Moving from another CRM comes down to three steps: export your data as CSV files, get those files ready, then import them in the right order.
Step 1: Export from your current tool
Almost every CRM and contact manager can export to CSV. If your tool lets you export companies, contacts, and deals separately, do that — it makes the import simpler.
Tool
Where to find export instructions
Salesforce
Export Data from Salesforce
HubSpot
Export your records
Pipedrive
Exporting data from Pipedrive
Zoho CRM
Export CRM Data
Insightly
Exporting data from Insightly
Nimble
How to export data out of Nimble
Google Contacts
Export, back up, or restore contacts
Outlook
Import and export Outlook email, contacts, and calendar
Export connections
Using something else? Look for Export, Data Export, or Backup in your tool's settings, and choose CSV.
Step 2: Get your files ready
Pipeline CRM imports one record type per import, so a full migration always means three imports: companies, then people, then deals. That's true whether your data arrived as three files or one.
If everything is in a single file, you don't need to split it. You can upload the same file three times and simply map different columns on each pass — see Step 3.
Either way, before you start:
- Create any custom fields you need in Pipeline CRM before importing, so there's somewhere for that data to land.
- Check that company names are consistent throughout — Pipeline CRM links people and deals to companies by matching the name exactly.
- Review the formatting rules in Prepare Your File for Import.
Tip: Old CRMs collect a lot of dead weight. A migration is a good moment to drop contacts you'll never call again — you don't have to bring everything.
Step 3: Import in this order
Run three separate imports, in this order, so your records link to each other correctly:
- Companies — creates the accounts everything else attaches to.
- People — include a Company Name column so contacts attach to the companies you just created.
- Deals — include company and person columns so deals attach to both.
On each pass, choose the matching record type at the start of the import, then map only the columns that belong to it and set everything else to Ignore this field.
Map company data to the company import, people data to the people import, and deal data to the deal import. If you leave unrelated columns mapped — deal amounts on a people import, for example — that data lands on the wrong record type and is tedious to unpick afterwards.
For example, from one combined spreadsheet:
Import
Map these columns
Ignore these
Companies
Company Name, Address, Phone, Industry
Contact name, email, deal name, deal value
People
First Name, Last Name, Email, Job Title, Company Name
Company address, industry, deal name, deal value
Deals
Deal Name, Deal Value, Close Date, Company Name, Person Email
Contact job title, company address, industry
Company Name appears in more than one import on purpose — it's the link between record types, not duplicated data.
Follow Import Your CSV or Excel File for the full walkthrough of each pass.
Do a test run first. Import 10–20 rows, check that the records look right, then undo that import and run the full file. It's much faster than fixing thousands of records afterwards.
Step 4: Check your results
- Read the confirmation email for each import — it lists any records that were skipped or failed.
- Spot-check a few records to confirm fields landed where you expected, and on the right record type.
- Look for duplicates and clean them up with Removing Duplicates, Merge People, and Merge Companies.
- Still have data to bring over? See Import Activities for activity history.
Need help? Contact support at customercare@pipelinecrm.com.