CRM Data
Importing companies and contacts from a spreadsheet
Loading a list into the CRM: preparing the file, mapping the columns, and checking the result before you trust it.
Last updated September 2, 2026
Most CRMs start with a spreadsheet — a list from an event, a bought list, an export from whatever you used before. The import reads it, matches your columns to CRM fields, and creates the companies and contacts for you.
Prepare the file first
| What | Needs to be |
|---|---|
| Format | Excel or CSV. Only the first sheet is read. |
| First row | Column headings, not data. |
| One row per person | No blank rows, no totals at the bottom. |
| Phone numbers | Full international format, with the country code. |
| Names | Either a single full name column or separate first and last name columns — not both. |
The steps
- Upload the file. You are told how many rows it found.
- Set what applies to every row — the tribe, whether to mark them as active leads, a lifecycle stage.
- Map columns: match each CRM field to a column in your spreadsheet. Anything you leave blank is not imported.
- Confirm, and let it run in the background.
Columns worth mapping
- Business name — creates or links the company, which is what turns a list of names into accounts.
- Lifecycle stage — matched loosely against your stage names.
- Note — anything the list came with that a rep will want before calling.
- Your custom fields, which appear at the bottom of the mapping list.
TRY TWENTY ROWS FIRST
Import a short version of the file, look at what landed where, then import the rest. Fixing a mapping mistake before it hits five thousand records takes two minutes; afterwards it takes a day.