Moving data from one platform to another is rarely easy and never something you want to spend your time doing, yet it remains a necessary evil. With the Cloud account and contact import tool, you can quickly get your data into Cloud, so you can focus on what you do best. Before you get started, take a look at what we mean by accounts and contacts.

Any data import tool is only as good as the data it's importing. Before importing your data, it's best to clean it up to ensure it's in the format you'll want to use in Cloud. Email addresses, phone numbers, and site and billing addresses are some common fields that can cause headaches down the road, so ensure they're correct before importing; we'll upload these fields exactly as entered in your file. The good news is you can always edit your information later in the Cloud Contacts tab, should you miss a field or two.

During import, we'll attempt to match your column headers to those used in Cloud. However, it's best to review them before importing. When you begin the import process, you'll have the opportunity to download a sample file with the Cloud account and contact headers filled. Getting your headers as close to these as possible will make the import process much easier and reduce the chances you'll have to match headers manually.

What's the difference between John Smith and John Smith? When using the import tool, there isn't one. If you have accounts or contacts with the same name, we'll import the last one in the file and delete the rest. If you're uploading a file in the future and there is an account or contact name that already exists in your Cloud account, it'll be mapped to that account or contact automatically. We recommend that you indicate that the new John Smith is different from the existing one so that the existing record isn't overwritten.

In Cloud, your contacts can be associated with an account. To associate your contacts with accounts, add them to the 'contact first name' and 'contact last name' columns in your import file. You can also link contacts to accounts by adding the 'account name' header to your contact import file, if you're using separate files.

Yes! If you've followed the above steps and recommendations, the upload process should be a breeze. If you're a first-time Cloud user, you'll be up and running in no time, skipping one of the most painful steps when adopting a new business tool. If you're an existing user and maintain an external CRM for your business, regularly importing data will eliminate the pain of duplicate data entry and reduce the likelihood of errors. Click the button below to get started!