ID  or  Email / Record Name  from the drop-down list to find existing records that match those in the import file. This option helps you filter existing records that need to be updated. Additionally, you can choose to skip updating empty values in the records. For example: Say your CRM record has a value, Hospitality, for the field Industry and the import file does not have any value for the same field. When you import the data from the file and choose  Skip updating empty values,  then the empty value will not be overwritten and the Industry field value will be left unchanged. This will avoid the chance of any data loss. 
       
    • Both : Choose this option to add new records as well as update the changes in the existing records. 
      Select  Record ID  or  Email / Record Name  from the drop-down list to find existing records that match those in the import file. You have this option to filter existing records that needs to be updated. You can also choose to skip updating empty values from your import file to the records in the CRM. 
  7. Click  Next . 
  8. Map fields from the import file to those in the CRM. 

    The data from the first three columns in the import file will be available. Based on these data, formats for a certain field will be added. This format can be edited, if required. 
    • Click  Create New Fields , if you are in need of custom fields that are not already available in your CRM account. 
    • Click  Mapped  and  Unmapped  to view the columns that are mapped and not mapped respectively with the fields in the CRM. 
    • Click the  Reset Field Mapping  link to start mapping from scratch. 
      Any mapping you have done so far will be removed and you can start over. 
    • Click the  Apply Auto Mapping  link to let CRM map the import columns with matching fields. 
      The system will identify columns that match the CRM fields and map them automatically. 
       
  9. Click  Next . 
  10. Choose one of the following to 
     
    assign the lead source : 
    This option is available only for the  Leads  module and only if you have mapped the  Lead Source field. If the field is not mapped, you will get to choose one the CRM lead source value from the drop-down list. 
    • From options : Values from the  Lead Source  picklist field are listed. You can select one value and it will be applied to all the records that are imported. 
    • Field mapping : Your import file may have a column that mentions the lead source. You can map that column with the CRM field and choose this option to use the values from the import file as the source. 

  11. Choose one of the following to 
     
    Assign Owner : 
    • User : Choose a user from the drop-down list to assign a single owner for all the records that you import. 
    • Assignment Rules : Choose an assignment rule from the drop-down list to assign users based on the rule or create a new assignment rule.
    • File mapping : This option will be available only when the  [Record] Owner  field is mapped to a column from the file. You can map either using Record ID or Email. The import file should have a column that contains the exact email address(es) of the user(s) to whom you want to assign each record. Only then will the records automatically be assigned to the respective users while importing. 
  12. Choose a task from the drop-down list or create a workflow task to  assign tasks . 
    The existing workflow tasks will be available in the list. 
  13. Add relevant  Tags , if applicable, from the list of existing tags for the module.  
    The chosen tag will be added to all of the records that are imported.  
  14. Select the checkbox to  Enable Manual Lead Approval . 
    The records will be manually approved by the admin before being assigned to specific users. This option is available only for Leads, Contacts, Cases and custom modules. 
  15. Click  Finish . 
    The import action will be initiated. 


Note 
  • Select the  [Module ID]  from the  Find existing using  field, if and only if you are re-importing the records that were exported from the CRM. The  [Module ID]  field is generated by the CRM and is therefore unique to the CRM. Hence, it is ideal to choose this as a unique field in cases when you want to export a set of records from the CRM to a spreadsheet, make some changes to it and import the records again. In this case, when you choose the  [Module ID]  as the unique field and choose to update the existing records, the matching records are seamlessly updated. Choosing the  [Module ID]  as a unique field in any other case may cause duplication of records. 
  • The unique fields are not case sensitive. That is, if the unique field's value in the import file is "ABC" and in the existing record, it is "abc", the CRM will still identify this as a match. 
  • Once the Import process begins, you cannot cancel it. 
  • The manual approval option is available only while importing leads. 
  • If you select a workflow task while importing, the  Notify Assignee  option in the selected workflow task, will not be applicable. 
  • During field mapping, you can choose to map more than one CRM field to the import field. Say for example, if the created and modified by are same you can map both these CRM fields to the Created by ID. 

Import Notes 

Many a time, you may face the need to write down notes for a lot of records at the same time. Sometimes the same note may need to be associated with multiple records. Instead of adding notes one at a time to each record, you can import them and get them associated with relevant contacts. 

You can overcome this hassle by using the  Import Notes  feature offered by the CRM. Simply export your existing records to a spreadsheet, add your notes in new columns and import the notes. 

To import notes 

  1. Prepare your spreadsheet (either exported from CRM or a new sheet) with your notes for each record. Make sure you have the  Note Title  and  Note Content  columns in your sheet. Apart from these two columns, the spreadsheet must have a column for one of the unique fields for the chosen module - Email, Record ID or any other unique field. 
  2. In your CRM account, click the required module. 
  3. Click the [Module]  tab . 
    Module  refers to the tabs like Leads, Contacts, Accounts, etc. 
     
  4. In the  [Module] Home  page, click  Import Notes . 
  5. Browse  the import file and upload it. 
  6. When the file is uploaded, click  Next . 

  7. Map fields from the import file to those in the CRM. 
    The data from the first three columns in the import file will be available. Based on this data, formats for certain field will be added. This format can be edited, if required. 
    • Click  Mapped  and  Unmapped  to view the columns that are mapped and not mapped respectively with the fields in the CRM. 
    • Select the  Reset mapped fields  checkbox to start mapping from scratch. 
    • Click the  Apply Auto Mapping  link to let CRM map the import columns with matching fields. 
  8. Click  Import . 
    The import action will be initiated. Notes can be seen in the respective record's details page. 
     

Note 

  1. The following permissions should be enabled in a user's profile to import notes: 
    Create permission for Notes  under  Module Level Permissions . 
     
  2. Import  
    Permissions  enabled for the respective parent module in  Profiles . 
    For example, even if a user has  Notes  creation permission but does not have  Import permissions for Leads, he/she will not be able to import notes for leads. 


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