Ever tried to move a pile of contacts into a new system, only to end up with a mess of duplicates and missing info? If you’re managing sales or customer relationships, you know the pain. This guide is for anyone who wants to bulk import contacts into Pipedrive and actually have things get cleaner—not messier.
Whether you’re switching from another CRM, wrangling a bunch of spreadsheets, or just trying to tidy up, I’ll walk you through what works (and what doesn’t) when you want to import and deduplicate contacts in Pipedrive. If you want a shiny, organized CRM, not a dumpster fire, keep reading.
Step 1: Get Your Data Ready Before Import
The most common mistake? Rushing the import. Garbage in, garbage out. So before you even touch Pipedrive, start here:
- Gather all your source files (CSV, Excel, Google Sheets, whatever).
- Standardize your columns. Make sure every file uses the same headers (e.g., First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone).
- Clean up your data. Fix typos, normalize formatting (like phone numbers), and clear out old test entries.
- Remove obvious duplicates. If you know you have a John Smith twice, fix it now. Pipedrive can help, but it’s not magic.
- Decide what matters. Do you want to import every field, or just basics? Too much noise makes deduping harder.
Pro tip: If you have multiple files, combine them into one spreadsheet. It’s easier to keep track of what you’re importing.
Step 2: Map Out Your Pipedrive Data Structure
Pipedrive is flexible, but that means you need to know how your data will fit. There are two main record types:
- People: Individual contacts (e.g., “Jane Doe”)
- Organizations: Companies or accounts (e.g., “Acme Inc.”)
You can link a person to an organization, but you don’t have to. Think about how you want relationships to look. If you skip this, you’ll end up with orphaned contacts or duplicate companies.
What to do:
- Decide if you want to import both people and organizations, or just people.
- If your spreadsheet has company names, make sure they’re consistent. “Acme Inc.” and “Acme Incorporated” will create separate organizations in Pipedrive.
- Have unique identifiers (like email addresses or company domains) if possible. This will help with deduplication later.
Step 3: Start the Import
Now you’re ready to actually upload. Here’s how to do it, step by step:
- Log in to Pipedrive.
- Go to the Contacts tab (People or Organizations).
- Click the “...” (More) menu, then select Import data.
- Choose your file (.csv, .xls, or .xlsx).
- Pipedrive will show you a mapping screen. Here’s where you match your spreadsheet columns to Pipedrive fields.
Things to watch for: - Double-check the field mapping. Pipedrive guesses, but it’s not always right. - If you haven’t created custom fields yet (like “Industry” or “Lead Source”), you can do it now or during mapping. - You can import people and organizations at the same time if your spreadsheet is set up right (with both names in their own columns).
Ignore the hype: The import tool is good, but it’s not psychic. If your data is messy, it’ll import messy.
Step 4: Use Pipedrive’s Built-In Deduplication
Once your import is done, Pipedrive will (usually) prompt you about possible duplicates. Here’s what happens:
- Pipedrive checks for exact matches on email addresses and organization names. Sometimes, phone numbers too.
- It flags what it thinks are duplicates and asks you what to do: merge, skip, or keep both.
How to handle it:
- Go to the Contacts view.
- Click the “...” menu and select Merge duplicates.
- Review each suggestion. Pipedrive will show you side-by-side records.
- Decide which data to keep (if, for example, one record has a phone, the other an address).
What works: The merge tool is straightforward and safe—you won’t lose data unless you tell it to overwrite.
What doesn’t work: Pipedrive only catches exact matches. “Jon Smith” and “John Smith” are seen as different people. It also can’t fix contacts with different emails but the same name.
Pro tip: Don’t just click “Merge all.” Review things manually if you care about data quality. If you have thousands of contacts, do this in batches.
Step 5: Clean Up What Pipedrive Missed
The built-in dedupe gets you maybe 80% there. For stubborn duplicates or “fuzzy” matches (misspelled names, swapped first/last names), you’ll need to get hands-on.
Options:
- Manual search: Use the search bar to look for common names or companies. Merge as you find duplicates.
- Export and re-import: If things are really messy, export your contacts, clean in Excel/Google Sheets (using formulas like
=UNIQUE()or=LOWER()), and re-import. - Third-party tools: Some apps (like Dedupely or Insycle) can connect to Pipedrive and do advanced deduplication. These cost money and aren’t always a silver bullet, but can help with big, messy lists.
What to ignore: Don’t waste time on tools that promise “AI-powered cleaning” unless you’ve actually seen them work. Most just automate the same basic checks.
Step 6: Set Up Ongoing Deduplication Habits
Even if you’ve imported perfectly, duplicates sneak in over time—especially if multiple people add contacts, or you sync with other tools.
How to keep things clean:
- Schedule a regular dedupe. Block 10 minutes weekly or monthly to run the merge tool.
- Train your team. Make sure everyone knows to search before adding a new contact.
- Use unique fields. Emails and company domains are the best bet.
- Limit integrations. Every sync (with marketing tools, forms, etc.) is a chance for duplicates.
Pro tip: If you use webforms or integrations, check their settings for “update existing contact” instead of “create new.” This small tweak saves major headaches.
Common Pitfalls and How To Dodge Them
- Importing before cleaning: Don’t. You’ll just have to do it all over again.
- Mapping mistakes: Double-check which fields go where. The wrong mapping can split your data in weird ways.
- Blindly merging: Always review. Two similar names aren’t always the same person.
- Relying on software for perfect deduplication: No tool is perfect. Human review is still the gold standard.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple and Iterate
Bulk importing and deduplicating contacts in Pipedrive isn’t rocket science, but it does pay to go slow and get it right the first time. Focus on clean, standardized data and don’t expect the software to fix everything. Once you’re through the initial import and cleanup, don’t let things pile up again—make a habit of regular checks, and keep your CRM a tool you actually want to use.
It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just better than yesterday.