Supported file format: CSV or XLSX only. Please convert all your files into a CSV/XLSX before attempting to import data using Freshsales.

There are 4 important things that you'd need to know about, when you import contacts from a CSV/XLSX file. They are described in detail below:

1. Preparing your CSV/XLSX file
2. Importing the file
3. Mapping  fields
4. Reasons for failure of data import 

Preparing your CSV/XLSX file

• Make sure that your CSV/XLSX file’s header row has a column that can be mapped to the field Last name for the import to be successful. 
• The file shouldn’t be larger than 5MB.
• If you'd like to automatically assign leads to users in Freshsales, create a column with the email addresses of the users in Freshsales and map that column to the field Owner.
• If any field is a multi-select field, the values of the field should be separated by semicolon(;) in the CSV/XLSX file. Ex: Say the field, Competitors involved is a multi-select field. Competitor column in the CSV/XLSX should be:

  Last Name	Competitors involved
  Laer Bloomington	Tracton Inc; Hilvell Org; Boton Space Ltd
  Sarah Neruvisk	Niller Co; Hilvell Org

Importing the file

Click the Contacts tab. 

1. In the contacts list view page, click Import Contacts button. 
2. In the Import Contacts overlay, click Upload your contact CSV/XLSX file and browse through the files on your device to choose the desired file. Make sure the file format is CSV/XLSX.
   
3. Once you have selected the file, you would see the file's name appear above the Remove button. 
4. If you'd like to replace the CSV/XLSX file, click Remove and start afresh. 
5. Once you've uploaded a CSV/XLSX file, choose one of two options:
   
   
   
   • Add as new records in Freshsales - This creates all the data from the CSV/XLSX file as new records in Freshsales.
     
     
     
   • Find duplicate records on the CSV/XLSX file and update records/skip import:
     Identifies duplicates between the CSV/XLSX file and Freshsales records by matching them based on the following identifiers:
     • Email*    
     • Freshsales ID
     • Phone number*
     • Work Number
       Additionally, all fields of type ‘Text field’ and ‘Number’ will be automatically detected and can be used for matching.
       
       

       *Note:  When Email is used as an Identifier:  The email field in the CSV/XLSX will be matched only with the primary email of Lead/Contact for finding duplicates. Secondary email addresses, if any, will not be considered.   The CSV/XLSX file will be matched with both Leads and Contacts to identify duplicates. If you are importing multiple emails for a Lead or Contact through the CSV/XLSX file, the first email in the cell will be considered as the identifier. If the CSV/XLSX file has a single column for multiple emails wherein each email is column separated by semicolons, the first email will from each cell be used as the identifier for finding duplicates. When  Phone number is used as an Identifier: Only if there is an exact match between the field value on the CSV file and the stored record will the record be considered duplicate. Example: if a record on Freshsales contains 9003241245 and the CSV file has a record containing phone number as +1-9003241245, then the two records will not be considered duplicates

Decide what to do with records that are identified as duplicates:

• Skip import for all duplicate records
  You can opt to skip import for all duplicate records. This will prevent Freshsales from updating records that are already present on the CRM. You will also receive an import summary email with a CSV file containing all the skipped records.
  
  
• Update all duplicate records
  - With Overwrite: Updates all the fields and overwrites the values present in the fields.
  - Without overwrite: Updates only fields that are empty.
  
  
  
• Pick a date format: Choose the date format for all date fields present on your CSV/XLSX file. You can choose between one of the following three formats:
  - DD/MM/YYYY
  - MM/DD/YYYY
  - YYYY/MM/DD
  
  
  
• Manage email subscriptions: Click the checkbox to subscribe your leads to emails. Make sure that your leads have consented to receive emails from your organization.
  
• Map owner and add tags: Choose a user who will be assigned as an owner for all records that are unassigned i.e the owner field is left empty on the CSV/XLSX file. You can also add tags to all records imported as a part of this list.
  
  

6. When you’re good to go, click Next to map the Freshsales fields.

Mapping fields

The overlay Map Columns to Freshsales Fields that you now see is exclusively for mapping the columns in your CSV/XLSX file with the fields available in Freshsales. 

A contact’s data from your file is displayed alongside the respective headers to help you map the fields better. 

• Freshsales offers 40 fields by default.
  
  
• If you have columns that cannot be mapped with any of these 40 fields, you can create custom fields. 
  
  
• You can create a maximum of 100 custom fields for contacts.
  
  
• You’ll need to create these custom fields before you begin the import for you to be able to map your columns with them.
  
  
• If there are columns that you do not wish to import, you can skip those columns by simply not mapping them with any field. 
  
  
• As fields get mapped, they become unavailable for mapping with another column (fields are distinct).
  
  
• If you want to map a field that has already been mapped with one column to another column, you’d have to remove that field. Once you’ve removed that field, both the column and the field become available for mapping again. 
  
  
• When a column is mapped to the field Name (under the category Account fields), its values are searched for matches in the Accounts tab in Freshsales. If a value matches with an existing account, the record is created as a new contact and is associated with that account. Likewise, if a match isn’t found, then a new account is created with that value and the record - the new contact, is associated with that account. 
  
  
• Apart from the field Name, values of columns mapped to other related fields (identified under Account fields) such as the website or address of the company, are imported to the respective fields in the Accounts in Freshsales.
  
  
• Lastly, make sure the field type matches with the type of value in the column. For example, if you’re trying to map the column  Number of times contacted, you need to find a field that accepts numeric value viz the Number field. If you’ve mapped it to a field which is a text box, then the values for the column Number of times contacted will not be imported to Freshsales. 
  
  

  Importing Contacts along with Accounts: Create or import new accounts when you are importing contacts by mapping the account fields.

  
  
  

9.  After you’re done mapping the fields, hit Import.

If your CSV/XLSX file is small, the import is instantaneous and you can see a green label that gives you the number of successful imports. If you’ve checked the Update check box, then you can also know the number of contacts that were updated during the import.

If the CSV/XLSX file is large, you would receive an email from Freshsales that gives you the same data when the import is complete.

Where can I see my imported contacts?

You can view all the imported contacts under the New Contacts view.

Why did some of my data not get imported?

These could be the possible reasons why some of your data was not imported.

• Invalid email address - If the email addresses in your CSV/XLSX file aren’t of the proper format (e.g: johndoe@sales , johndoe.com) 
  
  
• Duplication - If a contact’s email address is already present in the system, that contact is skipped. This is because each contact must have an unique email address.
  
  
• Unmapped Columns - Columns that aren’t mapped with any of the field in Freshsales.
  
  
• Improper Field Type - If the field type is different from the type of value in the column.
  
  
• Picklist Values - If you’re mapping a column with values for a picklist (such as Radio button/Checkbox/Dropdown menu) with a field in Freshsales (also a picklist), you need to be double check that the values in the column match with the choices of the field (picklist) in Freshsales.
  For e.g : If you’ve got a column that has the values 1, 2, 3 for the Number of contacts attempted and want to map it to a radiobutton (field) in Freshsales, make sure that that radio button has 1, 2, 3 as the field’s choices.