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Freshsales import templates

Import contacts
into Freshsales

Freshsales has no undo for an import, and when it checks emails for duplicates it only looks at primary ones. What follows is each import screen, what its settings do, and the template that fits your export.

IntoFreshsales
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Each template page checks your export first, in your browser, for what Freshsales would skip. Nothing is uploaded.

No export yet? Blank Freshsales contacts CSV

FreeNo accountFreshsales Contacts

By Operelio teamUpdated October 3, 2026

A Freshsales import
has no undo

HubSpot can restore an import’s changes, Pipedrive can revert one and Zoho can remove what one added. Freshworks’ help gives Freshsales no undo: new contacts come out by hand, and nothing restores the values it changed.

Import History · Past imports
Contact Label 4imported by Maya · a minute ago
1,240created
386updated
0skipped
14errored

If that was the wrong file

1,240new contacts have to be deleted by hand. Freshworks’ route: open View records, save it as a view, delete. That view can include contacts the import updated, so check it first.

386contacts keep whatever the file wrote over their old values. Nothing in Freshworks’ help puts those back.

14rows failed and sit in an error log you download from the row. Dropdown values the field doesn’t have are one reason Freshworks gives.

The import is invented. Each outcome comes from Freshworks’ help on importing contacts and on import history.

The Freshsales importer,
one step at a time

Four steps in one window, from File info to Finalize import. After that comes Import History, where the counts and the error log are.

×
File infoUpload fileReview mappingFinalize import
Tell us what your file contains
ContactsMy file has information about people
Contacts and AccountsMy file has information about people and their companies

ⓘ What are Contacts and Accounts in Freshsales Suite?

1 of 3

Drawn from the screenshots in Freshworks’ current import guide for Freshsales Suite. Each point is from Freshworks’ help.

When the same person
becomes two contacts

Nadia Kerr is already in Freshsales. Her old consultancy address is her primary email, and her Halden Works address is saved as a second one. The new file has the Halden Works address.

In Freshsales: nadia@kerr-advisory.com primary, nadia.kerr@haldenworks.co second, mobile 07700 900318In the file: nadia.kerr@haldenworks.co, +44 7700 900318
How the import is set upContacts afterWhy
Create and update, duplicates checked on Emails2 Nadiasnew contact addedFreshsales compares the file with primary emails only. Hers is the consultancy one, so the row matches nobody.
Duplicates checked on Mobile instead2 Nadiasnew contact addedThe same number, written another way. Phones have to match character for character; Freshworks’ example is 9003241245 against +1‑9003241245.
Create new Contacts, Skip duplicate Contacts unchecked2 Nadiasnew contact addedNothing is checked at all. Every row is added.
Checked on Emails, the file holding her primary address1 NadiaupdatedThe match Freshsales is built to find.

Before an update, check that the file carries each person’s primary email. If you match on phone, write numbers the way Freshsales already stores them.

Who becomes the sales owner

The column you map to Sales owner decides it, along with one setting on Finalize import.

maya.chen@yourco.exampleMaya Chen

A user’s email maps to that user.

Maya ChenNot Maya

Freshworks says a name won’t map the sales owner. It has to be the email.

tom.ward@yourco.exampleRow fails

Tom’s user is deactivated, and records mapped to a deactivated user fail to import.

(empty)Your pick

Unassigned contacts go to the user picked on Finalize import. Check who it is before you import.

A row Freshsales
takes without errors

Freshsales maps columns from their headers on its own. What sits under each header still has to suit the field it lands in.

Xfreshsales-contacts.csv
ABCDEF1Last nameEmailMobileOwnerStageInterests2Lind1grace.lind@northbeamhq.co2+44 7700 9001443maya.chen@yourco.example4Event lead5Onboarding;Support6

Stage maps to Lifecycle stage, and Event lead stands in for one of its choices. Interests is any multi-select field you’ve added.

1
A last name on each row

One Freshworks guide says Last name must be mapped, another says Email. Map both, plus any field your admin made required.

2
The primary email

Duplicates are checked against each contact’s primary email. Secondary addresses aren’t looked at.

3
Phones as Freshsales stores them

Only matters if you match on Work or Mobile. The comparison is exact, so spacing and the country code have to agree.

4
The owner’s email

A user’s email, never a name. A deactivated user makes the row fail.

5
Choices the field already has

A dropdown value that isn’t one of the field’s choices is on Freshworks’ list of reasons imports fail. Add the choice first.

6
Semicolons between values

Onboarding;Support is how Freshworks asks for several values in one multi-select cell.

Other Freshsales file rules

File
CSV or XLSX, 5 MB at most
Dates
Month, day and year in any of three orders, with slashes, periods or hyphens. You say which order on Finalize import.
Social profiles
The profile name only, not the full URL
Wrong field type
Values that don’t suit the field they’re mapped to aren’t imported
Repeated rows
With create and update, rows sharing an email show as one updated contact
Accounts
Found by account name. A name Freshsales doesn’t have becomes a new account.

The columns our Freshsales templates write

13 fields, used across our 21 Freshsales contacts templates. On Review mapping, check each one lands on the matching Freshsales field before you go on.

Download the contacts CSV
email,first_name,last_name,company_name,description,work_number,country,job_title,city,state,address,zipcode,mobile_number
Emailemail
First Namefirst_name
Last Namelast_name
Company Namecompany_name
Descriptiondescription
Work Numberwork_number
Countrycountry
Job Titlejob_title
Citycity
Statestate
Addressaddress
Zip Codezipcode
Mobile Numbermobile_number

Freshsales limits the file,
and an admin can limit the day

Freshworks publishes no row limit and no import limits by plan. These are the ones it does give.

File size5 MB
File typesCSV, XLSX
Imports running at once1 per module
Imports kept in historylast 1,000

From Freshworks’ Freshsales help pages on importing and import history.

  • Daily caps by roleAn admin can set how many records a role may create, and how many it may update, through imports each day. At the cap, importing stops for the day.
  • An import permissionThe import button only shows for roles allowed to import records.
  • No undoContacts an import created are removed by hand from View records. Freshworks gives no way to restore updated values.

See every CRM’s import limits side by side →

Freshsales templates
for each export

21 templates into Freshsales Contacts. Each Excel workbook reads the export as your tool produces it and lays it out in Freshsales’ columns.

Apollo.ioZoomInfoCognismLusha User DataLusha ProspectingLinkedIn Sales NavigatorMailchimpActiveCampaignConstant ContactGoogle ContactsOutlook / Microsoft 365ShopifyWooCommerceEventbriteCalendlyTypeformIntercomHubSpotSalesforcePipedriveZoho CRM

A prospect list every Monday, a webinar list every month

Freshsales has no undo for an import, so each file needs to be right before you press Import now.

The Excel template5 to 10 minPaste the export in, look over the Freshsales tab, save it as a CSV and upload. Free, no account.→CRM FormatterUnder 5 minLines up any export with Freshsales’ contact fields and gives you the CSV to upload. On every plan.→Trails0 minSet it up once. Each export that arrives is cleaned, verified on paid plans, and saved as a Freshsales-ready file.→

Before your next
Freshsales import

With no undo, these are about getting the file right first.

How to remove duplicates in ExcelCombining Apollo, ZoomInfo, Cognism and Lusha exportsCleaning data before vs after a CRM importHow to split a large file for a CRM importCountry normalization12 best CRM import tools in 2026Comparison

Freshsales import questions

Can I undo an import in Freshsales?

Not in one step. For contacts an import created, Freshworks’ help says to open Import history, click View records, save that as a view and delete. The view can include contacts the import updated, so check it before deleting. It gives no way to restore values an import changed on contacts you already had.

Why did my import create duplicate contacts?

Freshsales only checks primary emails, so someone saved under a different primary address looks new. Matching on phone needs the number written exactly as Freshsales has it. And in Create new Contacts with Skip duplicate Contacts unchecked, nothing is compared.

Why does one person own all my imported contacts?

Rows with no sales owner go to the user picked under Assign sales owner for unassigned Contacts. Owner names don’t map either; the column needs each user’s email.

Where do I see why rows failed?

In Import History, click Download next to the Records errored count for the error log. Freshworks lists dropdown values that don’t match the field’s choices among the reasons, and rows owned by a deactivated user fail too.

Why can’t I see the import button?

Your role needs permission to import records. An admin can also cap how many records a role imports each day, and once the cap is reached, importing is off until the next day.

Which fields are required to import contacts into Freshsales?

Last name and Email on every contact; Freshworks’ two import guides disagree on which one must be mapped, so map and fill both, as well as any field your admin has made required.

Freshsales import templates

Get the file right before Import now.

The CRM Formatter maps any export to Freshsales’ contact fields, splits full names into first and last, and hands you a CSV ready to upload. It’s on every plan.

Get started freeSee the CRM Formatter