Data Migration Guide: Move Your Data Into CrmLeaf
A safe, phased plan for bringing your leads, deals, clients, and active projects into CrmLeaf - without losing history or freezing your pipeline mid-quarter.
CrmLeaf TeamUpdated July 20261.5 hr, phasedAdmins & Ops Leads
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Start Free TrialAudit Your Current Data
Why it matters: You can't migrate what you haven't inventoried - a missed spreadsheet is a missed client history.
List every tool currently holding business data:
- CRM or spreadsheet tracking leads and deals
- Contact lists in email or a separate address book
- Active project trackers (spreadsheets, project tools, or shared docs)
- Inventory or BOQ spreadsheets
WHAT YOU SEE WHEN DONEA written list of every data source, with an owner assigned to export each one.
Export Your Data
Why it matters: Exporting everything before you start importing means you're never blocked mid-migration waiting on a second export from a tool you've already begun decommissioning.
- Export Leads and Deals as CSV from your current CRM or spreadsheet
- Export Contacts and Clients separately, including email addresses
- Export any active project lists with milestone and task detail
Note: Export in UTF-8 encoding if your tool offers the option - this prevents special characters (like accented names or currency symbols) from corrupting on import.
WHAT YOU SEE WHEN DONEA folder containing one CSV per data type, each opened and spot-checked in a spreadsheet app.
Clean Your Data Before Import
Why it matters: A clean import is far easier than cleaning up duplicate or malformed records after they're live in a new system that your whole team is already using.
- Remove duplicate leads and contacts
- Delete dead leads that haven't been touched in 12+ months, unless you need them for reporting history
- Standardize phone number and date formats across all files
- Fill in blank required fields (owner, stage, value) rather than leaving them empty
WHAT YOU SEE WHEN DONEEach CSV has no duplicate rows and no blank cells in required columns.
Map Your Fields to CrmLeaf
Why it matters: Getting the mapping right the first time avoids a second cleanup pass after 500 leads land in the wrong fields.
- Go to Settings → Import → Field Mapping
- Match each CSV column to its CrmLeaf field (e.g. "Deal Value" → "Value")
- For fields with no CrmLeaf equivalent, create a Custom Field before importing rather than dropping the data
WHAT YOU SEE WHEN DONEEvery column in your CSV has a matching CrmLeaf field, with none left as "Do not import" unless truly irrelevant.
Import Leads, Deals & Clients First
Why it matters: This is your lowest-risk data and gets your sales team working in CrmLeaf immediately, building confidence before the more complex project migration.
- Go to CRM → Import and upload your cleaned Leads CSV
- Review the preview screen before confirming - this is your last chance to catch a mapping error
- Repeat for Deals, then Clients
WHAT YOU SEE WHEN DONEYour Deals list in CrmLeaf matches your source spreadsheet's row count and total pipeline value.
Migrate Active Projects & Milestones
Why it matters: Only currently open projects need to be live on day one - completed projects can follow later with no urgency.
- For each active project, create the Project record in CrmLeaf
- Recreate current milestones and mark completed ones as done, not pending
- Recreate open tasks with their real due dates, not today's date
Note: Don't migrate historical, fully completed projects during this phase - they add migration time without any operational benefit. Import them later as reference data if needed.
WHAT YOU SEE WHEN DONEEvery currently active project appears in CrmLeaf with the correct milestone status.
Validate the Import
Why it matters: Catching a mapping error on 10 spot-checked records is far cheaper than discovering it after your team has already built three weeks of activity on top of bad data.
- Pick 10 records at random from each imported type
- Compare every field against the original source file
- Confirm deal values, stages, and owners all match exactly
WHAT YOU SEE WHEN DONEAll 10 spot-checked records match their source data with no discrepancies.
Decommission Old Tools
Why it matters: A short, deliberate parallel run gives your team a safety net - an open-ended one just delays the switch indefinitely.
- Run your old tool and CrmLeaf in parallel for no more than 2-4 weeks
- Set a firm cutover date and communicate it to the whole team
- After cutover, export a final backup of the old tool's data and archive it, then cancel the subscription
WHAT YOU SEE WHEN DONEYour team is working exclusively in CrmLeaf, with a backup of the old system archived for reference.
You've completed this tutorial
Your data is live in CrmLeaf. Next: build your first client-ready proposal, or explore how files attach to a deal.
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