Import Accounts & Contacts | SalesJunction|Web based CRM for Small Business

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Import Accounts & Contacts

One of the time saving features of setting up the system for use is the ability to transfer information from other programs into your database. A data import wizard is provided to assist you in importing the information.

Administrator Authority Required

The data import wizard is accessible in the System Setup module.  If your user profile is setup with Administrator Authority (SysAdmin), the Setup link will be displayed in the upper right-hand corner of the display screens next to the My Settings and Logout links. If you do not see the Setup link, then your user profile does not have the authority to access the system setup screens.

Accessing The Account & Contact Data Import Wizard

Select the Setup link at the top of your screen. The System Setup Screen will then be displayed. On the Import Data menu, select the Import Contacts menu option.

The initial screen for the import wizard will then be displayed. An example is shown below:

Import Options:

You can use one of three options for the import function:

  • If you are importing new records into system, then leave the Update and Delete boxes Unchecked.

  • If you are importing records that you want to update existing accounts or contacts in the system, then check the Update checkbox. (note: the system will use the Account ID field to find matching records to update)
  • If you are importing records that you want the system to delete, then check the Delete checkbox. (note: the system will use the Account ID field to find the records you wish to delete).

For detailed instructions on how to use the ‘Update’ and ‘Delete’ checkbox options, see the Import Contact Options topic.

File Selection

Click on the Browse button and select the file you wish to import.

After selecting the file, click the Next > button. The following screen will be displayed:

In addition to being able to see a few rows of your data that the program has identified, this screen is used to specify how your data is stored in the file being imported.

Choose The Delimiter

Select the type of field delimiter used in your file. The delimiter is used to differentiate data between database fields, and is most often a comma or a tab. However, some programs can also use other types of delimiters. In the example shown above, the delimiter is a tab (created in Microsoft Excel). If the program you are exporting data from gives you a choice, try to use tab delimited files – they are the easiest to import and less prone to conversion problems.

Text Qualifier

If the program you used to create the file encloses text fields in quotation marks (”  “), or some other symbol, select the type of Text Qualifier from the drop down list box, or enter the symbol or punctuation mark in the entry box to the right. In the example shown above, the text information is not enclosed in a text qualifier, so ‘None’ is indicated.

After specifying the import file type settings, click the Next > button. A screen similar to the one shown below will be displayed. (The screen shown below has been condensed – the actual screen shows substantially more fields):

From this screen, you can ‘map’ the fields used in your file to the fields used by our program. Simply click the drop down box in the Source Field Column and select the appropriate item in the list that matches the Destination Field.

The information listed in the Source Field box is retrieved from the first row of your file. In the example shown below, the names of our fields (which were in the first row of data) are displayed. Here, we are selecting ‘company’ and mapping it to the ‘company’ destination field:

Proceed with mapping the rest of your fields.

A Note About Mapping Contact Names

The system stores contact names (first name and last name) as one field. If your file contains separate fields for the first and last name, map them to the corresponding First Name and Last Name fields in the Destination column. The import wizard will automatically combine the names and store them in the Contact Name field used by the system.

The Import function also has the capability to Save your Mapping Definition so you can use the identical mapping for another time – at which time you can simply Load the Saved Import Definition and not have to do the same mapping operation again. (Assuming your import file contains exactly the same field names as before).  If you wish to save your mapping definition, then enter a name for it in the text box provided at the bottom of the map fields listings, and click Save.

After mapping each of your data fields to the corresponding Destination Filed, select the Next > button.

The program will then begin to import your data and setup new accounts. The size of your file, the speed of your internet connection, and the number of other imports in progress will determine the length of time it takes to import your data – be patient. When the system has imported all your data, the following screen will be displayed:

The screen shows how many new accounts were created and contacts, if any, were added.

The import wizard also automatically checks for, and skips, duplicate records. If any were found, the number will be displayed.

Select the Close button to return to the main Administration Window.

If the import wizard encounters a record where the field for company name is blank, the import wizard will automatically create an account named after your User ID and place records with no company name into that account.