Import records

• Upload file
  
• Choose an Action
  
• Map your data 
  
• Additional Operations

1. Permission
   Make sure you have import permissions enabled for your profile. If you do not have this option, the import option will not be available.
   
   
2. File Format
   The supported formats are:
   Excel (XLS, XLSX)
   Comma Separated Value (CSV)
   Business Card or vCard Format (VCF). 
   The attachments and the data should be separate.
   
   
3. Characters not allowed
   The data that is to be imported should not have the following characters.
• Double quotation marks(")
  
• Vertical bar (|)
  
• Angle brackets (<>)
  
  
4. Mandatory Fields
   The mandatory fields in a record should contain a value. Otherwise, you will not be able to proceed. 
   
   
5. Check box Data
   Make sure that the data you plan to import from Boolean or check box fields contain values that will properly convert during the import process.
   Imported data from Boolean and check box fields are converted as follows:
• If check box is selected: True or 1
  
• If check box is not selected: False or 0
  
  
6. Drop-down List
   All the values displayed in the drop-down list must exist in the corresponding fields in Bigin. 
   For example, let's say you are importing contact information which has a drop-down for the Contact Source field. Before importing, make sure you add the drop-down entries in Bigin. If the values are not added in Bigin, data will still be imported but once you edit the field, you cannot change it back to the old one as it is not available in your Bigin account. 
   
   
7. Field Names
   Make sure the first row of data in the source file contains the column headings or field names rather than the actual data values. 
   
   
8. Blank rows in the import file
   More than 10 blank rows in the file might indicate the end of the file. Data after the blank rows will be ignored during import. Make sure not to leave blank rows in between rows of data.
   
   
9. File Size
   Make sure the file size does not exceed the following limits according to your edition of Zoho CRM:
   CSV files - Enterprise - 25 MB, Professional and Standard - 10 MB, Free - 5 MB.
   VCF files - 5 MB for all editions.

1. Go to the Contacts/Companies/Deals module.
   
2. Click the drop down button next to + Contact/Company/Deal and select Import.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Click Upload or Drag and Drop to upload a file. 
   
4. Click Next.
   
   
   
   
   
5. In the Choose an Action section, do the following:
   
   
1. Add as New Record - Choose this option if you would like to add all the records in the file as a new contact in your Bigin account. You also have the option to skip records from the file that match with the existing records in your Bigin account. Select Email or Contact ID from the drop-down and the records will be skipped based on the chosen field.
   
   

2. Update Exiting Records Only - Chooose this option to make changes only to existing records in your Bigin account.
   From the drop-down select a field such as Email or Contact ID.
   For example, say your Bigin account has the value Health Insurance for the type of insurance field and the import file does not have a value for the same field. By enabling Don't update empty values for existing records, you can prevent overwriting of the empty value from the file to the record in your Bigin account. It leaves the Type of insurance field untouched and updates other fields.
   
   

3. Both - This option allows you to add new records as well as update existing records. Select the field of your choice from the drop-down to find existing files in Bigin. You can choose to skip updating empty fields.
   

   
   
   

6. Click Next.
   
   

7. In Map Your Data section, do the following:
   

1. Map fields from your file to the fields in Bigin account.
   

2. Click Create New Fields if you need a custom field to map records from your import file to Bigin account. 
   

3. Switch between Mapped and Unmapped tab to view the appropriate mapped and unmapped fields.
   

4. Click Reset Field Mapping to reset all the mappings done and start afresh.
   

5. Click Apply Auto Mapping to map the fields in the import file with matching fields in Bigin automatically.
   

6. Toggle ON the Sample Data from File button to view a sample copy of how the data is mapped. 
   

   
   
   

8. Click Next.
   
   

9. In the Additional Options stage, choose one of the users from the drop-down list to be assigned as the owner of the imported record.
   

1. Add Tags: You can add tags to the records that are imported from the file. Choose from the existing tags or create new tags of your choice.
   
   

10. Click Finish to start importing.