Why did my Zoho CRM import go wrong?

1. Your import CSV

The file from a spreadsheet, another CRM or an old export, saved as CSV, that you plan to upload under Import in Zoho CRM.

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Choose a file or paste the text, then click Check file.

Result

Records

The rules, and what is not checked

Stated as read from memory of Zoho CRM's public import help. Zoho CRM can change them, and your account can differ.

• Required: a lead needs a Last Name and a Company, a contact a Last Name, an account an Account Name, a deal a Deal Name.
• Headings: Zoho CRM lets you map columns by hand, but a heading that matches a field name is matched for you. Other spellings are noted, and a column that matches no standard field is a note, since it may be a custom field.
• Stage and Lead Status: compared with the default picklist values; an edited picklist is yours to compare, so a different value is a note, and only a capitalisation difference is fixed.
• Amount and currency: a plain number such as 1200.50, and a 3-letter code such as USD in a Currency column.
• Probability (%): a whole number from 0 to 100; 0.6 is not 60.
• Emails: one valid address per cell; a second address belongs in Secondary Email. The same email twice is a duplicate unless the import's duplicate setting catches it.
• Dates: one layout per file, ideally YYYY-MM-DD; month names, two-digit years, dots and Excel serial numbers are flagged, and a column that mixes day-first and month-first is an error.
• Excel damage: scientific notation is unrecoverable and flagged; a phone number is never rewritten beyond a trailing .0 or apostrophe.
• Safe fixes change formatting only: the separator, heading spelling to the field name, stray spaces, a mailto: prefix, email case, a trailing .0 or apostrophe on phone cells, a default Stage or Lead Status in its usual capitals, currency codes in capitals, and blank rows. Every change is listed with its line. Names, values, dates, IDs and phone digits are never edited, and duplicates are reported, not deleted.

Not checked

• Custom fields and custom picklist options your administrator created in Zoho CRM
• Whether a Lead Source, Industry, Rating or Type value exists in your picklists
• Whether an Owner matches a user in your account
• Whether a record already exists, and what the duplicate setting you choose in the import - skip, overwrite or clone - will do
• Whether a Pipeline exists, or a Stage belongs to the Pipeline it sits on
• Whether a currency is enabled in your account
• The date format, time zone and decimal separator you choose in the import's mapping step
• Whether an email address can actually receive mail
• Your edition's limits on records and file size per import
• Anything Zoho CRM has changed in its importer since these rules were read

Common questions

Why did my Zoho CRM import skip rows or create duplicates?

The usual causes are a lead with no Last Name or Company, a deal with no Deal Name, the same email on more than one row, a Stage or Lead Status spelled differently from the picklist, an Amount with a currency symbol or thousands separator, dates in an order the import misreads, a Probability written as a fraction, and an Excel save that damaged phone numbers. This tool tests each of them and names the line.

How do I check a Zoho CRM import CSV before uploading it?

Paste the file or drop it onto this page. It reads the headings against Zoho CRM lead, contact, account or deal field names, then lists every problem with its line number as errors, warnings and notes. Nothing is uploaded.

Which Stage and Lead Status values does a Zoho CRM import accept?

From memory, a new account's default deal stages are Qualification, Needs Analysis, Value Proposition, Identify Decision Makers, Proposal/Price Quote, Negotiation/Review, Closed Won, Closed Lost and Closed Lost to Competition, and its default lead statuses include Not Contacted, Attempted to Contact, Contacted and Pre-Qualified. Administrators can edit both lists, so the tool treats a value outside them as a note to compare, and fixes only a difference in capital letters.

How should I write a deal Amount and currency for a Zoho CRM import?

Write the Amount as a plain number such as 1200.50, with no currency symbol, thousands separator or k or M suffix, and put a 3-letter ISO code such as USD, EUR or GBP in a Currency column. Without a Currency column every deal takes your account's home currency.

What date format does a Zoho CRM import want?

From memory, the import asks you to choose the date format used in the file, so the file must use one layout throughout. YYYY-MM-DD has a single reading and is the safest. Month names, two-digit years, dots and Excel serial numbers are flagged, and a column that mixes day-first and month-first dates cannot be read correctly under either choice.

Why did my phone numbers turn into 4.41175E+11?

Excel stored a long number in a cell formatted as General or Number and shortened it. Scientific notation loses digits for good, so the tool flags it as an error and leaves the cell alone.

What does Apply safe fixes change?

Only formatting with one reasonable reading: the separator, heading spelling to the field name, stray spaces, a mailto: prefix, upper or lower case in an email, a trailing .0 or apostrophe on a phone number, a default Stage or Lead Status written in its usual capitals, currency codes in capitals, and blank rows. Every change is listed with its line. It never changes names, values, dates, IDs or the digits of a phone number.

Is it safe to put my customer list into a web page?

The page runs in your browser, the file is read locally and nothing is uploaded; a test in the code asserts there are no network calls. Your own policies still decide what you may open in a browser.

What does this not check?

Your custom fields and edited picklists, whether an owner matches a user, whether a record already exists and which duplicate setting you pick, whether a pipeline exists, whether a currency is enabled, your edition's record and file limits, the date and number formats you choose in the import, and anything Zoho CRM changed after these rules were read. A clean result is not a promise of success: import a handful of rows first.