Pipedrive Magical Import Overview

Insycle supports importing the following Pipedrive record types:

• People
• Organizations
• Deals

At the top of the Magical Import module, select the object type that you would like to import.

Navigate to Data Management > Magical Import. 

In the top menu, select the database and record type. Then, choose the CSV file that you would like to import.

Select a template if you or someone on your team has already saved one that can handle importing from the same source.

After uploading your CSV data into Insycle, Step 1 will populate with a column for each field in the CSV. Insycle automatically looks for the matching CRM fields and maps them for you. You'll need to manually map any fields it can't figure out; these are indicated by a red warning icon.

Next, tell Insycle how to use the data on a field-by-field basis by selecting the Import Mode for each column—update existing records, create new records, or do both depending on what's in your Pipedrive data.

There are four Import Modes:

• Update: Import CSV values into Pipedrive, overwriting existing CRM values (will skip empty CSV values).
• Fill: Import CSV values only when there is no existing value in CRM (will not overwrite existing CRM values).
• Overwrite: Import CSV values, including empty CSV values, into Pipedrive (will overwrite existing CRM values).
• Append: Add CSV values to existing values in Pipedrive. For example, append notes from a CSV to existing notes or add values on multi-select fields (checkboxes or picklists).

Set Matching Criteria

Insycle uses Matching Criteria to compare the CSV with your CRM data and identify existing records for the same entity. Matching Criteria are rules based on unique identifiers that typically belong to only one entity, such as:

• Email address
• Domain (for business records)
• Phone number
• ID number
• Street address

You can set multiple matching rules that are evaluated in order from top to bottom. This allows you to find matches based on various criteria, all in one step. 

For example, you could use the following criteria to match contact records:

1. Email address
2. First Name + Last Name + Organization Name
3. First Name + Last Name + Phone Number

Insycle attempts to match each CSV record using the first rule. If no match is found, it proceeds to the next rule, continuing until either a match is found or all rules are exhausted (in which case the CSV record is considered new or unique).

For best results, place your most precise matching criteria at the top of your rule list. Additionally, keep in mind that while names can be included as part of the matching criteria, they should be used in conjunction with other identifiers, as multiple individuals may have the same name.

There are four actions in Step 2 to choose from: 

Import CSV Data into Pipedrive

Use the Import feature to enrich existing records or create net new records from data you have in a CSV (without adding duplicates). Learn more about importing from a CSV.

Select the Records Mode to tell Insycle how the imported data should be handled during the import process. 

• Update existing and create net new – If Insycle is unable to find a corresponding record, a new record will be created in your CRM.
• Only update existing – If a corresponding record is found, it will be updated with the data from your CSV import. Records that are not matched with an existing CRM record will not be imported.
• Only create net new – Only records that can not be matched with an existing record in your database will be imported. Records that already exist in your CRM will not be updated.

Look for Duplicates and Compare Values

Use the Compare feature when you want a side-by-side comparison of CSV data against matching items in Pipedrive. This is a read-only operation.

Compare features: 

• Create a new CSV report comparing your import CSV values to Pipedrive.
• See how many contacts from a file are net-new versus already existing in Pipedrive.
• Show CSV data side-by-side with Pipedrive data so you can preview how your CSV import would change data for existing records.

Learn more about using Magical Import to compare CSV data to existing records in Pipedrive.

Delete Listed Items from Pipedrive

Use the Delete feature when you have a CSV containing records you know need to be deleted. You can match the CSV rows to CRM records and easily delete the data in bulk.

Learn more about using a CSV to specify records to delete from Pipedrive.

Export Pipedrive Data Side-by-Side with CSV Values

Use the Export feature when you want more information from your CRM about items you have in an external list. Put the items you want to look up in a CSV—you really only need an Identity Field used to look for matches in your database. Then select the Pipedrive fields you want to export for the matching records.

Export features:

• Create a new CSV report comparing your import CSV values to Pipedrive.
• Select the Pipedrive field values to include in the export using the Fields to Export.
• See how many contacts from a file are net-new versus already existing in Pipedrive.

This is a read-only operation.

Learn more about exporting CRM data for CSV comparison or enrichment.

Under Step 3, you can make bulk changes to the CSV data or filter out rows before it is uploaded to Pipedrive. The options selected and applied here will be reflected in the table view of the data in Step 1, not done directly in your Pipedrive database.

Use Functions to Transform CSV Data

On the Functions tab, you can select fields from your CSV and apply formatting and transformation changes to the field data. You could clean up, format, add or remove text, copy values to other fields, or make other updates before it is uploaded to Pipedrive. These are the same functions found in the Transform Data module, which you can learn more about here. 

When finished, click Apply and view the changes under Step 1. 

Find & Replace Values before Importing

Using the Find & Replace tab, you can bulk update values in the Step 1 table so they are ready to go when you import. This saves you from needing to go back and edit the original CSV and setting it up in Insycle again.

Filter Out Rows in Your CSV

The Filter tab allows you to limit which rows from your CSV are imported based on criteria you define. You may want to do this to import in segments that are handled differently or if there are just some junk rows you don't want to import.

Make Bulk Changes to a Field 

On the Bulk Update tab, you can add values to CRM fields even if you don't have the field in the CSV. This will add the same value for all the imported records.

Link Imported Rows to Other Pipedrive Records

The Link tab allows you to create relationships between CSV records and existing items in your database when you import. 

Learn more about linking items when importing.

You can create relationships between people and organizations.

Set Format for Dates Tied to Records

The Date Format tab allows you to reformat dates before the data is imported into your Pipedrive database.

Learn more about reformatting dates before the data is imported into Pipedrive.

By default, Insycle will attempt to import all of your CSV data into your database. If there are only a few records you want to import, return to the table under Step 1 and check the boxes beside the select records. 

When you click the Import [X Objects] button under Step 5, you'll be prompted to confirm.

⚠️ Note that there is no preview step. Once you confirm, the changes will be applied to Pipedrive immediately.

After the import runs, the Import Result breaks down the import information—how many records you tried to import and how many succeeded, failed, were updated, deleted, or unmodified. Click the Run ID to open a CSV record of the import.

Insycle will also email you a CSV report of these changes. If you open the CSV file, you can look at the Result column to see how each row of your import was handled.

The Result column may show:

• Created - A new record was created in Pipedrive
• Updated - An existing record was found and updated with data from the CSV
• Failed - If there is an issue, the Message field will give you details so you can troubleshoot

You can also see the (Before) and (After Update) values side-by-side for each field in your import.

After you've seen the results in the CRM and are satisfied with how the import runs, you can save all of the configurations as a template to use each time you import a CSV with the same source and format. With a template, all of your settings are saved, including field mapping, actions, functions etc., so you will have minimal work for future imports.

Return to the Template menu at the top of the page and click the disk icon to save this as a new template, giving it an informative name.

Insycle uses Matching Criteria to compare your CSV to your CRM data. Matching Criteria must be "unique identifiers." These are data points that could only belong to a single entity—such as email addresses, phone numbers, street addresses, or ID numbers.

Additionally, when using an email field, Insycle will automatically cross-reference any additional email fields in the records for a match. If using a domain field, Insycle will check additional domain fields. 

When you configure your Matching Criteria rules, the data under Step 1 will refresh, and you'll be able to see which records are already in your Pipedrive database. The records that Insycle found will become blue links that will open the item in Pipedrive.

When date values are detected in a CSV, Insycle will decide which format is being used and make the values consistent when importing. 

Insycle will recognize the following date formats, all of which will work with or without the - or / symbols:

1. Date time with timezone: 2018-07-19T23:25:45.671-0400
2. Date time in UTC timezone: 2018-07-19T10:15:30Z 
3. YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
4. Date (YYYY-MM-DD): 2018-07-19 or 2018/07/09
5. Date (M-D-YYYY): 07-19-2018 or 7/19/2018

You can override this automatic standardizing using the Date Format tab, which allows you to reformat dates before the data is imported into your CRM.

Learn more about reformatting dates before the data is imported into Pipedrive.

With the Activity Tracker, you have a complete audit trail and history of changes made through Insycle. At any time you can download a CSV report that lets you see all of the changes that were made during an import operation.

Navigate to Operations > Activity Tracker, enter "import" to search for activities done in the Magical Import module, or look for a template name, then click the Run ID for the operation.

If there are issues with a CSV row, the red warning icon will be shown on the left side of the record. Records that have errors in them will not be imported.

To learn what the problem is and determine steps to resolve it, hover over the red exclamation mark—an explanation of the error will display. 

If a field in your Pipedrive database includes dropdown values and the data included in your CSV does not match, the row will display an "Invalid picklist value" error. This value needs to be changed to match the dropdown options used in Pipedrive.

You can make quick fixes to the import data directly in Insycle by hovering over a value and clicking the pencil icon.

If a record in your CSV is not being matched to a CRM record and you know that it should be, there are several potential causes:

1. The Matching Criteria you chose does not match between the CSV and CRM

   Insycle depends on your Matching Field selection to compare your CSV to your CRM data. If Insycle can't find matches between the two sources, you may need to find a more reliable but unique field.

   Have a look at the data in your CRM using the Grid Edit module, adding columns to the layout so you can explore the fields and values. Then, compare this against the columns and values in your CSV to find a reliable but unique field that matches the two sources. 

2. You are using too many fields in Matching Criteria rule

   You can select more than one field in each Matching Criteria rule; however, ALL of the fields must match, not just one or some of them. If you include five fields and four of them match, but one doesn't, Insycle will not consider the rule a match.

   Typically, it is best to use a single field for your first Matching Criteria to improve the likelihood of finding existing records in your CRM. Then you can add additional rules to match multiple fields.

   

3. Your Matching Criteria is too broad

   Insycle uses Matching Criteria to compare your CSV to your CRM data. If you're using a field that is not truly unique as Matching Criteria, it's likely that Insycle won't be able to identify one single record as a match. For instance, there could be many people with the first name, "John" in your CRM. This is why uniqueness is key.

   When selecting your Matching Criteria, make sure it is truly a "unique identifier." These are data points that would only belong to a single record—such as email address, phone number, street address, or ID number. For companies, it could also be organization name, or domain.

   

4. There is a syncing issue

   To refresh the data in Insycle, navigate to Settings > Sync Status, and next to the account name, click the Sync changes from last day button (lightning bolt icon).

   

   Alternatively, you could log out of Insycle and then log back in.

   For help re-syncing a specific field, contact support.

If you have set up formatting or standardization functions in Step 3 but aren't seeing those changes reflected after importing your data, make sure that you click the Apply button.

You must apply these updates to your CSV data before importing it into Pipedrive. Then, you will see these changes reflected in the data under Step 1.

Yes, Insycle will automatically map fields that it is able to identify. However, if there are cases where it can't figure out what a field should map to, a warning icon will appear, and the CRM field dropdown will say "Not Mapped." You should select the corresponding CRM field to ensure the field is included in the import.

Yes, you can easily add to existing data using the Fill or Append Import Modes in Step 1.

• Fill: Import CSV values only when there is no existing value in CRM (will not overwrite existing CRM values).
• Append: Add CSV values to existing field data in Pipedrive. For example, add more labels from a CSV to existing labels or add values on multi-select fields (checkboxes or picklists).

Yes, Insycle provides many functions that can clean, format, and standardize data from your CSV before it's imported into your database. The options selected and applied here will be reflected in the table view of the data in Step 1, not done directly in Pipedrive.

Under Step 3, on the Functions tab, you can select fields and apply formatting and transformation changes to the field data. These are the same functions found in the Transform Data module, which you can learn more about in the Function Catalog.

Yes, Insycle allows you to link records while importing data from a CSV in Step 4 using the Link tab. Learn more about linking Pipedrive objects while importing from a CSV.

Yes, Insycle allows you to compare the CSV to existing data in your Pipedrive records. The Compare (Preview) tab under Step 2 provides a simple CSV report showing the values from your original CSV next to the values currently in Pipedrive.

To learn more, see the Compare CSV Data to Existing Records In Your CRM article.

Yes, the Magical Import module can handle up to 100k rows for each CSV import. Keep in mind that the more rows and fields you have in your CSV, the slower the import process will be. If you run into any issues, try breaking the CSV into segments and removing any extraneous fields.