Operelio
CognismFreshsales

How to import Cognism into Freshsales

16 of the 75 columns in a Cognism export, mapped into 11 Freshsales fields under Freshsales' own names.

Download the Excel templateUse this template free

Free · 19 KB · Excel 365 or Google Sheets

Check your Cognism export first

Built on Cognism’s export columnsChecked against Freshsales’ import rulesUpdated October 3, 2026

One Cognism row, through the templatecopied as it ischanged on the way1explained below
  • First Name to First NamePriya
  • Last Name to Last NamePatel
  • Job Title to Job TitleHead of Sales
  • Email to Emaillowercasedpriya.patel@fernway.example.com
  • Mobile to Mobile Number+44 7700 900567
  • Direct, Office, HQ to Work Number1first with a value+44 20 7946 0765
  • Company Name to Company NameFernway
  • City to CityCardiff
  • State to StateWales
  • Country to CountryUnited Kingdom
  • Personal Linkedin URL, List Name, Seniority, Department to Description2joined, with labelsLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/priya-patel-example | Cognism list: UK RevOps Q4 | Seniority: Head | Department: Sales
Not imported: Profile ID, sId, Email Quality, Lead Source, Education, Diamond Record and 53 more. The template leaves these out; map any to a custom field in Operelio.

Where Cognism and Freshsales don’t line up

1

Four phone columns, two phone fields

Cognism splits numbers across Mobile, Direct, Office and HQ.

The template sends Mobile to Mobile Number. Work Number takes the first of Direct, Office and HQ that has a value.

CognismDirect empty
Office +44 20 7946 0765
HQ +44 20 7946 0444
Freshsales+44 20 7946 0765
2

Four columns kept in Description

This template gives Personal Linkedin URL, List Name, Seniority and Department no Freshsales field of their own.

The template writes them into Description, each with its label, and leaves empty ones out.

CognismPersonal Linkedin URL linkedin.com/in/priya-patel-example
List Name UK RevOps Q4
Seniority Head
FreshsalesLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/priya-patel-example | Cognism list: UK RevOps Q4 | Seniority: Head | Department: Sales

Check your Cognism export before you import it

Looks for the 16 columns this template reads, and what Freshsales would skip.

Drop your Cognism CSV here

Runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, and results are counts only.

Cognism to Freshsales in three steps

Step 1Export from Cognism
  1. Run a Contact Search in Cognism, or open Lists and pick All Contacts, My Contacts or one of your lists.
  2. Use the checkboxes to choose Select Page, Select All or Custom Selection.
  3. Click the option to export the contacts as a CSV file in the toolbar at the top of the page.

You can export up to 10,000 contacts at once from Search, and up to 1,000 per action from All Contacts or My Contacts.

Exporting reveals any contact not yet revealed in the current contract period, and credits are used only for newly revealed contacts.

Cognism: Manage search resultsCognism: Lists
Step 2Paste into the template
  1. Paste the export at A1 of Paste Cognism export here.
  2. Start here checks all 16 columns were found.
  3. Save Freshsales Contacts import as a CSV.

Works in Excel for Microsoft 365 and Google Sheets. Excel 2019 and older, Apple Numbers and LibreOffice can't run the formulas this file uses.

Just the 11 headers as a CSV

Step 3Import into Freshsales
  1. Go to Contacts in the left navigation bar and choose Import from CSV/XLSX.
  2. Choose contacts only, or accounts along with contacts, and upload the file.
  3. Check the field mapping and set the date format.
  4. Choose whether to create new records, update existing ones or both, and who owns them.
  5. Click Import Now.
Freshsales' importer, screen by screen

Operelio, with the same template

Fixes the capitals in names, formats phone numbers, standardizes countries, removes duplicate and blank rows, which the Excel file leaves to you. On every plan. Email verification from Starter.

Use this template in Operelio

Questions

Where does Cognism's State column go in Freshsales?

To State on the contact. Cognism's State is the person's; Company County/State and Company HQ County/State describe the company, so the template leaves them out.

Where do Personal Linkedin URL, List Name and the other columns go?

Into Description on each contact, labeled like "LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/priya-patel-example | Cognism list: UK RevOps Q4 | Seniority: Head | Department: Sales".

Does this template handle Cognism's Diamond Data mobiles?

Yes. Diamond-verified mobiles arrive in Cognism's Mobile column and land on Freshsales' dedicated Mobile Number field, so the verified mobile sits where your reps expect it.

Duplicates and undoing an import: Freshsales import questions.

Try this template free

Upload your Cognism export and download a file Freshsales can import. No credit card needed.

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