Setting Up an Import Data Source

This guide explains importing leads into Forth CRM using a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file. This is useful for transferring leads from other systems or importing purchased lead lists.

This article includes the following topics:

• Overview
• Setting up an Import Data Source
• Configuring the .csv file
• Selecting Additional Options
  • Assignment Options
  • Send Notifications
  • Creating an Auto-Responder
  • WebHooks
• Uploading the .CSV file and Mapping Fields
  • Mapping the Fields
• Troubleshooting

Overview

Importing a Data Source allows you to import leads via a .csv file (unformatted spreadsheet). You may do this to transfer leads from an old CRM or import leads purchased from a lead vendor.

Setting up an Import Data Source

1. From the Contacts tab, click Data Source.
2. Complete the following fields in the Name / Field Assignment section:
   
   * Required     ** Recommended
   
   
   1. *Source Name - Enter a name for the data source. We suggest naming the data source after the marketing company or using the web URL for the website the leads will be importing from.
   2. *Type - Select Import to accept the import file. Web Form Data Sources are discussed HERE.
   3. *File Type - Select the type of program from the File Type menu you wish the contact to be created as.
   4. **Stage and Status - Select the workflow stage and status you want the contact to be placed into on creation.
   5. Campaign - Select an option from the Campaign menu to which leads should be assigned.
   6. **De-Dupe Field - The de-duplication feature can identify OR prevent duplicate leads from being created. Select the field to check for duplicates. We recommend "Email" as "Phone" could be a shared number and possibly separate leads from the same household. Use "My ID" when purchasing leads from a lead vendor and be sure they are not importing duplicate leads to you.
   7. De-Dupe Action - What should happen to the duplicate? There are two options:
      
      • Reject - the lead will be rejected and no contact is created. There will be no record of this contact's import attempt.
      • Flag as Dupe - the contact will be created but flagged as a possible duplicate. You will find a link on the Client Dashboard to view and compare possible duplicates and decide if you will merge them or leave them separate.
   8. De-Dupe Status - If flagging duplicates, you can have the new possible duplicate contacts placed in a separate workflow status to be sorted later.
   9. De-Dupe Type - Select who to check against. You may choose All Contacts, Enrolled, or Not Enrolled.

IMPORTANT
DO NOT SAVE YET! Saving a Data Source before uploading the .csv file will prevent the system from being capable of reading the file, and you'll need to start over, creating a new Data Source.

Configuring the .csv file

NOTE
It is VERY important the CSV file is setup correctly.

1. To start, the file to be imported should be the file type "CSV (Comma Delimited)". Any spreadsheet software should Save (or Save As) the file in this format.  In the example below are a few things the data source needs to import the file properly. Pay attention to the Header Row.
2. The first row of the spreadsheet should always be a Header Row. If you use the data source to import several lead files, ensure the Header Row is the same every time. The system will look for this row to map the fields properly later.
   
   IMPORTANT
   • Use lowercase letters for headers, without spaces (e.g., firstname, lastname, phone, email).
   • Avoid special characters ($&/? etc.) in your data or headers.
   • Check for and remove any leading or trailing spaces.
   • Ensure no duplicate header names exist, use phone1, phone2, homephone, cellphone, etc. instead of "phone".
     
3. Open your CSV in a text editor (like Notepad) to check for any hidden formatting issues, preventing you from importing. This may reveal problems not easily visible in Excel. For example, you may notice a 'space' in the item below in front of the "phone" column header. This will cause the import to fail; you may not have noticed it when viewing it in Excel.
   
4. Once you are finished with these steps, click Save Data Source; OR go to Selecting Additional Options.

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Selecting Additional Options

The following options are not required for the data source to function, but can be used to apply additional automation when creating contacts.

• Assignment Options
• Send Notifications
• Creating an Auto-Responder
• WebHooks

Assignment Options

Assignment options let you assign leads to users and companies on creation. This allows leads to be worked on as soon as they are received into the CRM.

Assigning On - Check the box to activate further assignment options you will set. Public - Check the box to make leads public to all users. Public leads do not follow sharing options that may limit what contact users can see. The contact can be made "Private" from the edit contact page (Client Dashboard). Company - Select the company to which to assign the lead. This affects what users are displayed in the next option: Assigned To. Primary Assigned To - Select the user to whom you want leads assigned. Select multiple users by holding down 'CTRL' while clicking on the users. If multiple users are selected, leads will be distributed evenly. Additional Company Assignment - Add secondary company assignments by company type. Go to the Admin Tab > Companies, and select the company to edit and change the option for "Company Type". Role Assignment - Assign users secondarily by role. For the role to be available, you must make it assignable. Click here for more information. Team Assignment - Select the team(s) you want leads assigned to. Notification - Select an email template to send to the "Assigned To" person. The email template category must be set to "Notification" to appear.

Send Notifications

This section allows you to email notifying parties when a contact is created. First, select a template, and then the users to notify. Add other email addresses in the "More People" box to notify non-CRM users. For example, you may use this to send a confirmation email to lead vendors to confirm you have received a lead they've provided.

Creating an Auto-Responder

The Auto-Responder can send a message to the newly created contacts upon file import.

IMPORTANT
Although available for Import Data Sources, you ONLY set up an Auto-Responder on a Web Form Data Source to let a client know their form submission has been received. Enabling Auto-Responder on an Import Data Source will immediately email all contacts on the Import file.

1. Select the Email On checkbox to activate the feature, and then select an option from the E-Category dropdown menu. This email template type has been applied to a template from the E-Marketing tab.
2. Select a campaign from the Template dropdown menu.
3. Select a sender you wish the message to come from using the Sender dropdown menu.
   

WebHooks

Webhooks can be set to post lead information upon creation. You may do this as part of the Data Source to post leads into a phone dialer campaign so new leads can be contacted as soon as possible. For more information on WebHooks,  visit our article here.

IMPORTANT
DO NOT SAVE YET! Saving the Data Source before uploading the CSV file prevents the system from reading the file, and you'll need to start over with a new Data Source.

The next step is to upload the CSV file and map the data fields.

1. In the Import New Contacts from CSV section, click the Choose File button and select the .csv file from your local drive.
   
2. Leave the remaining items as is. If the CSV file has been set up correctly, you should not need to change other options here.
3. Click Save Data Source found in the Navigation Bar (see image below().
   
4. After saving the data source, the Import New Contacts from the CSV section will be replaced with the Import Another File section and an Import Fields section (see example images below). 

IMPORTANT 
DON'T CLICK "START MERGE" YET! Merging before fields are mapped causes all contacts to be uploaded with no data (i.e., blank contacts).

Mapping the Fields

1. In the Import Fields section, select the fields from within the CRM to map to the column headers from the CSV file. The dropdown menu starts with Standard (system) fields. If you scroll down, you will find the CRM's Custom Fields and other additional options, such as adding data as a note on the contact if you do not wish to save the information to a field.
   
   In the example below, we mapped "fname" to "First Name", "lname" to "Last Name", "phone" to "Home Phone", and "email" to "Email".
   
   
2. Once you have mapped the fields, you can activate additional options discussed in the Selecting Additional Options section of this article. Now that the field mapping is set, you can reuse this data source if the CSV file you are trying to upload is set up the same. Trying to upload a CSV file in a different format will not work. If working with a lead vendor, agree on a format for the file to be submitted, so that you do not have to repeat this process every time you work with them.
   
3. Click the Start Merge button (shown at the lower left in the image above) to import contacts. The contacts will be created, and a push notification will appear at the bottom right, confirming the process has started. The time it takes depends on the number of contacts and fields you are uploading. You should see the contact filter in the All Contacts list or a list set up to display leads coming in from the Data Source.
4. Once finished, you will see a push notification at the bottom right confirming the process is complete.
   
   

NOTE
It is not possible to map Co-applicant fields. The system cannot create the Primary contact and Co-applicant contact at the same time. If you have Co-applicant data to import, use Custom Fields.

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Troubleshooting

Accurate CSV formatting is crucial for successful imports. If you encounter issues, review your CSV file in a text editor for hidden formatting errors and then verify that all headers are unique.

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