Knowledge Base

You can easily import your data to Pipedrive from XLS, XLSX and CSV spreadsheet files, allowing you to add leads, deals, organizations, people, products, notes, and activities all at the same time. Before getting started, we suggest looking at our article here on how your data is organized in Pipedrive. It's important to understand how the data you're importing will fit into the Pipedrive data structure.

Not sure how to format your spreadsheet or want to get some practice with sample data? Download our sample spreadsheet here.

If you are just getting started with Pipedrive, you can check out our “Get started with the basics” Pipedrive Academy course.

Getting yourself ready for an import

Before you import, you need to think about what kind of data you wish to add to Pipedrive and format your spreadsheet accordingly.

• Are you simply trying to import a list of contacts (people and organizations)?
• Do you want to import contacts, and create open deals for each of those contacts?
• Do you want to import contacts, open deals for them, and create activities for all of those deals as well?
• Do you want to import contacts, open deals for them, create activities and attach notes?
• Or maybe you want to open a bunch of new deals for contacts that already exist in Pipedrive?

Some spreadsheet formatting tips:

• Remove formulas– We recommend using a fresh spreadsheet without any formulas in the import process. If you have a spreadsheet that uses formulas or data-linking to generate the contents of a cell, we suggest copying the data in your spreadsheet and pasting it into a fresh sheet without the formulas.
• One tab per spreadsheet– Make sure your spreadsheet only has one tab containing data when importing. If your spreadsheet has more than one tab, you will need to copy and paste them to individual files and import them one file at a time.
• No special symbols– Make sure your spreadsheet doesn't have any symbols for numeric or monetary fields. For example, if you are importing a column for deal value, make sure that the cell just includes the number "1000" and not the symbol "$1000".
• Spreadsheet size limit– While there is no maximum limit on the number of columns in the spreadsheet, the maximum file size is limited to 50MB, with a maximum limit of 50,000 rows within the spreadsheet.

Mandatory fields

When importing data to Pipedrive from a spreadsheet, it's important to include the fields that are mandatory for each item to be imported successfully. Each mandatory field will have to be on a separate column in your spreadsheet and be mapped individually to the field that exists in Pipedrive.

You can read more on mandatory fields for importing in this article.

Custom fields

If you have additional data about your leads, deals and contacts, you can also easily add them to your data in Pipedrive through the import. If the field does not exist in Pipedrive by default, we recommend adding the field as a custom field before importing any data, so that your data has somewhere to be mapped to.

For example, a contact person's "job title" is not a default field in Pipedrive. In order to successfully include this information in your import, you will first have to create it as a custom field (we recommend text type or single option), before mapping this column to the newly created field.

You will also be able to create custom fields while mapping your fields during importing. You can learn more about custom fields in this article.

Initiating your import

Once you understand how Pipedrive data works and formatted your spreadsheet properly, you can start your import.

Step 1: Upload your file

Go to "..." (More)> Import data > From a spreadsheet. Click "Upload file" and select the file that you intend to import. Pipedrive supports Excel (.xls and .xlsx) and .csv files.

Step 2: Mapping

In order to import your data to Pipedrive correctly, you will need to map each column in your spreadsheet with the relevant icon and field in the mapping step. You can hover over the icon to see what type of data it refers to in Pipedrive.

The auto-recognition feature will automatically match the column header to the fields in Pipedrive, but if any of the fields were not recognized, you will need to drag the Pipedrive fields (right) to their appropriate spreadsheet columns (left). You can search for the Pipedrive field name to find them more easily.

If you have data in your spreadsheet that does not exist as a default field in Pipedrive, you can click on the "+Add custom fields" button found next to your Pipedrive data fields to add custom fields directly.

Once you are finished mapping, click on "Next".

Step 3: Preview and finish

In the next window, you can choose what to do if duplicates are found in your spreadsheet. If Pipedrive detects a duplicate record in your spreadsheet or in your Pipedrive data, it will consolidate this into one entry. You can learn more about how Pipedrive detects duplicates during importing in this article.

You can also review the mapping once you've done this step. This page shows you how your data will appear after the import is complete.

Once you've previewed your import, go ahead and select "Start import".

After your import

After your import, you will see a confirmation page with an overview of the data that was imported into your Pipedrive account.

What is a "skip file"?

If there were items in your spreadsheet that were not imported correctly, Pipedrive will put together a skip file, which includes the row where the complication occurred and the reason why.

For example, if you were to import a list of people, and didn't include a mandatory field (e.g., person name), this row of information will be skipped. Pipedrive will then take that row and organize it in a Skip File.

You can download the Skip File at any time to review these errors. You can even make the changes that you need directly in this spreadsheet and then import the Skip File into Pipedrive to complete your import. This makes it very easy to ensure all of your data makes it into the system.

Your skip file will look like this:

You can learn more about why your data was skipped in this article.

How do I revert an import?

Once your spreadsheet has been imported, it can be reverted within 48 hours of its initial import with the revert button provided in your import history.

If that revert button is not available, let our support team know and they would be happy to assist you.