Import your existing contacts, companies, and deals from a CSV file so you can start working with your data in Clarify right away. This is the fastest way to migrate from another CRM or bring in a list of prospects, accounts, or open deals.

Prepare your files

Create separate CSV files for each record type:

companies.csv
people.csv
deals.csv

Each file needs column headers in the first row and must be under 30MB.

Import order matters:

Import companies first
Import people second, then map a Company name or domain column to link them to the companies you imported first
Import deals last — note that deal→company and deal→people links aren't set automatically from CSV columns. See About relationships during import below.

Import process

Step 1: Upload your file

Navigate to Companies, People, or Deals. Click the three dots in the top right corner and select Import CSV.

Start the import from the object that matches your file: import a list of companies from Companies, people from People, and deals from Deals. The page you start from determines the record type that gets created. For example, a company list imported from the People page won't create companies - it tries to link each row to a company that already exists, and fails with "Couldn't find Company record" if none is found.

Upload your CSV file and confirm the basic info looks correct.

Step 2: Map your columns

Clarify automatically maps columns to existing fields when possible. Manually map any columns that weren't matched automatically.

If this is your first import:

Leave unmapped columns unselected to skip them
Create new fields during import if needed (all field types supported)

If you're adding to existing data:

Check Unique next to one or more fields (like Name or Email) to update existing records instead of creating duplicates
Example: check Unique next to Email for people, or Name for companies

Step 3: Review and fix validation errors

Review your data. The validation screen shows two sections:

Needs review — data with issues that need fixing
Automatically mapped — data ready to import (still editable if needed)

Invalid values will prevent those rows from importing. Fix errors by editing values or choose to skip them.

Create new options for select fields directly during this step.

Step 4: Complete the import

Click Import data to start. Progress shows in the sidebar.

When complete, you'll see a summary showing:

Successfully imported records
Failed rows (download CSV to fix and re-import)

All imported records get an import label and appear in a new auto-generated list.

What happens during import

Automatic company-person linking:

To link people to their companies, map a Company name or Company domain column to the Company field during mapping. Clarify matches it to a company that already exists, so import companies first.
People are not linked by email domain, and the importer does not create missing companies for you. Rows whose company isn\'t found are flagged so you can fix and re-import.

Updating existing records:

When unique-field matching finds an existing record, only non-empty fields from your import are updated
Example: importing a deal called "Microsoft" with only an amount field updates just the amount — other fields stay unchanged
If no match is found, a new record is created

Background processing:

Large imports run in the background
Close your browser if you need to — progress shows in the sidebar when you return

About relationships during import

The CSV importer creates records, but it doesn't fill in every relationship between them.

What links automatically:

People to Companies — only when you map a Company name or Company domain column to the Company field. The company must already exist (import companies first), and unmatched rows are flagged to fix and re-import. People are not linked by email domain.

What doesn't link automatically:

Deals → Companies — the importer doesn't set the company reference on a deal during import.
Deals → People — same as above.
Other custom relationship fields.

If you have many existing records that need linking after import: reach out to support and we'll let you know what's possible for your account. For small numbers, edit records directly in Clarify.

Troubleshooting

"Couldn't find Company record" error:

A mapped Company column is trying to link to a company that doesn't exist in Clarify yet.
Most common cause: a list of companies was imported from the People page. Import it from Companies instead.
If you're importing people, import your companies first, then re-run the people import.

Rows failed to import:

Download the failed rows CSV from the summary page
Fix the errors listed
Re-import the corrected file

Duplicate records created:

Use the Unique checkbox during field mapping to update existing records instead of creating new ones
Already have duplicates? See Merging records in Clarify