Import Data is a utility tool for transferring data from an external system to CRM.COM. Currently, the system supports importing Contacts, Products, Devices, Reward Scheme codes, and Contact Segments using .xls, .xlsx, or .csv file formats.

Managing Import Data

To create or view existing Import Data definitions, select > Settings > Platform > Bulk Data Operations > Import Data.

Here, you can track the progress of your import file and download any failed file imports to troubleshoot.

Create Import

Select the Create Import option.

To complete the import data definition, you must progress through various steps to upload the data file that will be imported and map the file’s attributes with youCRM.COM's respective ones.

Select Type

Select the type of entity data to be imported.

When creating an Import Data definition, you will need to specify the type of data that will be imported. CRM.COM allows importing data for the following entities:

Contacts - Import the existing contacts (customers) of a business.
Devices - Import a catalogue of devices (i.e. physical goods) and their serial numbers.
Products - Import the products and services that the business will be selling, along with their basic attributes.
Reward Scheme Codes - Import codes that your contacts can use to sign up for Closed Loop Reward Schemes.
Segment Contacts - Import contact segments to be used throughout the software.

Click on Next Step to proceed.

Upload File

Locate and select the file containing the data to be imported, or drag-and-drop it into the relevant area on the screen.

Once the file has been successfully uploaded, you will be automatically transferred to the next step.

You can download a sample import file by selecting download sample file from this screen.

Data Mapping

The column headers and the first three rows of the import file are displayed. Map the required data items to the respective CRM.COM fields, only those data items to be imported should be mapped.

Pay attention to the options displayed above the import file, such as:

Do not import the first row of the imported file (column header) - Enable this toggle if your file has a column header so that it’s excluded during the import process.
Automatically generate missing attributes? - If the import file contains configuration data that isn’t already set up in CRM.COM, enable this option to automatically create the required configuration based on the name provided in the import file.
Update existing contacts/products? - If this option is enabled, the import process will update existing data for the entity in CRM.COM using the entity’s code for identification. If this option is disabled, existing entity information will remain unchanged.
Overwrite existing segment contacts? - If enabled, any existing segment with the same name will be replaced by the contacts listed in the import file. If not enabled, the imported contacts will be added to the existing segment.

Preview

This is the final step of the configuration. See a preview of the records to be imported, not all the records are listed here. Select Start Import to proceed, or go back to one of the previous steps using the Previous button.

Import File Monitoring

After creating an Import Data definition, it will be listed in the Import Data summary screen with an ‘In Progress’ status. It is highly recommended that you monitor the status of your import to ensure its successful completion. If any data is not imported correctly, you can take the necessary steps to resolve the issue.

Import File States

An import data definition can have one of the following states:

In Progress - The data import has been created and is waiting in the queue to be executed.
Completed - The data import has been completed, but some data may not have been imported due to incorrect formatting (e.g. invalid phone numbers).
Failed - The data import has failed due to incorrect content (e.g. duplicate unique values, missing data, etc.)

If the data import process failed or even if it's completed with invalid data, an error description is created and logged for further investigation. All error descriptions are provided in a file format similar to the one uploaded previously, and can be downloaded locally.

Downloading an error log for an import file

Notifying the User

Upon completion of the import process, the user who initiated it will receive an operational email notification.

Import Data Files

This section outlines the requirements for importing data files. It provides detailed instructions for all types of files that can be imported, outlining the structure and format each file should follow, as well as any specific rules or constraints that must be observed to ensure a successful import.

Contacts

The contact code determines whether an existing contact will be updated or a new contact will be created.
Import Utility - Data Mapping step:
- Option to specify whether existing contacts should be updated during the import process.
- Option to automatically generate missing attributes (e.g. Category, Account Classification, etc.) during import.

Column	Example	Description	Required?
Contact Type	PERSON	A contact can be classified as either a Person or a Company. The valid values are PERSON and COMPANY. If the contact is a Person, specify the First Name and Last Name in the respective columns. If the contact is a Company, specify the Company Name in the corresponding column.	Yes
First Name	John	Person contact’s first name.	Yes, but only for contact type PERSON
Middle Name	C	Person contact’s middle name.	No
Last Name	Smith	Person contact’s last name.	Yes, but only for contact type PERSON
Company Name	Sample Ltd.	The company name, for contacts of type company.	Yes, but only for contact type COMPANY
Contact Code	ABC12345	The contact code is a unique identifier for each contact. It can consist of letters and digits, and if you choose to create one, it must be unique, otherwise, the import will fail. If you do not provide a contact code, CRM.COM will automatically generate a 16-digit random code. Once the contact code is set, it cannot be changed.	No
Contact Email	j.b.smith@email.com	The contact's email address.	No
Contact Phone Country	CYP	The country code of the contact's phone number. This is a 3-character country code based on ISO 3166.	Yes, if the Contact Phone Number is specified
Contact Phone Number	99123456	The phone number (excluding country code).	No
Address Type	HOME	Allowed values are HOME, BUSINESS, and ALTERNATIVE.	Yes, if the address is specified
Address Name	Mum’s House	A name/short description for the address. This is a free text field.	No
Address Line 1	Ydras 34	Address Line 1.	No
Address Line 2	Egkomi	Address Line 2.	No
Address City	Nicosia	Address city. Not configurable in CRM.COM, so this is a free-text field.	No
Address Postal Code	1026	The postal code of the address.	No
Address State/Province	Nicosia	State/province.	No
Address Country	CYP	3-character country code based on ISO 3166.	No
Country of Agreement	CYP	The contact's country of agreement indicates the location of the contact. This setting determines the product prices for which the contact qualifies. The 3-character country codes follow the ISO 3166 standard.	Yes
Category	Student	The category associated with the contact from the list of defined categories. If the specified category does not already exist, it will be automatically created during the import process, provided that the import settings allow for this. If the import process is not configured to create new categories, the contact category will not be set.	No
Generate Wallet	True	Create a CRM.COM Wallet for the contact? The wallet will acquire the Business’s base currency.	No
Generate Account	True	Create a financial account for the contact?	No
Account Classification	Normal	The account's classification. If the specified classification does not exist in CRM.COM, a new one will be generated based on the import settings.	No
Account Currency	EUR	The account’s 3-character currency code. Currency codes are based on ISO 4217 standards.	No
Tax Exempt	False	Is the contact exempt from paying taxes? Default is false.	No
Loyalty identifier 1 Loyalty identifier 2	10001908	A loyalty identifier is used to identify contacts in external loyalty systems. If multiple loyalty identifiers are imported, they are all aggregated under the contact's loyalty identifiers.	No
Sales Model	Retail	The sales model associated with the contact. The default is Retail.	No
[Custom Field 1] [Custom Field 2] … (e.g. Occupation)	HGV Driver	Each custom field should have its own separate column in the file. For easier mapping during the import process, it is recommended that the column names match the names of the corresponding custom fields. The values for each field will vary based on its type. Learn more about custom fields in import files here.	No

Devices

Existing devices (matched by product SKU) are not updated.
Import Utility, data mapping step - option to automatically generate missing attributes (e.g. Location) during import.
A stock-in transaction is created for each imported device.
Custom fields are not included in the import process, since stock-in transactions do not support them. However, you can perform a bulk update via the back end to add custom field values to the imported devices.
Find out more about Devices here.

Column	Example	Description	Required?
Supplier	Saturn Hardware	The supplier’s name, this is a free text field.	Yes
Product SKU	STB-33MM	The product's SKU as configured in CRM.COM. This must be the SKU of a traceable physical good.	Yes
Serial Number	SN9999000001	The device's serial number must be unique.	Yes
Electronic ID	00091-12345	The device's electronic ID, e.g. a MAC address.	No
Unit Cost	99.99	The device's unit cost. This is not the product's selling price, but rather the cost of the device to the business.	No
Cost Currency	EUR	The unit cost's currency. Currency codes are based on ISO 4217 standard.	No
Location Name	Main Warehouse	The location of the device refers to its physical position. Locations can be configured beforehand.	No
Spatial Location	H78	The exact location within the warehouse (e.g. geospatial coordinates, aisles, shelf numbers, etc.).	No

Products

The product SKU determines whether a product will be updated or created.
Only flat products can be imported using the import utility.
Import Utility - data mapping step:
- Option to specify whether existing products should be updated or not.
- Option to automatically generate missing attributes (e.g. Family, Brand, etc.) during import.

Column	Example	Description	Required?
Product Name	Home 3 Play	The CRM.COM system enforces business rules that govern whether duplicate product names are allowed or not. If duplicates are not allowed, but are used, then the product import will fail.	Yes
Product SKU	HOME3PLAY	The product's SKU must be unique across all products.	Yes
Product External SKU	TV0003	The product's SKU is in an external system.	No
Description	TV-Internet-Telephony Package	The product description.	No
Validity	ALWAYS_VALID	Defines when the product is available for ordering by contacts. Defaults to Always Valid if not specified. The alternative option is SPECIFIC_PERIOD, which means that Valid From and/or Valid To dates must be specified.	No
Valid From	01/03/2024	The product can be sold from this date (inclusive). Format is dd/mm/yyyy.	Yes, based on conditions
Valid To	31/12/2024	The product can be sold up to this date (inclusive). Format is dd/mm/yyyy.	Yes, based on conditions
Product Type	Digital Service Plans	Product Types must be pre-configured in CRM.COM before running the import. If it's not, the import will fail, since Product Types cannot be created automatically during the import process.	Yes
Product Brand	HomePlay	The product Brand name. If the brand does not already exist in CRM.COM, it will be automatically created during the import process.	No
Product Family	TV Services	The product Family name. If it’s not already configured in CRM.COM, then a new family is automatically created during the import process.	No
Product Category 1 Product Category 2 Product Category 3	Termed Services	The product’s category name. If the category is not configured in CRM.COM, the system generates a new category. The new category automatically becomes a root category in the category hierarchy. Up to 3 product categories can be set.	No
Product Image URL	https://ott.homeplay.com.cy/EPG/WEBTV/h3p.jpg	The URL link for the product image.	No
Product Price	EUR;9.99-USD;8.99	The product's price is formatted as <currency code>;<price>-<currency code>;<price>. Multiple prices can be included in the file, one for each of the business’s supported currencies. If a currency is not enabled for the business, no price will be created. Currency codes are based on ISO 4217 standards.	No
Product Price (out of contract)	EUR;12.99-USD;9.99	The price of the product when the service is not in contract. Applicable only for termed services and only if a contract period is specified in the service’s price terms to be imported (optional). The format is <currency code>;<price>-<currency code>;<price>...	No
Billing Period Duration	1	Applies only for termed and one-time services. Defines the billing cycle for the specified service price and is required only when a product price is provided. Both Billing Period Duration and Billing Period UOT must be specified.	Yes (based on conditions).
Billing Period UOT	MONTH	The billing period’s UOT. Both the billing period and its UOT must be specified. Allowed values are DAY, WEEK, MONTH, YEAR.	yes (based on conditions)
Trial Period	7	Applies only to termed services and defines a trial period within the price terms. Both the trial period duration and the Unit of Time (UOT) must be specified, otherwise, no trial period will be applied to the service price terms.	No
Trial Period UOT