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Importing: Best practices

Discover best practices for importing data into Nutshell, including file setup, tips, and handling custom fields efficiently.

Andy Fowler avatar
Written by Andy Fowler
Updated this week

See how to best format your spreadsheet when importing contacts into Nutshell.

How should my file be set up?

The file that you're importing into Nutshell must have each piece of information in its own column.

import-example.png

Click here for a list of every field that can be imported into Nutshell.

Download this example template to visualize how your spreadsheet should be formatted.

Some other tips...

  • When importing multiples (for example, email addresses or tags), each one must be in its own column.

  • Dates should be in YYYY-MM-DD format.

  • When importing an address, make sure to include the country if it's not the same as the default country you designated in your general settings.

  • When importing international phone numbers, be sure to include the country code.

  • Tags, custom fields, company types, competitors, and territories must be created inside Nutshell within the Setup tab before importing them.

  • Industries, products, and outcomes can be created with an import when you associate them with new companies or leads.

  • The characters in your file must be in UTF-8 format. If they aren't, you might see an error page immediately after you try to upload your file.

  • The file must be under 10MB. If it's larger, we recommend splitting it up into smaller files before importing. Each smaller file must include the header row so that every column is labeled.

  • Imported products will be given a value in your account's default market.

How do I add phone extensions?

  • 555-555-5555 Ext. 34

  • 555-555-5555 Ext.34

  • 555-555-5555 Ext 34

  • 555-555-5555 x 34

  • 555-555-5555x34

  • 555-555-5555 xt 34

  • 555-555-5555 Extension 34

A note about custom fields

Text, long text, decision, date, and currency custom fields are the only custom field types that can accept imported data. Other custom field types will not show up in the column mapping phase of your import.

To import decision custom field, you will need to be sure that the dropdown options in the custom field within Nutshell exactly matches the decision options in your file. If the decision field is multiple choice, you will need to include each option in it's own column so that we can add more than one selection to each company, person, or lead.

Currency custom fields must include a currency symbol, but commas are not required.

What next?

Follow our step-by-step importing guide to add the data from your file to Nutshell! Feeling lost? Get in touch with our team to get your questions answered.

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