Contacts Import

Import your client contacts and leads to populate your customer database.

Overview

Contacts are your clients, leads, and prospects. Importing contacts lets you migrate from another system or bulk-add new contacts to start tracking opportunities.

What Gets Imported

• Contact Information - Names, email, phone
• Company Details - Company name, address
• Lead Attribution - Source, campaign
• Custom Fields - Your custom contact fields

Template Download

Download the Contacts Import Template:

1. Go to Contacts board
2. Click Import
3. Select Clients as contact type
4. Download the template file

Template Fields

Required Fields

Field	Description	Example
company_name	Company or household name	Smith Residence
OR first_name + last_name	Contact name	John Smith

At minimum, provide company name OR first/last name.

Contact Information

Field	Description	Example
first_name	First name	John
last_name	Last name	Smith
email	Email address	[email protected]
phone_number	Primary phone	555-123-4567
secondary_phone	Secondary phone	555-234-5678
job_title	Contact title	Homeowner

Address Fields

Field	Description	Example
address	Street address	123 Oak Street
city	City	Milwaukee
state	State	WI
zip	Postal code	53202

Lead Attribution

Field	Description	Example
source	Lead source	Website
campaign	Marketing campaign	Spring 2024

Pipeline Fields

Field	Description	Example
status	Contact status	Active
sales_stage	Current sales stage	Initial Contact

Optional Fields

Field	Description	Example
website	Contact website	www.example.com
notes	Contact notes	Referred by ABC
legacy_id	ID from previous system	OLD-12345
created_date	Original creation date	2024-01-15

Custom Fields

Import custom field values:

• Use the custom field name as column header
• Match field name exactly
• Support for text, dropdown, date, checkbox fields

Example with custom fields:

company_name,first_name,last_name,email,Preferred Contact Method,Project Timeline
Smith Residence,John,Smith,[email protected],Email,Spring 2025
Jones Family,Mary,Jones,[email protected],Phone,Summer 2025

Preparing Your Data

Example Contacts File

company_name,first_name,last_name,email,phone_number,address,city,state,zip,source,campaign,sales_stage,status
Smith Residence,John,Smith,[email protected],555-123-4567,123 Oak St,Milwaukee,WI,53202,Website,Spring 2024,Initial Contact,Active
Jones Family,Mary,Jones,[email protected],555-234-5678,456 Elm Ave,Chicago,IL,60601,Referral,Spring 2024,Proposal Sent,Active
Williams Home,Bob,Williams,[email protected],555-345-6789,789 Pine Rd,Madison,WI,53703,Home Show,Home Show 2024,Sold,Active
Brown Remodel,Sue,Brown,[email protected],555-456-7890,321 Maple Dr,Milwaukee,WI,53203,Google Ads,Spring 2024,Lead,Active

Phone Number Formatting

Multiple formats accepted:

• 555-123-4567
• (555) 123-4567
• 5551234567

Multiple Phone Numbers

Use designated columns:

phone_number,secondary_phone
555-123-4567,555-234-5678

Address Handling

• If address matches existing house record, contact is linked
• New addresses create new house records
• ZIP code used for validation

Import Steps

1. Prepare Your File

   • Fill in contact information
   • Map sources and campaigns
   • Include custom field values
   • Save as CSV

2. Upload

   • Go to Contacts board
   • Click Import
   • Select Clients as contact type
   • Choose your CSV file
   • Click Upload

3. Column Mapping

   • Review automatic mapping
   • Adjust mismatched columns
   • Map custom fields

4. Processing

   • Click Import
   • Import runs in background
   • Email sent when complete

Import Results Email

After processing, you'll receive:

• Summary Statistics
  • Total rows processed
  • Successfully imported
  • Skipped (duplicates)
  • Failed (errors)
• Error Details
  • Row number
  • Contact information
  • Error message
  • First 50 errors shown

Handling Duplicates

Matching Logic

Contacts matched by (in order):

1. legacy_id if provided
2. company_name (exact match)
3. first_name + last_name combination

Existing Contacts

If match found:

• Record is updated
• New information merged
• Existing data preserved

Avoiding Duplicates

• Check for existing contacts first
• Use consistent company names
• Provide legacy_id for re-imports

Common Issues

Missing Required Fields

At minimum, provide:

• Company name, OR
• First name AND last name

Invalid Email Format

Email must be valid format:

• Check for typos
• Remove spaces
• Valid domain required

Source/Campaign Not Found

If source or campaign doesn't exist:

• Created automatically
• Or specify existing values
• Review after import

Date Formatting

Use consistent date format:

• YYYY-MM-DD (recommended)
• MM/DD/YYYY
• DD/MM/YYYY (specify locale)

After Import

Verify Data

• Spot-check imported contacts
• Review source attribution
• Check custom field values

Organize

• Assign to salespeople
• Set pipeline stages
• Add to campaigns

Follow Up

• Create activities for follow-up
• Send welcome emails
• Start nurture campaigns

Lead Sources and Campaigns

Setting Up Sources

If sources don't exist:

• Import creates them
• Or create in Admin first
• Standardize naming

Campaign Tracking

Link contacts to campaigns:

• Marketing campaigns
• Events and shows
• Referral programs

Integration with Projects

Converting to Projects

After import, contacts can be:

• Converted to projects
• Linked to existing projects
• Associated with opportunities

Legacy ID Tracking

Use legacy_id to:

• Track original system IDs
• Enable re-imports/updates
• Maintain cross-reference

Best Practices

Data Quality

• Clean data before import
• Remove duplicates in source
• Verify email addresses

Standardization

• Consistent company naming
• Standard source values
• Uniform address format

Attribution

• Always include source
• Link to campaigns
• Track referrals

Maintenance

• Import new contacts regularly
• Update existing records
• Archive inactive contacts

Related

• Data Import Overview
• Vendor Import
• Client Data Import
• Managing Contacts
• External Leads