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How to import Contacts and Companies via CSV?
How to import Contacts and Companies via CSV?

Learn how to import your contacts and companies into Cliently using a CSV file to start communicating with them

James M avatar
Written by James M
Updated over a week ago

Focus: The focus of this self-help article is to provide steps and information to import your Contacts and Companies via CSV.

Please Note: Depending on the program/app you are using to download and save your CSV file, you may have several options for CSV formatting. Please be sure to always save your CSV file under the (Comma delimited) option. Other CSV file formats will not work when importing into Cliently.

Used in Cliently?: CSV files can be used by Cliently in order to upload your contacts directly into Cliently. All in the matter of minutes.

Custom fields - can you import data into Custom fields? Absolutely, but the custom fields must be created first. Click here to learn about adding custom fields: https://faq.cliently.com/en/articles/3603709-using-custom-fields-to-expand-your-contact-and-company-information

Maximum number of Contacts (rows) to upload at one time. Please note, you can only import a total of 10,000 records via CSV formatting with each import. However, there is no limit to the number of imports that can be done in one day.

Maximum number of columns in your CSV? Please note we do not allow CSV import files with more than 60 columns. The Cliently system will check to verify this is the case.

Does Cliently prevent duplicate contacts? Yes. The Cliently system will only verify and prevent duplicate contacts in your CSV file based on their unique email address. This means that if a contact is in your file more than once, and is either missing an email address or is located in several different rows, each with their own unique email address, the contact can/will be duplicated in your account. It’s definitely always a good idea to double-check your file before importing to ensure all of your contacts have a unique email address.

Cliently Import template Please download and review this template import CSV.

Step 1: From the Dashboard or Real-time View, Click on the red +, then Import OR: https://app2.qa.cliently.io/imports

Step 2: Import History. Before we begin our first import, we want to show you the Import History page that provides you details on completed imports and access to other parts of the Cliently application. To begin, click on the red ‘New Import’ button.

Step 3: Upload. Next, our import wizard will take you through the four step process in order to import your contacts and companies. Be sure to review the information on the left side of this page. Drag and drop a file in the right panel or click on “browse files” to upload from your computer. Click “next” on the bottom right when ready for the next steps.

Please note: The Cliently system only allows 60 columns or less in the CSV to import. If you receive the following error, we suggest you edit your CSV file.

Step 4: Map Fields. Next, you will need to match up the CSV fields to the Cliently fields. Please Note: Cliently will do its best to match your current CSV fields to Cliently fields, but we do suggest reviewing each and every field. Please take your time and make sure that all fields are matched up to Cliently fields. When you’ve completed matching your fields, Click the “Next to Settings” button to move forward.

Please note: In order to move to the next step, you must have one or the following Cliently Fields mapped: Contact First Name, Contact Last Name, Contact Full Name, Contact Email Address or Company Name.

Step 4-A: Custom Fields - Creating custom fields - Cliently offers the ability to create custom fields for your contact and company data. If you plan on importing your custom data, we recommend you check out our FAQ regarding custom fields. Click here for more details.

Step 4-B: Mapping Custom Fields. Please note if you have created custom fields. They will be displayed at the bottom of the list for each type; Contact and Company.

Step 4-C: Custom Field Validation In order for custom fields to be imported and properly used, “numeric”, “date” and “dropdown” custom field types will be validated during the import process. An example of this… Lets say you setup a custom filed type of ‘numeric’, but in your CSV, you have ‘text’ values. Due to our Cliently validation rules on import, the entire contact/company would NOT be added or updated in Cliently due to it did not pass the validation.

Validation checks Cliently performs:

Number type - Which checks for any non numeric field data.

Date types - Checks for non date values that cliently allows. Dates can be in any of the standard formats or a number (timestamp). example standard formats are: ”01/31/2021”, “Jan 31, 2021,” “2021-01-31”, “January 31, 2021”,

Dropdown list - Checks for values that are were not defined when setting up the custom field.

Step 5: Settings Next, we have the option of ‘renaming’ the import name. This can help you to locate these contacts later and will be used for a ‘filter name’ for your filter searches for imports. You can also choose to “Update existing records?”, which is designed to update any existing contacts in your account if they exist from previous additions. Click the red button ‘Next to Review” when ready for the final step.

Step 6: Final review. Double-check the settings and the number of rows. When you’re ready, click on “Import” to start the process.

Step 7: Completion notifications. Once the import has completed, you will receive two different notifications.

In app message:

Example Email sent to you:

Congratulations, you have successfully imported your CSV file into Cliently.

Step 8: Import Details and information. Next, we will review the information that is provided once the import has been completed. Click on the button “Details” to see that info.

Step 8-A: Review. Here you will see the setup for your import, options for “error logs”, quick access to your contacts by using the button “View Contacts”, and Summaries for the Contact and Company records of your import.

Step 9: Accessing your Contacts. From the summary, click on the View Contacts button to take you to the Real-time View page, which will now show those contacts.

Step 9-A: Import Name Filter. When your import is also completed, we also provide the name of your import to the “import name” filter which is found under the “Contact” folder for your filters on the RTV. You can use this to find your contacts quicker in the future by using the Import name.

Step 10: Contact Card review. By clicking on the name of the contact from the Real-time View page, you can see information about the contact, how it was added and add engagement with the contact if you wish…

Need Help? If you need any help with the import Contacts and Companies into Cliently via CSV, please login to your Cliently Account and click on the red “Help/Chat” icon found on the bottom right side of your account.

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