Formatting Files for Account Imports

An Account in Lead Gen & CRM is just like a folder in a digital filing cabinet, where you can store all of the information related to an account in one place. 

Accounts contain information about contacts, opportunities, and organizations. Import accounts in bulk using our updated Account Import tool. You can import accounts from other Lead Gen & CRM instances and from other CRM platforms using a .TXT or .CSV file. 

In this article, you'll learn how to format your file for an import. 

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Article Contents

• Example Import File
• Important Information Regarding Imports
• Formatting Files in Google Sheets
• Formatting Files in Microsoft Excel
• Starting An Import

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Example Import File

The Import Tool uses information from .TXT and .CSV files and creates accounts from this information. These files contain only alphanumeric data and are presented in a table format.

When formatting .TXT or .CSV file content, only the account name is required for a successful import, however, you may include additional data. The following are available in Lead Gen & CRM accounts as standard fields: 

• Account Name
• Website Address
• Phone Number 
• Industry
• Annual Revenue
• Number of Employees
• Year Started
• Fax Number 

In addition, if you have any custom fields you want to map your import columns to, you may include them in your import file, You’ll be able to check that they are mapping properly prior to your import being processed. 

Note that any associated tasks, notes, and opportunities aren't fields, but are entire objects. With an import, you may only import accounts along with their fields. You may update your accounts with tasks, notes, and opportunities after importing.

Here is an example of how a file can be formatted. Please remember, that only Account Name is required. 

In this example, the first 6 columns would import data that will fill Lead Gen & CRM’s typical account fields while the last two columns will need to be mapped to custom fields. 

Make sure to follow the important import rules described below. 

Important Information Regarding Imports

When formatting .CSV files, be aware of the following:

• Header rows are required. Header rows are necessary for mapping Lead Gen & CRM fields to imported fields.
  
  
• Values must match. When importing custom field values, ensure that they are formatted to match the custom field value requirements. For example, picklist and checkbox values are case-sensitive. Learn more about custom fields by reading our Creating Custom Fields article. 
  
  
• Double-check that your date and time format is consistent. If some of your accounts use MM/DD/YYYY format while others use DD/MM/YY format, your account import data will be inaccurate. Finally, we’ll attempt to automatically detect the format being used from your import file, however, you should double-check to be sure the correct format is selected during the import. 
  
  
• When importing data with picklist and checkbox fields, the fields must be present in the file import in order to appear. Ensure that the picklist or checkbox fields in your file have already been created in the Features section of Settings, prior to importing. Otherwise, the data may not be imported properly.
  
  
  Note: Text-based custom fields can be created during the import process. Other custom field types (checkbox, dropdown, etc.) must be created from your instance Settings. Only Administrator user roles can initiate account imports and create custom fields.
  
  
  
• When importing to a checkbox custom field, the data cannot have spaces between values and commas. An example of this would be value1,value2,value3. 
  
  
• Account ID is the most reliable source of truth for distinguishing accounts that have already been created in Lead Gen & CRM. Account IDs are automatically generated for any Account when it is created in Lead Gen & CRM for the first time. If you happen to take your data elsewhere and return to Lead Gen & CRM, the Account ID will be used to resolve any duplicate entries. 

Formatting Files in Google Sheets

You may format a .TXT or a .CSV file for import in Google Sheets.

To format in Google Sheets, do the following:

1. Visit drive.google.com and log in to your Google Drive account.
2. Click New > File Upload.
3. Locate your file.
4. Click Open.
5. Right-click the uploaded file.
6. Select Open With Google Sheets.
7. Click the letter for the column to split above Row 1.
8. Click Data > Split text to columns in the menu bar.
9. Select the appropriate punctuation separator in the separator menu that appears.
10. Click File > Download As > Comma-separated values (.CSV, current sheet) in the menu bar.

Formatting Files in Microsoft Excel

You can format a .CSV file for import in Microsoft Excel.

To format in Microsoft Excel, do the following:

1. Open Microsoft Excel.
2. Click File > New Workbook in Excel's top toolbar.
3. Click From Text in the Data tab.
4. Select the desired .CSV file in the pop-up window that appears.
5. Click Get Data.
6. Select the radio button next to Delimited in the Text Import Wizard.
7. Click Next.
8. Select the appropriate Delimiters.
9. Change the Text qualifier to {none}.
10. Click Finish.
11. Click Ok in the Import Data box.

This will insert the data into the Excel spreadsheet, starting in Field A1.

Starting An Import

You can initiate an Account Import by clicking on the “Import Accounts” button in the Account Manager.

You can also initiate an import by clicking on the + sign in the instance top toolbar and selecting Account Imports from the dropdown menu. Read Importing Accounts Overview to learn more about starting your import.