Module Overview: Cleanse Data

Step 1: Explore Fields and Their Properties

Before standardizing and making your data consistent, you need to know what is currently in your database.

Navigate to Data Management > Cleanse Data, then select a database and record type from the top menu. Explore the templates for an existing solution that may be close to what you need as a starting point.

Under Step 1, all fields for the record type are listed. This is not the record data itself but the meta information about the fields in the database.

The list shows the properties for each field, including the field's name, type, if it's editable, how many different values there are, and how many are empty. Learn more about interpreting these properties in the Advanced How-Tos below.

Step 2: Explore the Record Values for the Field

Under Step 2, select a field to explore from the Field Name dropdown. 

Once selected, the different values found in this field will populate the Record Viewer at the bottom of the page. Click the checkbox to expand a value set. You can select multiple values to see the records for several values together.

This opens up a secondary Viewer below the first, where you can review the individual records that have the selected value(s). The field you have been exploring won't automatically appear here, so you may need to add it to the layout. 

Step 3: Select Records, Specify Changes, and Update CRM

You can make straightforward A-to-B updates or deletions from within the Cleanse Data module. If, after analyzing your data, you need to make more complex updates, use one of Insycle's other powerful modules. See the Tips for Cleansing Data below for suggestions.

In the Record Viewer, check the box for the values you want to update. Or to make more granular changes, select individual records in the secondary Viewer.

To update the selected values, under Step 3 on the Update tab, specify what the selected field values should be changed to. In this example, all the records that have an Industry of "Tech," will be updated to, "Technology."

Click the Update button and confirm the change.

Use the Delete tab when you want to completely remove the selected records from your CRM. 

You can save your settings as a template so that future cleansing tasks will not need to be reconfigured.

Return to the Template menu at the top of the page and click Copy to save your configurations as a new version of the template you started with. Then click the pencil to edit your new template name.

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 in a given run of the operation.

Navigate to Operations > Activity Tracker, search by module, app, or template name, then click the Run ID for the operation.

If you've configured the Insycle Run ID property in your CRM, you can cross-reference these operations in the CRM records.

Looking at the information about each field can provide clues on data cleansing opportunities.

Field Label vs. Name

The Field Label is shown in the CRM interface while the Name is the column header in the database. 
If two fields have a similar Field Label, such as "Phone" versus "Phone Number," looking at the underlying field Name may reveal different information that clarifies the actual purpose. You may want to update one of the Field Labels to reflect the difference.

Type, Value, and Writable

• Type – Field type, such as a picklist, number, text string, date, timestamp, true/false (boolean), etc.
• Value – Describes the type of data stored in the field such as text, number, date, true/false, etc.
• Writable – In the Insycle app, checked = True, indicating the field can be edited. 

Unique Values

This is the count of different values that appear in this field across all records. This is a great place to look and see if there is data worth exploring. You could answer a question such as, "How many different job titles do we have?" It can also indicate a problem in fields where only a few values should be used, such as Industry or Product. This is especially relevant on fields that should be limited to a picklist or Yes/No values.

Empty Values

This is the number of records that don't have any value in the field.

Any field with a high number of empty values could indicate the field is unused or abandoned and needs cleanup. Or, it could indicate a syncing issue between Insycle and your CRM.

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).

If you see data in your CRM but the empty values number is high, contact Insycle support.

You can export the information for all fields in your CRM by clicking on the Export button in Step 1. This will include all the field information, not the records. 

If you'd like to see more information for each resulting record, you can alter the fields in the secondary Record Viewer by using the Layout tab in Step 2.

If you know a field in your CRM is used regularly but the empty values column for the field is high, this could indicate a syncing issue between Insycle and your CRM. Contact Insycle support for help.

If you are sure a field contains data in your CRM but aren't seeing the values or records in the Record Viewer at the bottom of the page, it is often due to the Filter settings under Step 2.

Here are a few things to look into:

1. Ensure there isn't anything in the filter you didn't intend to be. This often happens if you start with an existing template.
2. Ensure that your filter is accurate and not too specific. For instance, if you are using the "is" operator in your filter, you might broaden the condition using "contains" or "starts with" to identify other records with slight differences.
3. Make sure that you have clicked the Search button.

If you still don't see the expected data, it is likely a field 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 Insycle support.

When working with HubSpot, a "-1" shows up when values for a field are currently not stored in Insycle. It indicates the HubSpot field is not syncing with Insycle. Note the Value column also shows, "not stored."

HubSpot limits the number of fields that can be synced between Insycle and your database, so at a point, some will need to be excluded. If you discover a field that you need to sync but isn't, contact Insycle support for help. Fields can be prioritized to ensure the necessary fields are syncing.

If you have set up the Insycle Run ID property in your CRM, every Insycle operation that updates or creates a record will update the Run ID in the record. This can be used to look up process reports in the Activity Tracker or to get help from support.

When using an Insycle Recipe that includes templates for more than one object type, such as companies and contacts, the same Run ID will appear in both CRM records.

Learn how to set up the Insycle Run ID custom field for each object type in your CRM.