Advanced Contact Import with Notes

Overview

The Advanced Contact Import feature allows you to import both contact information and their associated notes in a coordinated process. This is particularly valuable when migrating from another CRM system where you want to preserve historical notes and maintain the connection between contacts and their detailed interaction history. Unlike basic imports that only bring in contact details, this advanced method ensures your notes data transfers seamlessly and remains properly linked to the correct contact records.

Important: You must complete a basic contact import first before importing notes. This two-step process ensures all data is properly connected and organized in your system.

Import Notes: Video

Step-by-Step Instructions

Prepare Your Files for Advanced Import

1. Watch the Basic Import Tutorial First

Before proceeding with advanced import, make sure you have watched and followed the basic import video tutorial to understand the foundation process.

2. Create Your Basic Contact File with Unique IDs

Your basic contact file should include standard fields like first name, last name, home address, city, state, and zip code. Most importantly, each contact record must have a unique ID.

If your data file already contains unique IDs, you can proceed to the next step. If not, create a new column and number your contacts sequentially (1, 2, 3, etc.) to establish unique identifiers for each contact record.

3. Import Your Basic Contact File

Follow the standard import process outlined in the basic import tutorial to upload your contact information to the system. This creates the foundation records that your notes will connect to.

Prepare and Import Your Notes File

4. Structure Your Notes File Correctly

Your notes file must contain these specific columns:

• Unique ID - Must exactly match the unique IDs from your basic contact file
• Contact Name - Should match the names from your basic contact file (for verification purposes)
• Date of Note - The date when the note was created or relevant
• Note Content - The actual note text or details

5. Navigate to the Import Notes Feature

Navigate to Profile Picture Menu, select Data Migration, then click Import Contacts, and choose Import Notes.

6. Upload Your Notes File

Choose your prepared notes file and click Next to proceed to the field mapping wizard.

7. Map Your Fields in the Wizard

The field mapping wizard will display your file columns on the left. Map each column to the appropriate system field:

• Map your ID column to the system ID field
• Map your Date column to the note date field
• Map your Notes column to the notes content field
• Skip the name mapping - the system uses the ID to connect notes to the correct contact records automatically

8. Complete the Import Process

Review your mappings and click Run Import to process your notes file.

Verify and Clean Up

9. Review Several Contact Records

After the import completes, check multiple contacts to ensure their notes imported correctly and are properly connected to the right records.

10. Delete Import Batches if Needed

If you need to start over or encountered errors, navigate to Profile Picture Menu, Data Migration, and Delete Import Batches to remove the imported data and try again.

Advanced Import: Questions and Answers

Q: What happens if my basic contact file doesn't have unique IDs?

A: You must add unique IDs before importing notes. Create a new column in your spreadsheet and number each contact sequentially (1, 2, 3, etc.). This ensures the notes can be properly matched to the correct contact records.

Q: Can I import notes without first importing the basic contact information?

A: No. The advanced import process requires that contacts already exist in the system with unique IDs before notes can be imported and linked to them.

Q: What if the unique IDs in my notes file don't match my contact file?

A: The import will fail to link notes to contacts if the IDs don't match exactly. Double-check that the ID numbers are identical in both files before importing.

Q: Do I need to map the contact name field during notes import?

A: Yes, the name field is required. The system uses the unique ID to connect notes to the correct contact, but the name is required.

Q: What should I do if some notes didn't import correctly?

A: First, verify that your file structure and ID mapping are correct. If needed, delete the import batch and try again. Check that all required columns (ID, Date, Notes) are properly formatted and mapped.

Q: Can I import multiple note files for the same set of contacts?

A: Yes, as long as each notes file uses the same unique ID system and the contacts already exist in the database with those IDs.

Q: How do I know if my import was successful?

A: Check several contact records after import to verify their notes appear correctly. The system will also provide confirmation details about how many records were processed during the import.

_{Video Transcript}

_{This video will cover importing notes associated with your contacts. Make sure you watch the basic import video first. Let’s look at a basic import. I have a file here with first name, last name, home address, city, state, zip, etc., Plus each record has a unique ID, right here. If you plan on importing notes with your contacts, your basic import file MUST have a unique ID associated with each contact. Some data files will already have a unique ID, like this. If your basic import file does not have a unique id, you can simply create a new column and number your contacts like this. Now each contact has a unique ID. What we just looked at is our basic file format. Now import the basic file as outlined in the basic import video. Now let's look at your notes file. Here’s what the notes file should look like. It has a unique ID and name that matches the basic import file that you just uploaded to the system. Plus it has a field for the date of the note and finally the note itself. We’ve already imported our contacts with the unique ID and now we’re going to import the notes. Go to profile settings, data migration, import contacts, then click ‘import notes’. We’ll upload our notes file and click next. This is the field mapping wizard. Map the ID here, map the date of the note here, and map the notes here. You can skip the name mapping because the system is getting these notes into the correct contact record using the system ID. After you've imported the notes be sure to look at several contacts to make sure the notes came over correctly. If you need to delete import batches and start over go to profile settings, data migration, and delete import batches.}