Importing Spreadsheets How to get a CSV or Excel file into the platform correctly, with the template, the mapping and the checks.

Operations, Data, Apps and Import. Spreadsheet import is available for Sales, People, Finance, Projects, Marketing, Support and Web.

Start With The Template

Download the template for the record type before touching your own file. It carries the exact columns expected, which removes all guesswork from mapping.

1. Pick the area and record type.
2. Download the template.
3. Move your data into it, keeping the header row exactly as provided.
4. Upload.
5. Map any columns the platform could not match automatically.
6. Review, then confirm.

Working into the template rather than mapping from your own layout is the difference between a five-minute import and an afternoon.

Preparing The File

Most import failures are in the file, not the platform.

• One header row. No merged cells, no title rows above the headers, no notes in row 2.
• One record per row. A row containing two contacts imports as one.
• Dates in one consistent format. Mixed formats in a column will be read by one rule, and half will be wrong.
• Numbers as numbers. Strip currency symbols and thousands separators.
• Trim whitespace. A trailing space makes "Acme " a different company from "Acme".
• Remove formulas. Paste values only. A formula referencing another sheet exports as an error.
• Check for duplicate emails. Email is the field used to match records; duplicates create split histories.

Mapping

Automatic where the header matches; manual where it does not. Custom fields you have created appear as targets, which is why creating them first matters.

Columns you leave unmapped are ignored. That is fine when deliberate - and a silent data loss when not. Check the unmapped list before confirming.

The Order Rule

Companies, then contacts, then deals. Parents before children, every time. A deal imported before its company cannot link to it, and importing the company afterwards does not repair the link.

Before You Confirm

The review step is the last point where a mistake is cheap.

1. Check the row count matches your file.
2. Check three sample rows landed in the right fields.
3. Check the unmapped columns are ones you meant to drop.
4. Check nothing is being created that already exists - re-importing a file you have already imported duplicates everything in it.

After

Go to Data Management, check the Imports tab, then work the queues. Import reliably creates records with no owner and contacts with no company.

Spot-check by hand as well as by count. A column that landed one position off - phone in the email field - passes every count check and is invisible until someone tries to use it.

Common Questions

My file will not upload. Check it is a single sheet with one header row, saved as CSV or a supported Excel format, and under any size limit shown.

Special characters look wrong. An encoding problem. Save as UTF-8 CSV from your spreadsheet tool and re-upload.

Can I update existing records rather than create new ones? Matching is on key fields such as email. Rows matching an existing record update it; rows that do not create a new one. This is exactly why duplicate or blank emails cause trouble.

How many rows can I import at once? Large files work, but a pilot of a hundred rows first is worth the time on anything substantial.