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Importing companies from a CSV

Importing a list of companies on their own, without contacts

Written by Luke Pitkin

Just got a list of target companies? Get them in without the contacts.

Hey! Luke here, founder of Giig šŸ‘‹

Sometimes you've just got a list of businesses, maybe a target list for BD, with no names attached yet. This import brings in the companies on their own, and you can add the people later. Import is available on Starter and above, and only the account Owner can do it.

Download the import template

Don't start from a blank spreadsheet. Grab our template, it already has every column in the right format.

  1. Click the upload icon at the top right of the platform (next to the inbox icon)

  2. On the Import page, click Go under Import Companies

  3. Click Download CSV Import Template, top right. The template downloads straight to your computer

Preparing your spreadsheet

  1. One row per company. The template has five columns: Company Name, Email Address, Contact Number, Website Address and Location

  2. Check for the same company spelled different ways. "Acme Ltd" and "Acme Limited" will come in as two separate companies

  3. Save it as a .csv file. It needs at least two companies, a file with just one row won't import

Here's what a filled-in template looks like:

šŸ’” Pro tip: sort your sheet A to Z by company name before you import. Near-duplicates end up next to each other and jump straight out at you.

Running the import

  1. Back on Import Companies, drag your CSV into the box (or click it to choose the file)

  2. You'll land on Map Your Data. If you've used our template, every column matches up on its own

  3. Got extra columns for your own company custom fields? Here's how to map those: Importing a CSV with custom fields

  4. Want to double check the data first? Click Preview Your CSV. Happy? Click Add Tags

Adding import tags

The company template doesn't have a Tags column, so this is where you tag your companies. These tags are global: every company in this import gets exactly the same ones. Giig pre-fills CSV Import and today's date, which is handy if you ever need to find "everything from that import" later.

  1. Add any extra tags you want on the whole batch, e.g. BD Target List

  2. Click Import Companies

šŸ’” Pro tip: want different tags on different companies? Split your list into separate files (say, one for Healthcare and one for Construction) and import each with its own import tag.

You'll see Import Complete with a count of how many came in. Big file? You can leave the page and Giig carries on in the background. Click View Database to see them.

Check it worked

Your new companies are in the Company Database. Hover over the orange tag icon at the end of a row to see its tags, including CSV Import, the date and anything you added.

Adding contacts later

Found the right people at those companies? Import them with Import Contacts & Companies and put the company name in the Company column. Giig links each contact to the company you already have, as long as the name is spelled exactly the same. Spell it differently and you'll get a second company. Here's how: Importing contacts and companies together.

Undoing an import

Imported the wrong file? It happens. Message us with the date of the import and roughly how many records were in it, and we'll clear out everything from that import for you.

šŸ“¹ Watch a Full Giig Walkthrough

Need a hand?

Look, software's only useful if it actually helps you place people faster, that's the whole point of Giig. If something's not clicking, or you think a feature's missing that would make your life easier, tell me. I'm not a faceless support team, I'm the guy who built this thing. Email me: support@giighire.com

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