Close import templates
Import leads and contacts
into Close
In Close a lead is a company, and its people are contacts inside it. How your rows turn into leads is set mainly by one switch on the Options step. The importer’s main screens follow, then a template that fits your export.
Each template page checks your export first, in your browser, for what Close would skip. Nothing is uploaded.
Building a list by hand? Empty Close CSV
FreeNo accountLeads with their contacts
500 people in, 500 leads out
A file with one person per row needs its rows grouped by company on the Options step. If they aren’t, Close makes a separate lead for every row, even when ten people share a company.
Import finished 2 min agoUndo
What the 500 doesn’t tell you
141companies employ all 500 of them. Group related rows was left off, so each person arrived as a lead of their own.
2leads for one company, even with grouping on, when the file spells it two ways. Close groups by each distinct value, so Orrin Labs and Orrin Labs Ltd stay apart.
0tools in Close’s app find duplicate leads. Close’s support tools can list them, and its team merges them once, free. Undo removes the 500, but not any a rep has emailed or edited since. In the app, leads merge two at a time, and a merge can’t be reversed.
A sample import, not a customer’s. Each outcome is from Close’s help center articles on importing, updating and merging leads.
Close’s importer,
step by step
Three steps, then the page that reports the result and the tab where Undo is. The switch on Options decides how many leads you get.
| Company (Lead) | Contact name | Contact email | Opportunity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orrin Labs | B. Achebe | ben@orrinlabs.co | $12,400 |
| Skip | Columns from your fileHeader row 1 | Mapped8 / 8 | Destination field in CloseSelect from the dropdown | PreviewFrom your file |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Company | ✓ | Name | ◉ | |
| Invitee Name | ✓ | Full name | ◉ | |
| Invitee Email | ✓ | ◉ | ||
| Phone | ✓ | Phone | ◉ | |
| Stage | ⚠ 3 | Status | ◉ | |
| Host | ✓ | Lead owner | ◉ | |
| Meeting date | ✓ | Meeting dateNew | ◉ | |
| Timezone | → | Select | ○ |
If your spreadsheet lists one contact (or address) per row, you can group those rows into a single Lead during import. Choose a column to group by, most often this will be the Company Name column.
Column A: Company 141 LeadsTo avoid importing duplicates, we can check the Leads in Close and compare them to your spreadsheet. If there’s a match then missing fields can be added or everything can be updated.
Any of: Lead: Name, Contact: EmailImport finished 2 min ago Undo
| Import | Created | Updated | Skipped | Failed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| calendly-bookings.csv2 min ago | 500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | DetailsUndo |
| webinar-sept.csvSep 18 | 36 | 212 | 4 | 0 | DetailsUndo |
| expo-badges.csvSep 2 | 88 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Details |
| partner-referrals.csvAug 27 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | DetailsUndo |
| pasted-rowsAug 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | DetailsUndo |
View everyone’s imports
A drawing of Close’s importer from the screenshots in its help center. The points come from Close’s help articles.
Three rows, one company:
how many leads?
Three people from Orrin Labs booked calls. The booking export wrote the company the way each person typed it.
Orrin LabsBen Achebeben@orrinlabs.coOrrin LabsKofi Mensahkofi@orrinlabs.coOrrin Labs LtdLucy Fennlucy@orrinlabs.co| Import settings | Leads after | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Group related rows left off | 3 leadsone contact each | Without grouping, every row is a lead of its own. |
| Grouped by Company | 2 leadsBen and Kofi together, Lucy alone | Close groups on each distinct value. Orrin Labs and Orrin Labs Ltd are two values. |
| Company spelled one way, then grouped | 1 leadthree contacts | One value in the column, so one lead with all three people in it. |
Grouped rows that share an email or phone become one contact, even when the names differ. Two rows for ben@orrinlabs.co, one as Ben and one as Benjamin, leave one contact. Close keeps only one of the names, so check it afterward.
When a lead is already in Close
Turn on Check if Lead already exists. A lead in Close that matches any field you pick then follows the If match is found setting.
Only add missing informationBlanks filledValues go only into empty fields; multi-choice fields gain any new values. Close calls it the recommended option, and it’s how you add new contacts to leads you have.
Replace Lead information in CloseOverwrittenThe file’s values replace the lead’s values in each mapped field. Close says this can’t be undone.
Skip the LeadLeft aloneNothing about the lead changes. Skipped rows come back as a spreadsheet when the import ends.
A Close row that maps
and groups cleanly
Close guesses each column’s field from its header. These are the values it takes without a validation error.
Potential is one of the statuses a new Close account comes with; use your own. Meeting date is a custom field, there to show the date format and the custom. prefix.
Grouping turns each distinct value into a lead, so Orrin Labs and Orrin Labs Ltd split. Settle on one spelling before you import.
Map the person’s name to Full name, or to First name and Last name. Name, in the Lead group, is the company.
Several emails or phones for one contact go in one cell, split by semicolons. The same goes for multiple-choice values.
A number without +44 or similar gets the country under Settings, Account, so numbers from abroad can pick up the wrong code.
The import doesn’t create statuses. A value that doesn’t exactly match one turns yellow as an error until you fix it.
Close’s help asks for yyyy-mm-dd. 04/08/2024 can come in as April 8 or August 4.
More of Close’s import rules
- Custom fields
- Put custom. before a column’s name and Close maps it to that custom field. Admins can create new ones as Text.
- Choice fields
- Statuses, and the values of choice fields you already have, must exist in Close first
- Owners
- A User custom field, with each user’s name written exactly as it is in Close
- Lead IDs
- Map lead_id only to update existing leads. On new rows it fails the import
- Activity
- Notes, calls, emails and texts don’t come in through the lead importer
- Later type changes
- Switch an imported Text field to Number and values with letters or symbols are deleted
The fields our Close templates fill
The 6 columns our 18 Close templates use, and the Close field each one belongs in. Our name column is the person, first and last name joined: Close may guess it as the lead’s Name, so check it says Full name.
companynameemailphonetitledescriptionClose’s import limits
Close’s help gives a file size but no row count. The rest of its limits are about who can import and undo.
The help page says 15 MB per CSV; the upload screen says 16. Stay under 15.
- Importing by roleAdmins, Super Users and Users can bulk import. Restricted Users can’t.
- Undo by permissionReverting an import needs the Bulk Delete permission. Imports from another CRM are reverted by Close’s support.
- Undo earlyLeads renamed, emailed or worked since the import are left as they are.
Close templates,
ready for each export
18 templates into Close, each with an Excel workbook. Paste the export in as it comes and the workbook writes Close’s columns, with a company column ready for grouping.
Apollo.io
ZoomInfo
Cognism
Lusha User DataLusha Prospecting
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Mailchimp
Google Contacts
Outlook / Microsoft 365
Stripe
Eventbrite
Calendly
Typeform
Intercom
HubSpot
Salesforce
Pipedrive
Zoho CRMBookings every day, an event list every quarter
Grouping can only join rows that spell the company the same way. These give Close its columns, with a company column to group on.
More for Close imports
Tidy the company column and the rest of the file before grouping does its work.
Close import questions
Why did Close make a lead for every row?
Group related rows was off on the Options step. Without it, each row becomes its own lead. Turn it on and choose the company column so the people at one company land in one lead.
Is there an undo for a Close import?
Yes, from the History tab on the Import page, with the Bulk Delete permission. Undo deletes the leads the import created, but not ones changed since, such as leads a rep has emailed. Close’s help says changes made with Replace Lead information can’t be undone.
How do I add contacts to leads I already have?
Turn on Check if Lead already exists, match on Lead ID or another field unique to each lead, such as a contact’s email, and set If match is found to Only add missing information. New contacts are added to the matching lead.
Why is my status column showing an error?
The import doesn’t create statuses. Each value has to match a status in Close exactly, so add new ones in Close first, then click Review.
Can I import notes and call history?
Not through the lead importer. Notes, tasks and calls can come in from a CSV through Close’s support tools. There’s no such tool for emails or texts. A move from another CRM goes through Close’s migration.
Which fields are required to import contacts into Close?
No required field documented; a Lead is a company, and contacts sit inside it.
Will importing create duplicate contacts in Close?
If you import the file yourself, Close groups rows into leads by a column you pick, such as Company, and merges contacts in the same group that share an email or phone. You also pick the field that finds an existing lead, then add missing information, overwrite or skip.
Give Close a file it can group.
The CRM Formatter puts any export into Close’s fields with the company in its own column, joins first and last names, and hands back a CSV for the importer. On every plan.