Import Leads/Contacts- Uploading Data from CSV Spreadsheets Follow

Importing/Uploading Data from Excel (CSV Only)

The Legal CRM system features a user-friendly Import Wizard that makes it easy to import/upload data from other case management and CRM systems. It's also a helpful tool for performing bulk updates to the existing records in your CRM. This tutorial will also help familiarize you with how to import/upload spreadsheet data.

💡 The Legal CRM team is here to help. There is no charge for us to review your import files before you begin and help guide you through the import process since it can get a bit complex depending on the data that is being imported.  

Save Your Spreadsheet in CSV Format

First, please ensure that your import file is in CSV (Comma Separated Value) format. If you are using Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, both applications allow "Save As" into the "CSV" format.  CSV is the universal format for importing/exporting data.  

Using the Import Wizard

After your data is in the "CSV" format, you will open the Import Wizard in the CRM. Let’s get started! 

From the main navigation menu on the left, go to Setup > Import Wizard

⚠️ To complete an import, your user account must have Admin Rights, or you will not be able to see the menu options mentioned above. Please contact your firm administrator or IT department if you need assistance updating your account permissions.

💡 It is strongly recommended that you have headers in the first row of the uploaded CSV spreadsheet. This will make it a lot easier for you to map fields in the later steps. If your spreadsheet does not have headers, then we suggest that you go back and add them at this time, and then re-upload the spreadsheet again.
 

Step 1 – Choose Data Source

The first step of the Import Wizard is to choose a CSV spreadsheet file to upload for the data import. Click the "Choose File" button to select a spreadsheet:

Click the Continue button in the lower right corner to proceed to the next step.
 

Step 2 – Import Options

After you have uploaded a CSV spreadsheet, the next step is selecting the Import Type from the available dropdown options.

• Contacts - This option is to import a list or Rolodex of contacts into the CRM system. Contacts are the basis of every lead/case record in the CRM since a Primary Contact is required for every record in the system. You may import either individual or business contact types. Important Note: This option will import contacts only and will not create records. 

• Leads/Intakes - This option is the most common import type in the CRM. If you would like the import process to create or update lead records, select this option.

  ⚠️ Any new leads you import will also create an associated contact since the CRM requires a contact for every record. If the contact data in your spreadsheet already exists in the CRM, the system will use the existing contact(s) for any records created by the import. If the contact does not exist at the time of import, a new one will be created automatically.

• Referral Firms - This option is to import a list of law firms that will be used in the CRM as Referral Firms.  Any firms that are imported will be readily available to be added to a lead/case record by going to Finance > Firms and Fee Splits within the record. To see a complete list of Referral Firms in your CRM at any time, navigate to Setup > Manage Referral Firms.

• Cases/Matters - This option is only for the Law Ruler Cases module and should be used to import case records into the CRM. Any cases you import will also create a corresponding lead/intake, and a contact since the CRM requires both a contact and a lead/intake to create a case.  

  If the contact data in your spreadsheet already exists in the CRM, the system will use the existing contact(s) for any records created by the import. If the contact does not exist at the time of import, a new one will be created automatically.
  
  ⚠️ During the Case Import process, there will be leads/intakes that are created automatically. However, they will be locked and un-editable since the system does not allow editing of leads/intakes after they are made into a Case.  This allows for a clean audit trail of leads to cases.
   

Duplicate Checking in the Import Wizard

The Import Wizard includes four different options for duplicate checking of imported data. The available options are as follows:

• Skip - If a duplicate record is found, then skip the duplicate (i.e., leave the original record as it is). This is the most popular and safest option if your import is intended to create new records.

• Update - Update the existing record with data fields from the import data. Fields not included in the import data will be left as they are. Any data fields in the import file will overwrite existing data for imported fields. 

  This option can be used by including a column in your spreadsheet for the "Lead ID" and "Case ID" to pinpoint the records that need to be updated. 

  💡 As a helpful tip, if you would like to do an offline bulk update of data and then import those changes to the CRM using the Import Wizard, you could export a list of Lead IDs for existing records at any time from the Inbox or Custom Report Builder.

  ⚠️  This option will overwrite any existing data for the imported fields and cannot be undone.

• Fill - Fill in the additional data if it contains missing or blank fields in the existing records, and leave fields that currently have values as they are. This option will skip any existing fields that contain data and are not empty.

• No Duplicate Checking - This option will create all valid records without comparing them to existing records for possible duplicates. This will overwrite any existing data and could create duplicates.

  ⚠️ This duplicate checking option is not recommended unless you are an expert user and understand that the effects of this import type cannot be undone.
   

Using a Saved Field Mapping Template (Optional)

If you have previously created a Saved Field Mapping template in the Import Wizard, then it will be available to all users for any data imports in the future. This is optional and not required.

To select a Saved Field Mapping template, click the dropdown and choose from the available template options:

Click the Continue button in the lower right corner to proceed to the next step.
 

Step 3 – Match Fields

Mapping Fields from Your Spreadsheet

The next step is very important and one of the final steps in the Import Wizard.  You will need to map each field in your uploaded spreadsheet in the Match Fields screen, as shown below:

💡 It is strongly recommended that you have headers in the first row of the uploaded CSV spreadsheet. This will make it a lot easier for you to map fields in the later steps. If your spreadsheet does not have headers, then we suggest that you go back and add them at this time, and then re-upload the spreadsheet again.

You will see the Column Names from your uploaded spreadsheet in the first column.

The next two columns will show you a preview of your data in the row after the headers. This is very helpful for choosing the corresponding field for mapping.

The last column is Matching CRM Field, and field selection is required. You must select each field that you would like to import. Any fields that you do not map will be skipped and not imported, so only choose the fields that you would like to import.

Beneath the field mapping section, there are some additional default options you can select but are not required. This section allows you to set a default Lead Assignee, Owner, Status, Case Type, and/or Source for ALL imported records. Leave these options unselected if you do not want to set a default for all imported records. Alternatively, you could include these columns in your uploaded spreadsheet if you would like to set them for each record that is imported.

To proceed with the import right away, leave the Create instantly checkbox select.

Lastly, you have the option to save the Field Mapping you did for this import so that it can be used in future imports. If don't want to save the Field Mapping, uncheck the Save this field mapping checkbox.

Click the Continue button in the lower right corner to proceed to the next step.
 

Step 4 – Preview

In this step, the system will validate the data in your uploaded CSV file and inform you if any issues are identified prior to the import. 

If no issues or errors are found in the data validation, the Row with Errors section will show 0.

If any issues are found, you'll be given an option to Download Errors (as shown below) so that you can review and correct the data as needed before proceeding.

When you're ready to move forward, click the Import Now button to proceed with the import process.

After the import is fully processed and complete, you will receive an email from the CRM notifying you of the total count of how many records were successfully imported or had issues.  

⚠️ Important Note: Imports can take several minutes to hours depending on the volume of imported data.