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.

The Preview panel will load the CSV rows, with a column for each field. 

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

Magical Import templates load configurations that will affect the Data Mapping, Preparation, Validation, and Operations settings. When settings are loaded from a template, a blue number indicates where settings are applied.

If AI is enabled for your selected object type, the Data Mapping section will automatically expand after processing your CSV. If AI is not enabled, click the Data Mapping heading to expand the section manually.

Review and Adjust Field Mappings

After AI processing (or when setting up manually), review how your CSV columns are mapped to CRM fields. AI will automatically map fields that it can identify with confidence. Any fields that still show a warning icon require your attention—either AI couldn't determine the appropriate mapping, or AI is not enabled for this object type.

For unmapped fields, click the Not Mapped dropdown and search for the corresponding CRM field. You can also adjust any AI-suggested mappings if they don't match your intended use.

Specify How to Use the Values for Each Column

Next, tell Insycle how to use the data on a field-by-field basis by selecting one of the 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).

Review and Confirm Matching Criteria

If AI is enabled, it will automatically suggest Matching Criteria based on your CSV columns and CRM fields. Review these suggestions carefully, as Matching Criteria determine how Insycle compares your CSV data with existing CRM records to identify matches 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 modify AI suggestions or set multiple matching rules that are evaluated in order from top to bottom. This allows you to find matches based on multiple criteria in a single 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.

Set Format for Dates from CSV

The Date Format tab allows you to reformat dates before importing them into Pipedrive.

Learn more about reformatting dates before importing data into your CRM.

Click the Data Preparation heading to expand the section.

With the Data Preparation functions, you can make bulk changes to the CSV data before uploading them to Pipedrive. The options selected and applied here will be reflected in the table view of the data in the Preview, rather than being directly applied to 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 can clean up, format, add or remove text, copy values to other fields, or make other updates before uploading it to Pipedrive. These are the same functions found in the Transform Data module, which you can learn more about here. 

As you add functions, you can click Apply after each one to see the changes in the Preview. 

Use Data Validation to filter out records that don't meet your quality standards, or to target a segment before importing them into Pipedrive. This feature helps ensure only clean, properly formatted data enters your system.

To set up data validation rules:

Click the Data Validation heading to expand the section.

Configure your validation criteria:

• Select one or more fields from the Column Name(s) dropdown
• Choose Include or Exclude from the Type dropdown:
  • Include: Only import rows that match this rule
  • Exclude: Skip rows that match this rule during import
• Set the Condition that values must meet (such as "Contains text" or "Contains digits")
• Enter any other text or parameters, if applicable

To add multiple rules, click Add Rule. Records must meet all validation criteria to pass—there is no prioritization of rules.

Click Apply to refresh the Preview with your validation rules applied.

After applying validation rules, the Preview will update to show which records will be excluded. Any rows that don't meet your criteria will display a warning icon. Hover over the icon to see specific details about why the record will be excluded.

  Data validation rules apply to the Preview data rather than the CRM database or CSV file. If you've modified data using Data Preparation or other bulk updates, the validation rules will check against those updated values in the Preview.

Use Data Operations to modify records in Pipedrive, whether by updating values on existing records or creating relationships between the CSV and CRM records. 

Click the Data Operations heading to expand the section.

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 lets you establish relationships between CSV records and existing items in your database during import. You can link people to organizations and vice versa.

Learn more about linking items during the import process.

Select the Record

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

Select and Run the Action

At the bottom of the Magical Import page, there are four actions to choose from: Import, Compare (Preview), Delete, and Export.  

Import CSV Data

The Import feature will enrich existing records or create new records from data you have in your CSV.

Select the Records Mode to instruct Insycle on how to handle the imported data 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 Pipedrive.
• Only update existing – If a corresponding record is found, it will be updated with the data from your CSV import. Data that is 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 Pipedrive will not be updated.

When you click the Import button, you'll be prompted to confirm.

Look for Duplicates and Compare Values

Use the Compare (Preview) feature when you want a side-by-side comparison of CSV data against matching items in Pipedrive.

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 your database.
• Show CSV data side by side with CRM data so you can preview how your CSV import would update data for existing records.
• Check unsubscribes against Pipedrive database.

This is a read-only operation.

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

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 your CRM.

Export Pipedrive Data Side-by-Side with CSV Values

Use the Export feature when you want more information from Pipedrive 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.

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 Pipedrive 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 Pipedrive 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 Preview 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.

In this scenario, if you import using either the 'Update existing and create net new' or 'Only create net new' Record Modes, Insycle will create a new record for any CSV rows that don't match all five criteria.

If you use the 'Only Update Existing' mode, there will likely be few records that match all your criteria, and much of your CSV data will not be imported because Insycle will not be able to find the correct record to update.

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

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 under Data Mapping using the Date Format tab. This allows you to reformat dates before importing the data into Pipedrive.

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 AI is enabled for your object type, many warning icons may automatically disappear after the initial CSV processing. Remaining warning icons indicate issues that still need your attention.

If there are issues with a CSV row, a red warning icon will appear at the left end of the row and next to the relevant field in the Preview. Rows with errors 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.

Several common reasons for the warning icon include:

• Your validation rules
• Several records match your criteria
• Invalid picklist values
• Invalid reference values
• Unmapped columns

Your validation rules. A row will show warnings and be excluded from the operation based on your validation rules. The warning info will list which rules apply to the row.

There are several records in Pipedrive that match. If multiple records have the same Matching Criteria, Insysle identifies these as matching records in Pipedrive.

If there should be only one record with this value, you may need to first merge duplicates and then try importing again.

If there are legitimate reasons for a Matching Field value to exist in more than one record, try adding additional Matching Criteria to make it more specific.

Invalid reference values. If a column is mapped to a Pipedrive field that references other data, such as owners or associated record IDs, and no match is found, an error will appear.

Invalid picklist values. If a Pipedrive field includes dropdown options and the data in your CSV does not match, you'll see an "Invalid picklist value" error. This value needs to be changed to match the dropdown options in Pipedrive.

To quickly fix the import data directly in the Preview, hover over a value and click the pencil icon.

Once you've selected your Matching Criteria, filter options will become available in the Preview. You can use the Show Only Warning Rows filter to view only rows with warnings.

If AI is not providing mapping suggestions or the suggestions don't make sense, check the following:

• AI settings are enabled: Navigate to Settings > AI and ensure that at least "Meta" level access is enabled for your selected object type.
• Column naming: AI works best when CSV column names are descriptive and similar to your Pipedrive field names. Generic names like "Column1" or "Data" may not generate good suggestions.
• Template conflicts: If you selected a template after AI processing, template settings override AI suggestions. Try clearing the template to see AI suggestions, or select the template first.

If AI is enabled but not working as expected, you can always map fields manually using the dropdown selections.

Even when using AI tools, it is normal that some fields are not automatically mapped. AI mapping works best when:

• Column names are descriptive: Fields like "email," "phone," or "company" are easily recognized
• Names match Pipedrive conventions: CSV columns that closely match your Pipedrive field names will map more reliably
• Data types are clear: Ambiguous column names or custom fields may require manual mapping

For any remaining unmapped fields (those still showing warning icons), manually select the appropriate Pipedrive field from the Not Mapped dropdown.

If a record in your CSV is not being matched to a Pipedrive 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 Pipedrive

   Insycle depends on your Matching Field selection to compare your CSV to your Pipedrive 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 Pipedrive 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 Pipedrive. Then you can add additional rules to match multiple fields.

   

3. Your Matching Criteria is too broad

   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 Pipedrive. 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. AI suggested inappropriate matching criteria

   While AI can recommend matching criteria, it might not always select the most suitable fields for your specific data. Review the AI-suggested matching criteria and adjust or replace them with more appropriate options based on your understanding of the data quality and uniqueness in both your CSV and Pipedrive.

5. 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 under Data Preparation 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 Preview.

Yes, Insycle will automatically map fields that it can identify. However, if there are cases where it cannot determine what a field should map to, a warning icon will appear under Data Mapping, and the Pipedrive field dropdown will display "Not Mapped." Select the corresponding Pipedrive field to ensure the field is included in the import.

AI mapping provides an excellent starting point and can correctly identify most standard fields when CSV column names are descriptive. However, you should always review AI suggestions because:

• Custom fields or unique naming conventions may not be recognized
• Similar field names might map to unexpected Pipedrive fields
• Your specific business requirements may need different field mappings
• Matching criteria suggestions should be validated against your data quality

Think of AI mapping as a time-saving assistant that handles the obvious mappings, so you can focus on complex or custom fields that need human judgment.

Yes, you can disable AI features by navigating to Settings > AI and turning off the toggles for the object types where you don't want AI assistance. You need Admin or Owner Insycle permissions to change these settings.

When AI is disabled, you'll manually map all CSV columns to Pipedrive fields and set your Matching Criteria.

You can also use a hybrid approach: enable AI for initial suggestions, then manually review and adjust mapping for each column to maintain full control while benefiting from AI's time-saving capabilities.

Yes, you can easily add to existing data using the Fill or Append Import Modes under Data Mapping.

• Fill: Import CSV values only when there is no existing value in Pipedrive (will not overwrite existing Pipedrive 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 the Preview, rather than being applied directly in Pipedrive.

Under Data Preparation, you can select columns 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 under Data Operations 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 in the final step provides a simple CSV report that shows the values from your original CSV alongside 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.