Import your contacts from a spreadsheet or another CRM
Import contacts into Realtor Desk from any CSV: the columns it recognises, what is kept in metadata, what is skipped, and why consent is not imported.
Export a CSV, upload it, and your contacts are in. This page lists exactly which columns the importer reads, what it keeps, and what it does not do, so you can prepare the file before you start.
Short answer
Realtor Desk imports contacts from a CSV file. It reads names, email, phone, source and tags, keeps company, job title and notes in the contact's metadata, and skips rows with no name and no email. It does not import consent, merge duplicates or bring over deals, so clean the file first and record consent afterwards.
The columns it reads
Headers are matched by name, ignoring case, spaces and punctuation, so “First Name” and first_name are the same column.
What is kept in the contact's metadata
These have no dedicated field, so the importer stores them in the contact's metadata rather than dropping them:
A column that matches none of the above is not imported.
What it does not do
Before you import
- De-duplicate the file. Sort by email and remove repeats, because the importer will not.
- Check the headers. Rename any column that does not match the table above.
- Try twenty rows first. See how they land, then import the rest.
- Record consent afterwards. Our CASL guide for real estate email explains the consent windows.
Questions
Related
- A free CRM spreadsheet template to start from.
- Moving from Follow Up Boss and from LionDesk .
- Importing listings from Realtor.ca , which is a separate importer.
Try it with twenty contacts
14 days, then CAD $149 a month. A card is collected up front and nothing is charged before day 14.
first name, firstname, given name
last name, lastname, family name, surname
full name, name, contact name, display name. Split on the first space when there is no first or last name
email, email address, e-mail, emailaddress
phone, mobile, phone number, mobile phone, cell, cell phone, telephone
source, lead source. Defaults to an import label when blank
tags, labels. Separate several tags with semicolons
Company name (company, organization, employer)
Company website (domain, website)
Job title (title, position, role)
Notes (notes, comments, description)
The original full name, when it was split into first and last
Record consent. Imported contacts carry no consent date or source.
Merge duplicates. Rows are inserted as they are, so clean the file first.
Bring over deals, conversations or automations. A CSV creates contacts only.
Read Google or Microsoft contacts directly. Those connections are not live.
Offer a column-mapping screen. Headers are matched by name, so rename a column if it is not recognised.
What file formats can I import?
CSV only. Export your spreadsheet or your old CRM's contacts as a CSV and upload that. The importer copes with quoted fields that contain commas, the byte-order mark Excel adds, and Windows or mixed line endings.
Do my column names have to match exactly?
No, but they have to be close. Headers are matched by name after lower-casing and replacing spaces and punctuation, so "First Name", "first_name" and "FIRSTNAME" all work. There is no mapping screen, so if a column is not recognised, rename it in the file before you import.
What happens to columns it does not recognise?
Company, website, job title and notes are kept in the contact's metadata rather than dropped. Any other column is not imported.
Are imported contacts ready to email?
No. The import does not capture consent, and under CASL the burden of proving consent is on you. Record the date and source of consent for each contact before you email it, and only for contacts you have a basis to message.
Does it remove duplicates?
No. It inserts rows as they are and does not merge them, so a contact that appears twice in your file will be created twice. De-duplicate in your spreadsheet first, and import a file once.
How will I know what went in?
When the import finishes it reports how many rows were imported and how many were not. Rows with neither a name nor an email are skipped, and skipped rows are counted among the errors.