With the introduction of our new Imports feature, you can upload CSV files containing Accounts and their information, and files containing Account Names and their alternatives. This support article will dive into the possibilities, and everything you need to know.
Navigating the Imports screen
- If you have any doubts or questions, click the information icon to go to this page.
- If you're looking to do uploads that are not yet supported in the new Imports screen, you can navigate to the older interface.
- Visit the Import Configurations page to set up a Configuration for the format of the file of data that you have.
- If you're ready to upload your file, you can initiate the upload process by clicking the "Upload" button.
- All uploads done previously will be listed here in chronological order (newest first). The status of the upload is indicated, as well as the date and time of upload, which Configuration was used, and how successful the upload was.
- Using the search bar above the table you can easily find files previously uploaded. Any data displayed is searchable - any file listed on this page, and of those files, all displayed information.
- You can drill-down on records that Failed to be uploaded to find out what went wrong, and download an upload-able copy of the records that failed.
Feature note:
This import method only allows you to add and update Account fields, if you'd like to also import data for survey records, use the Multi-object or Surveys import method.
Preparing to upload
To start an upload, you'll first have to know what kind of data you'd like to add to CustomerGauge.
You can upload the following types of data:
- Accounts: These are the companies you have business with. Uploading Accounts will (soon) allow you to filter Account-based reporting widgets, and allows you to get a grip on your Accounts.
- Account Aliases: These are alternative names of your Accounts. This is very helpful to keep your data sanitized. You can read more about Account Aliases here.
- Contacts: These are the people you're doing business with - multiple Contacts make up the different Accounts. You can upload Contacts to trigger manual emails to them.
Know what data you'd like to upload? Great! You're almost ready to go.
Please make sure you have a file with your data, and that it meets these requirements:
- The file is less than 15MB in size;
- The file contains 5,000 rows or less (you can split your files following this support article - make sure to save the split files as CSV);
- The file is CSV, with a "comma" or "semicolon" as CSV Delimiter;
- The file has a CSV header row.
- Each field has only up to 128 characters.
Note: if your CSV file is following the RFC 4180 industry standard, you should be good to go.
Once you have verified that your file meets the above requirements, you're ready to continue.
In order to upload data, an Import Configuration has to be created. That might sound daunting, but don't worry - it's easy, and you only have to do this once!
You can create an Import Configuration beforehand, or as part of the upload process.
How to do an upload?
- Press the Upload button at the top-right corner (see number "4" in the screenshot above), and click on the option with the data type you wish to upload and press Next.
- Now you can choose which Import Configuration you'd like to use. Since this is probably your first time, you can create a New Configuration. To do so, choose "+ New Configuration" from the drop-down.
- Once you're in the next screen, follow these steps:
- Configuration Details ➡ Configuration Name: Give your Configuration a name that you, or your colleagues can recognize it so that it can be used again in the future. We recommend naming it after the system where you got your data from, e.g. "Salesforce Accounts Export".
- File Settings ➡ CSV Delimiter: Choose the CSV Delimiter that is used in your CSV file. We currently support "comma" and "semicolon".
- File Mapping: Use the drop-down to add all the fields you'd like to import from your file. You don't need to add fields for data you don't want to import.
In each row, make sure you fill in the "File Heading" field with the value of the column header in your CSV file.
Please note: the Fields that are available in the drop-down are controlled by Global Administrators using System Settings ➡ Field Settings. Work together with your System Admin to make sure you get the fields you need. - When you're ready, hit the Save button - this will take you back to the upload process.
- Take a moment to review the Import Configuration you've created - are all the fields you'd like to import represented and mapped correctly?
If it's not correct, you'll need to Edit the Import Configuration. To do so, head to the Imports Screen in a new browser tab. Click on the Configurations button in the top-right corner, and then Edit the Import Configuration you just created. - If all is good, press the Next button. You'll now go to the step where you can upload your file.
- Drag your file into the designated area (or click the "Choose File" button). Once you've done so, we'll have a quick look at your file to make sure it meets our requirements. Press the next button once it becomes available.
If anything is wrong with your file, we'll tell you. Simply make the amendments needed and try uploading your file again. - You should now be in the Confirmation step. On each row you'll see each of the fields that you've configured to be imported:
- CustomerGauge Field: This column lists the fields in your CustomerGauge platform that you're about to import data into.
- CSV Header: This column shows you the header of the CSV column that is mapped to the CustomerGauge Field on the same row.
- Row 1, Row2, and Row3: These three columns show you a sample of your file. This helps identify if your data is all mapped up correctly.
- Take a moment to look at how your file will be interpreted. If all looks as you would expect, you can click the Upload button - this will start the import process.
If anything does not seem right, make sure you've uploaded the correct file, are using the correct Import Configuration, and edit your Import Configuration accordingly. In case of a misconfiguration, you'll usually notice that the values are empty for a particular field. - You're all done! You can now visit the Imports page to track the progress.
Once the import process is finished, if there have been any failures, you can click on the number of Failed records. This will list all the validations that have not been met. More on this in the Diagnosing Upload Failures below.
What are Import Configurations?
Import Configurations are sets of rules that will be applied on a certain import process. Traditionally you would have to map your file every time you do an upload - with Import Configurations you only have to do so once per type of file. This is really helpful to cover all the various systems you're exporting data from - or for larger organizations where data tends to vary a lot between business units. You can read more about Import Configurations here.
Diagnosing Upload Failures
Did something not go as planned? Check out our most up-to-date Diagnosing Upload Failures guide!