User Permissions: Role-based restrictions, If you are unable to import files, please reach out to your team's administrator.
Prerequisites: Before importing your data, make sure that you have completely configured your Apps. This is essential for the Template CSV file to include all the fields for your Apps.
In this tutorial, we will cover the following topics:
- What to do BEFORE you get you Import your Data
- Getting your CSV Files Ready
- Import Sequence
- Begin Importing Data
- Importing Notes
- Understanding Import Errors
- Managing Imports
What do Before you Import your Data
1. Decide what applications you need and which you don't.
If you haven't done so already, decide which apps would absolutely need in FreeAgent. This is important because your apps is where all of your data will reside. What are the most important needs you have as an organization?
Here are the default applications that come with FreeAgent:
- Accounts: This app includes the information of the Account, Company, or Organization of the Contact. In some of the existing setups, this App could be deactivated.
- Contacts: This app handles the contact information, it could also be called Leads, Customers, etc.
- Opportunities: This is where you keep track of your Sales pipeline, meaning it could be called Sales or Deals. There are some cases in which this app is used with a different purpose in mind, like Projects.
- Products: if you have inventory this is the perfect place to keep track of it.
- Projects: Any work that requires a long-term commitment and planning can be tracked here.
- Quotes: Keep track of quotes generated for customers or even internally.
- Tickets: IT and Support departments often use tickets to keep track of issues. You can do all of that in FreeAgent.
- Tasks: You can create tasks in various places throughout FreeAgent. This app is where you can view, organize, and create them.
Deactivating Apps
If you decide you don't need any of the applications above you simply disable it so that it doesn't show up in your menu or home screen.
To Deactivate an App go to Admin Settings > Apps and then click on the application you would like to deactivate. The "Deactivate App" button will be in the top-right corner of the screen.
You can reactivate Apps by going to Settings > Apps > Deactivated Apps. Hover over the three-button menu next to the App you want and then click 'Activate'.
Creating Apps
Maybe the App you need doesn't come with FreeAgent. Not a problem. You can create your Apps!
To learn more about how to create your own Apps please visit the following Articles:
2. Configure Your Applications.
Once you've decided which Apps to keep, deactivate, or create you need to configure them. Please visit the following Articles:
3. Ensure all of your Applications have the Form Fields you Need.
This is a very important step before importing your data. Your Form Fields determine how your data is organized. They also dictate how your CSV file will look which you will use to import data into FreeAgent.
To learn more about how to create and manage Form Fields in your Apps please visit the following Articles:
Getting your CSV Files Ready
Importing data through a CSV file is the fastest way to create or update your data in FreeAgent CRM. Our importer includes a template you can download to get your data ready, and it also includes a Field Mapping feature that allows you to match a column in your file to an existing field, in case they don't share the same name. You can also create fields right there in case you are missing one or more to get your data to FreeAgent CRM.
The very first step needed to start the import process is to get your files ready. This involves a couple of steps.
Download CSV Template
You can start off by downloading the CSV template available for each of your apps. In the left menu, click on the App's name and click on any of the available views.
Then click on the 'Import' button in the top right corner of the screen. It's the icon with the arrow pointing up.
This will take you to the Import Wizard. From here you can download your CSV template. The download will begin right when you click 'Download a handy CSV template'.
Note: You will need to repeat this process for each of your Apps, as the template CSV file is configured to match the form fields for each application.
Here's an example of what the CSV file looks like for my Contacts App.
Each column heading matched the Fields that I have in my Contacts App. Compare what you see for one of my contacts below to the fields in the CSV file.
Adding and Cleaning Your Data
Now that you have your template file, it's time to fill it with your data. At this time we recommend that you clean your data to make sure you import quality data. This clean-up includes making sure that you are only adding relevant information for yourself and your team. And that phone numbers, addresses, emails, etc.. are well-formatted.
Let's go over some things to be aware of when getting your data ready for FreeAgent.
Reference and Unique Fields
There are some things you need to keep in mind when importing data to 'Unique' and 'Reference' Fields within FreeAgent.
What is a Unique Field?
Unique Fields are simply a way to ensure you don't have duplicates in your records. This is why it's best used for fields like company names, email addresses, or phone numbers.
The recommended unique fields for the most common Apps are:
| APP | RECOMMENDED FIELD |
| Contacts | Work Email |
| Accounts | Name |
| Opportunities | Name |
Importing Data to a Unique Field
Once your Unique Field is set up you must use this instead of the record ID in your Import process. If Unique Field is not enabled, continue with the record ID. The column header for a unique field should be your application name followed by the name of the field. For example Account.Name 'Account' is the name of the application and 'Name' is the name of the field.
What is a Reference Field
For those fields that are References to records within your Apps instead of having the Name of the record, it is necessary to use the record’s ID for import. The column header in your CSV file can be the name of the field itself.
Multi-Select Choice Lists
Multi-Select Choice Lists allow you to select multiple values for one field. To import more than one value via the CSV file you simply need to divide each value with a comma.
So if you have three values you would add them under the Choice List column as follows:
value one, value two, value three
Referencing a Unique Field
If you choose to use one of your unique fields to reference, the column header for mapping your import will be the name of the field + the name of the unique field within that referenced application. For Example: If you are importing a contact, and there is a field for the “Account” and your Account Application has 2 different unique fields - “Account Name” and “Email” you could then do the following on import: Column header will be “Account.Account Name” if you use the “Account Name” as the value in your column. OR you could use “Account.Email” and you could use the “Email” value in your column.
There are many different field types available in FreeAgent CRM, if you would like to learn more about them, please visit the following tutorial:
Field Types
Import Sequence
Given the existing relationships in the data, the import process should follow a specific order. The name of the Apps may vary based on your team's configuration but the order should be:
- Accounts (or Organizations)
- Contacts (Leads or Customers)
- Opportunities (Deals or Sales).
It has to be done following this order, as we need to include either the FA ID or Unique Field Value to create the relationship between the two apps when importing your data. The same applies to any Custom app that includes a reference to another App, either the FA ID or Unique Field Value are needed to create those relationships as well.
To simplify this process, we recommend that you specify Unique fields for each of your Apps before you begin importing data.
First Steps
Download the template for your Apps and fill in the information you require. If you already have the information in another spreadsheet, we recommend that you organize your information based on the template to make sure that you have all the fields in your app or create new in case you are missing some.
Note: It is not necessary to fill out all the fields. In case you don't want to add information for a given field, then remove the column from the file before importing.
Formatting dates/times/and numbers
Correctly configuring your date time format is an essential step in the preparation of your import file. FreeAgent uses the international standard (ISO 8601) for the import process. This format allows you to use one sequence to define a date and when needed, time in a single cell.
The simplest way to remember formatting in this system is to always list your date and time values from largest to smallest.
Date: Year, Month, Day
Time: Hour, Minute, Second
Let's quickly add this format to Microsoft Excel, with the largest to smallest values in mind. Navigate to Format Cells > Number > Custom. From here, copy and paste in the following format.
YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
Click 'Ok' to save and your format is all set for FreeAgent Date Time import. Let's quickly review.
| FORMAT | DESCRIPTION |
| YYYY-MM-DD | Date-only |
| YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS | Date and time, with a space between the date and time. Time is in the 24-hour clock format |
| 00:00 | ISO standard for midnight time |
We'll use March 9th, 2022 at 3:15 PM as an example
| 2022-03-09 | Date-only |
| 2022-03-09 15:15 | Date and time. Notice since we do not need to specify seconds, SS can be omitted. Date information is required at minimum for import. |
| 2022-03-09 15:15:30 | Date and time, including value for seconds |
Note: If your organization needs to utilize UTC, add your Z value directly after the time without a space. Z is the zone designator for the zero UTC offset.
Begin Importing Data
There are a few different ways you can navigate to importing data for each of your applications in FreeAgent.
Enter into any of your applications and click on the 'Import' button in the top right corner of the screen.
Then click on the Import button on the next screen.
Step 1
You can now either drag and drop your CSV file to where it says 'Click or drop your file here' or you can click on the folder icon and choose the file from your computer. The import process will begin right away.
Once the process is complete you'll see the green checkmark along with a summary of the number of rows that have been imported. Click on 'Next' to go to the next step in the process.
Step 2
Once your CSV file has been processed FreeAgent will give you a chance to verify that all of your information has been mapped to the correct fields. If you used the template as a base for your file all the information should be mapped correctly. However, if a column isn't mapped, it will show in red.
If needed you can go through each cell to ensure that all of the information in your CSV is being mapped to the correct field within your FreeAgent app. Otherwise, you can click next to move to the next step.
Once you have all your fields correctly mapped, click the 'Save' button.
Step 3
You'll get a number for the rows and fields that are ready to be imported. Once you've confirmed the numbers are correct click 'Start Import'.
The import process will begin right away. As your CSV file is being processed you will see a 'Processes' column that will populate with the total records that have successfully imported. This is updated in intervals of 1000 during the Import.
The import process will be ready once the Status is 'Completed'.
The Added and Updated columns will show how many records were successfully Added and Updated, you will notice you can click on the value. Click on each column's number to generate a CSV of those records by column.
In the 'Failed' column you may notice some rows have failed to import. This means an import error has happened. To learn more about the most common errors when importing data, please visit the 'Understanding Import Errors' section of this tutorial.
Importing Accounts
Follow the recommendations in the 'First Steps' section to get your file ready and once you are done, export it as a CSV file. Then go to Import Accounts, and click the 'Import Accounts' button.
In the import window, click on the blue rectangle to select your file from your computer's file manager or drag and drop your file and click the 'Next' button.
Importing Contacts
Follow the recommendations in the 'First Steps' section to get your file ready and once you are done, export it as a CSV file.
When importing your contacts, you can create a relationship between them and their account. Make sure that the Account Name field in your Account App is marked as 'Unique'. This will enable you to use the Account name to create this relationship.
Once you have your file ready, go to your Contacts app and click 'Import Contacts'. Then click the 'Import Contacts' button. In the import window, click on the blue rectangle to select your file from your computer's file manager or drag and drop your file and click the 'Next' button.
The next step is to verify that all the information on your file was Mapped correctly to the Fields in FreeAgent. Review the 'Field Mapping' section of the tutorial for more information.
The import process will begin right away. Review the 'Import process' section of this tutorial for more information.
Importing Opportunities
Follow the recommendations in the 'First Steps' section to get your file ready and once you are done, export it as a CSV file.
When importing your opportunities, you can create relationships between them, the main point of contact, and the account.
Make sure that the Account Name field or the one you preferred, in your Account App is marked as 'Unique'. This will enable you to use that field to create this relationship.
In your Contacts App, you will need to define a field as 'Unique' as well. The recommended one usually is 'Work Email', but you can use the field that works best for you, just make sure that you include it in your file so that the relationship is created.
Once you have your file ready, go to your Opportunities app and click 'Import Opportunities'. Then click the 'Import Opportunities' button. In the import window, click on the blue rectangle to select your file from your computer's file manager, or drag and drop your file and click the 'Next' button.
The next step is to verify that all the information on your file was Mapped correctly to the Fields in FreeAgent. Review the 'Field Mapping' section of the tutorial for more information.
The import process will begin right away. Review the 'Import process' section of this tutorial for more information.
Importing Lines
What is a Line?
Lines in FreeAgent are like apps within an app. When you create a line you have most of the same settings you have in your main app. This makes importing to your Lines a little different than importing data to the main application.
Step 1: Navigate to your Line
In this example, I've created a line in the Deals app called "Test Line". After your Line is created you should have a view for it under "My Views" in the app menu. Select that view.
Step 2: Download the CSV Template
Click on the 'Import' button to start the import wizard. Just as you would if you were importing data to the main app.
Then click the Import button again in the top right corner of the screen.
Now you can download a CSV template that's mapped for the fields in your line instead of the main application.
Step 3: Prepare the CSV Template
The CSV column names will match the fields you've created within your line. The one difference is the 'Parent ID'. This is where you need to enter the ID number for the main record this line is attached to.
The Parent ID column refers to the ID of the record that will contain the Lines. This is the 9-digit system code available for all records. This means that you will need to import your data to the Parent App first in order to be able to import your Lines.
If your Lines include reference fields, you will need to use the record ID instead of the name.
You can find the ID in the detailed view of any record in your application. Here's an example:
Importing Images
Note: In order to import images for the Image field type, you will need to add the URL of the image. If your image is stored on your computer, you will need to upload it to a cloud service in order to get the image URL.
Uploading your image assets to your organization's Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, etc. will ensure that the URL you use in this field will continue to host your image, even when that file is updated in your cloud service.
If the image is in your organization's cloud and in a shared folder, make sure the folder it is stored in is set to public.
Importing Notes
You may have notes that you would like to import and attach to specific records in your app. There is a way to this! Let's go through the steps.
First, you need to navigate to the Notes app. Go to Activities > Notes.
Click on the 'Import' button in the top right of the screen.
This will take you to the Import Wizard which is identical to the one for importing your records in your applications. We recommend using the link shown below to download the CSV file template.
To ensure that your notes are attached to the correct record you'll need two things:
1. The record ID: This can be found by entering the detail screen of any record in your app. Here's an example of where to find it in a record from Contacts.
2. Application Name: This needs to be entered into the CSV file as singular instead of plural. In this case, we're importing to the Contacts app so we need to use 'Contact'.
Here's what it looks like in our CSV template. You'll need to enter the ID twice. In the 'Source Record' and 'Contact' columns.
Now you can drag and drop your CSV template into the wizard and import your notes. Make sure to check that all of your fields have been mapped correctly before finishing the import.
Understanding Import Errors
As your CSV is being imported, when an error is encountered in a row, this row will fail to Import. The import process will continue and an Error Description column will show the error(s) per row. At the end of the import process, you will have the option to retrieve all the Failed rows in a CSV to review and remedy.
You will see Processed / Added / Updated / Failed columns in your Import. Click on 'Failed' to generate a new CSV containing all Failed rows and error description(s) shown conveniently in a new column.
The system will identify the first 1000 errors. If an import reaches that threshold, the import process will be cancelled. The resulting Failed CSV will show the rows that failed along with rows that were unprocessed before failure.
There is no size limit for the CSV file, so this will not be the cause of an import error or failure. However, if an import process does not finish within 24 hours, it will automatically timeout. As a rule of thumb, 100K records will process in approximately 3 hours, depending on how many columns your file has. Use these guidelines to decide whether to split a very large file into smaller imports.
Let's look at each of the errors in detail.
Error Description Meanings
Sometimes there are issues with an import. You'll notice in the screenshot we've been told that two rows failed. If you click on the number next to Failed Rows you'll be prompted to download a CSV which will contain the reason for the error.
"Skipped." This does not signify an error in the row. It means the threshold for errors (1000) has been reached and the import process shut down before this row could be processed. Thus it was skipped.
"The reference value could not be found". This error is usually found in columns that map to Choice List or Reference fields. It means that the value used in that cell of the file doesn't exist in FreeAgent CRM.
In order to solve this error, make sure that the value in your file looks exactly the same as the options in FreeAgent CRM, they are case-sensitive.
If the Choice or Reference doesn't exist, create it first and then try to import your file again.
"This is not a valid number". This field type expects a number, either an integer or a decimal.
"This is not a valid number: null". If the App you're importing to has any calculated fields and you import into a said calculated field, this error may result.
"This is not a valid date". The date field also expects a specific format. The date should include day, month, and year. The year should include 4 digits. The date should be formatted like this: YYYY-MM-DD e.g. 2020-06-04
"This is not a valid email address". When this error is found, it usually means that the email address is missing the '@' sign or the domain extension (.com, .net, .edu, etc....)
"This is not a valid phone number". The most common cause for this error is including the extension with the phone number. Extensions should be saved in a separate field. The phone number format can include '()' and/or '-'.
"This value violates unique field". This error means that your file contains duplicated information. For this to happen there needs to be a field in your App configured as "unique". The system will validate the information in the system and if the value already exists in any record of your App, it will show this error message.
Managing Imports
You can view all past imports and check on their status from the import page of any application.
Note: These records are deleted 90 days after the import.
1. Processed
This will show you how many records have been processed.
2. Added
the number of new records that were added to FreeAgent.
3. Uploaded
The number of existing records that were updated.
4. Failed
The number of records that failed to import or update.
5. Created by
The user that started the data import.
