Import

Overview

If you're switching to Panda IDX from another CRM, spreadsheet, or email list - you don't have to manually enter hundreds or thousands of contacts. The import feature lets you upload your entire database in minutes.

What You Can Import:

• Contacts from other CRMs (export to CSV first)
• Spreadsheets (Excel, Google Sheets)
• Email marketing lists (Mailchimp, Constant Contact)
• Phone contacts
• Any CSV or Excel file with contact data

What Gets Imported:

• Names, emails, phone numbers
• Addresses and locations
• Custom fields
• Tags (can be added during import)
• Source information
• Notes (if in CSV)

Before You Import

Prepare Your File

1. Export from Current System:

• Most CRMs have "Export to CSV" or "Export to Excel"
• Export ALL fields, even if some are empty
• Include email, phone, address, custom fields
• Save file somewhere you can find it

2. Clean Up the Data (recommended):

• Remove test contacts
• Fix obviously wrong data (emails like "test@test.com")
• Standardize formatting (all caps → Title Case)
• Remove duplicate rows
• Fill in missing required fields if possible

3. Choose File Format:

• CSV (recommended): Universal, works everywhere
• Excel (.xlsx): Also supported, single sheet only
• Don't use: .xls (old Excel), .numbers (Mac), .ods

Required Fields

At minimum, each contact needs:

• First Name OR Full Name
• Email OR Phone Number (at least one)

Best Practice: Include as much as you have:

• First Name + Last Name (separate columns)
• Email
• Phone
• Address
• Source
• Any custom data you want to preserve

Import Process Step-by-Step

Field Mapping Guide

Name Fields

Scenario 1: First + Last in Separate Columns

CSV: "First Name", "Last Name"
Map to: First Name, Last Name
✅ Best option - most flexible

Scenario 2: Full Name in One Column

CSV: "Name" (contains "John Smith")
Map to: Full Name
✅ System splits into first/last automatically

Scenario 3: Last Name, First Name Format

CSV: "Name" (contains "Smith, John")
Map to: Full Name
⚠️ System may not split correctly - fix in CSV first

Email and Phone

Multiple Emails in Your CSV:

CSV: "Email", "Work Email", "Personal Email"
Map: "Email" → Email
     "Work Email" → Secondary Email
     "Personal Email" → Don't import (or notes)

Multiple Phones:

CSV: "Cell", "Home", "Work"
Map: "Cell" → Phone
     "Home" → Secondary Phone
     "Work" → Don't import (or notes)

Phone Number Formats:

• System accepts any format: (555) 123-4567, 555-123-4567, 5551234567
• Auto-formats to (555) 123-4567 on save
• International: prefix with +1 (US), +44 (UK), etc.

Address Fields

Separate Address Components (best):

CSV: "Street", "City", "State", "Zip"
Map to: Street Address, City, State, ZIP Code
✅ Best for filtering and segments

Full Address in One Field:

CSV: "Address" (contains "123 Main St, Miami, FL 33101")
Map to: Street Address
⚠️ System doesn't auto-split - you lose city/state filtering

Recommendation: Split full addresses in your CSV before importing

Tags

Tags in Your CSV:

CSV: "Tags" or "Categories" (contains "Hot Lead, Buyer")
Map to: Tags
System creates tags if they don't exist
Separate multiple tags with commas

Multiple Tag Columns:

CSV: "Type" (Buyer), "Status" (Hot), "Source" (Website)
During import: Use "Add tags to all" feature
Add: Type-Buyer, Status-Hot, Source-Website

Custom Fields

Your Custom Fields:

1. Create custom fields BEFORE importing
2. Map CSV columns to custom fields
3. If custom field doesn't exist yet, data goes to Notes

Example:

You have custom field "Price Range"
CSV has "Budget" column
Map "Budget" → "Price Range"

Notes Field

Combining Multiple Columns into Notes:

If your CSV has columns you can't map (no matching field):

• Import those columns to "Notes" field
• Use format: "ColumnName: Value"

Example:

CSV: "Referral Source", "Original Date", "Old ID"
Map all to: Notes
Result: "Referral Source: John Smith | Original Date: 
2020-01-15 | Old ID: 12345"

Common Import Scenarios

Scenario 1: From Another CRM

Scenario 2: From Email Marketing Platform

Scenario 3: From Spreadsheet

Scenario 4: Partial Import (Add New Fields to Existing Contacts)

Want to update existing contacts with new data?

Handling Import Errors

Common Errors and Fixes

Error: "Missing required field"

• Cause: Row has no email or phone
• Fix: Add email/phone in CSV, re-import

Error: "Invalid email format"

• Cause: Email like "john.com" (missing @)
• Fix: Correct emails in CSV

Error: "Duplicate email"

• Cause: Same email appears multiple times in CSV
• Fix: Remove duplicates in CSV before import

Error: "Row too long"

• Cause: Cell contains more than 10,000 characters
• Fix: Shorten notes/descriptions

Error: "Invalid phone number"

• Cause: Phone contains letters or special chars
• Fix: Clean phone numbers (numbers and +-() only)

Error: "CSV encoding issue"

• Cause: File saved with wrong character encoding
• Fix: Open in Excel, Save As → CSV UTF-8

Fixing Failed Rows

1. Download error report (CSV of failed rows)
2. Fix issues in the error report file
3. Re-import just the error report file
4. Repeat until all contacts imported

After Import Checklist

Import Best Practices

Do

✅ Clean data before importing

• Fix errors in CSV (faster than fixing in CRM)
• Standardize formatting
• Remove obvious test/spam entries

✅ Tag imports with date

• "Imported 2024-01"
• Easy to identify later
• Track import batches

✅ Test with small file first

• Import 10-20 contacts first
• Verify mapping is correct
• Then import full database

✅ Map all available fields

• More data = more powerful CRM
• Even if you don't use fields now
• Having data is better than not

✅ Use "Skip duplicates" first time

• Safest option
• Review duplicates manually
• Merge if needed

✅ Keep original export file

• Backup in case import fails
• Reference for troubleshooting
• Proof of data

Don't

❌ Don't import without field mapping review

• Auto-mapping is a suggestion, not always correct
• Always review every mapping

❌ Don't import test data to production

• Clean test contacts first
• Or import won't be useful

❌ Don't use "Import as new" for duplicates

• Creates a mess
• Hard to clean up later

❌ Don't ignore errors

• Fix and re-import failed rows
• Errors often reveal data quality issues

❌ Don't import without cleanup plan

• Budget time post-import for fixing
• Not everything will be perfect

❌ Don't import unsubscribed contacts as "subscribed"

• Legal issues (CAN-SPAM, GDPR)
• Respect previous opt-outs

Importing from Specific Platforms

From Zillow

1. Zillow doesn't have direct export
2. Manually copy leads or use Zillow API (if available)
3. Create CSV with: Name, Email, Phone, Property Interest
4. Import with source: "Zillow"

From Follow Up Boss

1. Go to Contacts → Export
2. Select all contacts and all fields
3. Export to CSV
4. Import to Panda IDX
5. Map custom fields to Notes or create custom fields first

From Realvolve

1. Settings → Import/Export → Export Contacts
2. Select date range (or all time)
3. Download CSV
4. Import to Panda IDX
5. Tags and custom fields map well

From Google Contacts

1. Google Contacts → Export
2. Choose "Google CSV format"
3. Download
4. Import to Panda IDX
5. Map Name, Email, Phone, Birthday, Notes

From iPhone

1. On Mac: Open Contacts app
2. Select contacts to export
3. File → Export → Export vCard
4. Use online converter: vCard → CSV
5. Import CSV to Panda IDX

From Mailchimp

1. Audience → All Contacts → Export Audience
2. Download CSV
3. Import to Panda IDX
4. Map: Email, First Name, Last Name, Tags
5. Note: Audience tags become Panda IDX tags

Large Database Imports

For 10,000+ contacts:

Troubleshooting Import Issues

File Won't Upload

Cause: File too large or wrong format

Solutions:

• Compress file (remove empty columns)
• Split into smaller files
• Save as CSV instead of Excel
• Check file isn't corrupted

Encoding/Character Issues

Symptoms: Weird characters (é → √©, etc.)

Solutions:

• Open CSV in Excel
• Save As → CSV UTF-8
• Re-upload

All Contacts Showing as Duplicates

Cause: Already imported before

Solutions:

• Change to "Update existing" if you want to update
• Or cancel import
• Check if contacts already in system

Custom Fields Not Importing

Cause: Custom fields don't exist yet

Solutions:

1. Create custom fields first
2. Return to import
3. Map CSV columns to new custom fields
4. Complete import

Quick Reference