Prepare import columns and custom fields
Format references, money, dates, native record links and typed custom fields correctly.
Where to goSales CRM → Import & export → Choose and review CSV → Column reference and custom fields
Before you start
Use your own authorised staff account in the intended Pixie CRM workspace. The Sales CRM module must be available and your role must include the permissions stated above. Existing leads, customers, communications and customer portal pages retain their normal access rules.
Follow these steps
- Keep external_key and title in every file. Use a source-system reference such as legacy:deal-1042 as the external key.
- Use amount for the deal value, probability for an integer percentage, close_date for the expected closing date and next_step for the follow-up instruction.
- Use forecast_category with pipeline, best_case, commit or omitted. Optional description and lost_reason columns hold plain text.
- Use pipeline_id, stage_id, owner_id and currency_id only when a row must override the selected defaults. Use existing CRM numeric IDs, not display names.
- Use customer_id, contact_id and lead_id for existing relationships. A contact must belong to its selected customer, and both the importer and proposed owner need their normal native record access.
- For custom information, use the exact custom_ID heading shown in the form. Download a fresh template when the available fields have changed.
Behavior and limits
- External keys are case-sensitive, 1–100 characters, start with a letter or number, and may contain letters, numbers, dots, underscores, colons and hyphens. Surrounding whitespace is trimmed. A key must occur only once per file.
- Amounts use a decimal point, no currency symbols or thousands separators, and at most two decimal places. Blank amount becomes zero. Probability must be an integer from 0 to 100; blank probability uses the selected stage’s configured probability.
- Dates use YYYY-MM-DD between 2000 and 2099. Won deals need a close date; Lost deals need a loss reason; configured stage requirements also apply.
- Text custom fields accept plain text. Number fields allow up to four decimal places. Choice fields require an exact configured choice. Checkbox fields use 0 or 1; a required checkbox must be 1.
- Only currently available custom fields can be supplied. Administrator-only fields are unavailable to ordinary sellers and cannot be injected through CSV.
- Quote a field containing commas, line breaks or quotes. Double any quote inside a quoted field. Unfinished quotes, unknown or repeated headers and inconsistent column counts are rejected.
Check it worked
- Review one representative row and confirm no column was shifted by an unquoted comma.
- Check required custom-field values and any row-level overrides before creating the batch.
Troubleshooting
- A missing or restricted field message can mean the field was retired or your role cannot use it. Refresh the workspace and template.
- A default-stage mismatch means the chosen stage does not belong to the row’s selected pipeline. Set both IDs consistently.
- If a spreadsheet adds a currency symbol, exponent notation or local date formatting, convert the cell to the required plain value before saving CSV.