Import Data to Zoho CRM

Importing records from external sources to Zoho CRM is one of the most important lead creation activities for marketing and sales. In Zoho CRM, importing records help you to create new leads by gathering data through various sources, such as purchasing a record database, records from different business units, etc. You can import records with the help of two features:

Import My [Module] - Use this feature to import the records owned by (assigned to) you. By default, the records' ownership is automatically assigned to the user who imports the records.

Import My Organization [Module] - Use this feature to import all the records that are owned by (assigned to) the users in your organization, including the records owned by you. While importing, the import file should have a column that contains the exact email address of the users to whom you want to assign each record.

Availability

Import Checklist

Before importing the data, please go through the following checklist:

1. Permission
   Make sure you have the access and privilege to Import data. If you do not have the privilege, the Import link will be hidden in your User interface.
2. File Format
   The files to be imported must be in a CSV (comma separated values) file format. It must be an ASCII file (usually with a .txt or .csv extension in the Windows environment) where each line of text represents a single record. The supported formats are Excel (XLS, XLSX), Comma Separated Value (CSV) and Business Card or vCard Format (VCF). All file attachments should be separated from the data.
   Unexpected errors may occur if the XLS/XLSX files contain any special controls such as combo filters or images embedded in it.
3. Forbidden Characters
   Any data for the file to be imported should not contain the following characters:
   • Double quotation marks(") - use only as a field delimiter
   • Vertical bar (|)
   • Angle brackets (<>)
4. Mandatory Fields
   The required (mandatory) fields must contain a value. Make sure you do not leave the mandatory fields blank, in the import file. For instance, when you are importing account information, each account record must include an Account Name. The Field Mapping page in the Import wizard shows the required fields in the * format. Do not proceed to the next step without mapping the mandatory fields.
5. Check box Data
   Make sure that the data you plan to import from Boolean or check box fields contain values that will properly convert during the import process.
   Imported data from Boolean and check box fields are converted as follows:
   
   • If check box is selected - True or 1
   • If check box is not selected - False or 0
6. Drop-down List
   All data values displayed in the drop-down lists must exist in the corresponding Zoho CRM fields.
   For instance, if you plan to import account information that contains a value for the industry type drop-down list, before you import the account information, make sure all the industry values in the source file already appear in the drop-down list. If the values do not exist, you must either change the values in the source file to match the existing values in Zoho CRM, or have your administrator add the new values.
7. Field Names
   Make sure the first row of data (records) in the source file contains the column headings or field names rather than the actual data values. These heading field name values help identify the data when you map the new data to the existing fields in Zoho CRM.
8. Blank Lines
   Remove all blank lines from the file to be imported. A blank line is interpreted as the end of the file.
9. Date Time values
   The date value for the import data file must be in MM/DD/YYYY format and the date time value must be in MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM:SS
   Date / Date time values in any other format will be ignored during import.
10. User Name
    When imported records are assigned to other users also, you need to map the Owner field with the appropriate field from the import file. While importing, the import file should have a column that contains the exact email address of the users to whom you want to assign each record. Only then will the records automatically get assigned to the respective users while importing.
11. File Size
    Make sure the file size (Import data) does not exceed 5MB.

The modules for which you can Import data along with their mandatory fields are mentioned in the table below:

Modules	Mandatory Fields	Modules	Mandatory Fields	Modules	Mandatory Fields
Leads	Company Last Name	Potentials	Potential Name Account Name Sales Stage Closing Date	Products	Product Name
Accounts	Account Name	Cases	Case Origin Subject Status	Vendors	Vendor Name
Contacts	Account Name Last Name	Solutions	Solution Title Question Answer	Price Books	Price Book Name
Campaigns	Campaign Name

Import Limits

Zoho CRM - Edition	Number of Records
Free Edition	XLS, XLSX, VCF, CSV Format: 1500/batch
Professional Edition	XLS, XLSX, VCF Format - 1500/batch CSV Format - 10,000/batch Skip/Overwrite duplicate records - 5000/batch
Enterprise Edition	XLS, XLSX, VCF Format - 1500/batch CSV Format - 20,000/batch (only for Clone option) Skip/Overwrite duplicate records - 5000/batch

Import Data

Use the Import My [Records] feature to import the records owned by (assigned to) you. By default, the records' ownership is automatically assigned to the user who imports the records.

Use Import My Organization [Module] feature to import all the records that are owned by (assigned to) the users in your organization, including the records owned by you. While importing, the import file should have a column that contains the exact email address of the users to whom you want to assign each record. Only then will the records automatically get assigned to the respective users while importing.

To import data

1. Click the [Module] tab.
   Module refers to the tabs like Leads, Contacts, Accounts, etc.
2. In the [Module] Home page, click Import [ Module ].
   
3. In the Import [Module] page do the following:
   • Choose Import My [Records] or Import My Organization [Records].
   • Browse to locate and select the required file that is to be imported.
   • Select the check box to Enable Manual Lead approval.
     The records will be manually approved by the admin before being assigned to specific users. This option is available only while importing leads. See Also Approve Records
     
   • Select Skip, Overwrite or Clone for duplicate records. (Refer to the notes below)
     The skip and overwrite option is available only in the Paid Editions.
4. Under Advanced Options, do the following:
   • Select the Character Encoding from the list.
   • Select a Workflow Task, if required.
     Note, that the work flow task will be available in the list only if you had already created a work flow task.
     
   • Select an option from the list to Assign all imported Leads to this Lead Source.
     This option is available only while importing leads.
   • Click Next to continue.
5. In the Map Fieldssection, do the following:
   • Associate the fields in CSV/XLS file column header with the corresponding [Module] fields in Zoho CRM.
     (Mandatory fields should be properly mapped)
   • Click Next to continue.
6. In the Confirm Mapping section, verify whether all fields are mapped correctly.
7. Click Import.

• When the Overwrite option is selected, the duplicate records will be identified based on some fields for each type of record. Following are the fields for each type of record:
  
  • Leads - Email
  • Contact - Email
  • Account - Account Name
  • Potentials - Potential Name
  • Cases - Subject
  • Solutions - Title
  • Campaigns - Campaign Name
  • Vendors - Vendor Name
  • Products - Product Name
• When the above mentioned fields are not mapped, duplicate records will not be identified, causing duplicates to be created in Zoho CRM.
• In case of duplicate records, only the fields that are mapped will be overwritten.
• When you do not use the above mentioned fields and still want to check for duplicate records while importing, then you can use the Record ID. Each record in Zoho CRM has a unique ID. When you export the records, you can get their individual Record IDs. See Also Knowledge Base

View Import History

The import history provides a detailed picture of the recently imported files. It contains the imported file name, module name, user name, and the imported time. In the Import History page you can perform the following operations:

• Confirm the imported data
• Rollback (delete) the imported data

Availability

Confirm Imported Data

After importing the data into Zoho CRM, confirm the operation if you are satisfied, so that the data will be permanently added to your CRM account.

Rollback (delete) Imported Data

The rollback option permanently deletes the data from your CRM account so that you can import the data again. This is useful in cases when the data is not imported properly and you prefer to import the same data again.

To view import history

1. Click Setup > Data Administration > Import History.
2. In the Import History page, the import details are displayed under List of Imports section.
   
3. Select the check box(es) and do any of the following:
   
   • Click Confirm to confirm the imported data.
   • Click Rollback to remove the imported data.