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Import Contacts

CustomerFlows supports CSV contact import so you can move existing contacts into the CRM without recreating records one by one.

You can either:

  • download the contact template sheet and upload the completed CSV from Contacts
  • send CSV content through the API directly if you are building your own migration script

Imports can:

  • create new contacts
  • update existing contacts by exact email or phone match
  • map CSV columns into built-in contact fields
  • map external identifiers into a custom contact field

Before you import​

Make sure your CSV includes a header row. Common built-in columns include:

  • full_name
  • first_name
  • last_name
  • email
  • phone
  • company_name
  • job_title
  • tags

If you want to bring in an account ID or customer ID from another system, first create a contact custom field for it. If that field is mapped to external_id, CustomerFlows can route CSV values from an external_id column into that field automatically.

See Custom Contact Fields for the field setup flow.

The easiest path is to start from the downloadable template sheet so your headers already match the importer.

Importing From The App​

  1. Open Contacts
  2. Click Download template
  3. Fill in the CSV using the template headers
  4. Create any needed custom fields before import
  5. Click Import CSV
  6. Review the import result for created, updated, skipped, and errored rows

This is the easiest path when you are migrating from a spreadsheet or another CRM.

How import matching works​

CustomerFlows checks for existing contacts in this order:

  1. exact email match
  2. exact phone match

If a match is found, the importer updates the existing contact instead of creating a duplicate.

What gets updated​

Imports can update:

  • name
  • email
  • phone
  • company
  • job title
  • tags
  • custom fields

Tags are merged with any existing tags on the contact.

Best practices​

  • Clean up column headers before importing.
  • Normalize phone numbers as much as possible.
  • Create custom fields before importing external IDs.
  • Run a small sample import first if you are migrating from another CRM.

FAQ​

Can I import account IDs from another system? Yes. Create a text custom field such as account_id and map it to external_id, then include an external_id column in your CSV.

Will import create duplicates? It will still create duplicates if the source CSV has no matching email or phone for an existing contact. Exact-match import is intentionally conservative.

Can I import pipeline data too? Not through the contact CSV importer. Pipelines use a separate CSV template, export, and upload flow. See Importing and Exporting Pipelines.

Need help? Email support@customerflows.com or ask in r/CustomerFlows.