If you’re using Zoho CRM, you already know how fast contact lists can get messy. Maybe marketing sent over a spreadsheet, sales has their own stash, and now you’ve got duplicates everywhere. Bad data isn’t just annoying—it can mess up your sales process, email campaigns, and reporting. This guide is for anyone who’s had enough and wants a simple, no-nonsense way to import contacts and keep things clean.
Let’s walk through the steps to import your contacts into Zoho and get rid of duplicates before they cause headaches. We’ll talk about what works, what doesn’t, and how to avoid common mistakes.
Why data hygiene matters (and why Zoho makes it tricky)
You’d think importing contacts would be a solved problem in 2024. But most CRMs—including Zoho—make it easy to create duplicates if you’re not careful. Here’s why it’s worth caring:
- Duplicate contacts waste everyone’s time. Sales reps call the same person twice, marketing sends duplicate emails, and reporting is a mess.
- Garbage in = garbage out. If you start with bad data, everything downstream suffers.
- Fixing it later is 10x harder. Deduplication after the fact is a slog—and can risk losing good data if you’re not careful.
Zoho CRM has some built-in tools for deduplication, but they’re not always obvious or foolproof. If you want to keep things tidy, you need to know what to look for.
Step 1: Prep your contact list before importing
Don’t just upload whatever spreadsheet you’ve got. Garbage in, garbage out.
What to do:
- Clean up your spreadsheet first.
- Delete obvious duplicates by eye.
- Standardize fields (e.g., “First Name” vs “Firstname,” phone formats, etc.).
- Remove empty rows and weird characters.
- Use unique identifiers.
- If you have email addresses for everyone, great—these make for solid dedupe keys later.
- No email? Use phone numbers or another field that’s likely unique.
- Decide what you want to keep.
- If you’ve got conflicting info (e.g., two different phone numbers for the same person), decide which one wins before you import.
Pro tip: If you’re merging lists from different sources, add a column noting the original source. This helps later if you need to trace where duplicates came from.
Step 2: Understand Zoho’s import options (and their quirks)
Zoho CRM lets you import contacts in a couple of ways:
- Direct spreadsheet upload (CSV, XLS, XLSX)
- Migration from other CRMs
- API imports (for the nerds and automation folks)
For most people, it’s going to be a spreadsheet upload. Here’s what to watch for:
- Zoho matches fields based on names, but not always how you expect. Double-check the field mapping step—Zoho’s guesses aren’t always right.
- Pick the right module. Make sure you’re importing to “Contacts,” not “Leads” or some custom thing.
- Zoho asks about duplicate handling, but the options are a bit buried. More on that below.
Step 3: Import contacts and set up deduplication
Let’s get to the actual import.
3.1 Start the import
- Go to your Zoho CRM dashboard.
- Click on the “Contacts” module.
- Look for the “Import” button (usually top right). Select your spreadsheet.
- Follow the prompts to map your spreadsheet columns to Zoho fields. Don’t rush this—wrong mapping = messy data.
3.2 Use Zoho’s built-in duplicate check
This part is easy to overlook, but it matters.
- Zoho will ask how to handle duplicates. Your choices:
- Skip: Don’t import if a duplicate is found.
- Overwrite: Replace Zoho’s data with your file’s data.
- Clone: Import anyway, even if it’s a duplicate (don’t do this unless you like cleaning up later).
What actually works: If you trust your spreadsheet, “Overwrite” is fine. If you’re not sure, “Skip” is safer—you can always import missing contacts later.
- Define your matching fields. By default, Zoho uses “Email” as the unique field. If your contacts don’t all have emails, you can pick another field (like phone number). Choose carefully—if your data’s inconsistent, you’ll miss duplicates.
- Review the import summary. Zoho shows how many records were imported, skipped, or errored out. Save this report—it helps you spot issues.
Pro tip: Zoho’s duplicate detection is only as good as your data. If emails are spelled differently (“john.smith@gmail.com” vs “johnsmith@gmail.com”), you’ll still get duplicates.
Step 4: Use Zoho’s deduplication tools (but don’t expect miracles)
Even if you try your best, duplicates can sneak in. Zoho CRM has a built-in “Find & Merge Duplicates” feature. Here’s how to use it—and what to watch out for.
4.1 Where to find deduplication
- In the “Contacts” module, click the three-dot menu (or “More Options”), then choose “Find & Merge Duplicates.”
- Pick the field(s) you want Zoho to check—email, phone, or custom fields.
- Zoho will show potential duplicate groups. You can review and merge them.
4.2 The reality of deduplication
- Zoho isn’t very smart about fuzzy matches. “Jon Smith” and “John Smith” won’t match. Nor will “(555) 123-4567” and “5551234567.”
- Merging is manual. You have to review and approve merges, one group at a time. This is slow if you’ve got lots of duplicates.
- Data loss is possible. If two contacts have different info (say, one has a phone number, the other has an address), Zoho will ask you which value wins. No automatic magic here.
- Custom dedupe rules are limited. You can’t set up complex matching logic without a third-party tool or custom scripting.
Honest take: Zoho’s dedupe tool works okay for simple, obvious matches. For anything messy, expect to spend time reviewing.
Step 5: What to do if you still have duplicates
If Zoho’s built-in tools aren’t enough—and for bigger, messier databases, they probably won’t be—here are your options:
- Export your contacts, clean them externally, and re-import.
- This is old-school, but sometimes it’s faster. Use Excel, Google Sheets, or a tool like OpenRefine.
- Try a third-party deduplication tool.
- There are paid add-ons and marketplace apps for Zoho that promise better deduplication. Some are decent (like Dedupely or Insycle), but they cost extra and require setup.
- Get your team to agree on data entry rules.
- This sounds boring, but it works. If everyone enters names, emails, and phone numbers the same way, you’ll have fewer issues later.
Ignore: Fancy “AI-powered” deduplication tools that promise to fix everything in one click. They usually over-promise and get expensive fast. Stick to basics unless you really have a huge, complex dataset.
Step 6: Keep things clean going forward
Importing and cleaning up once is good. Setting up habits and tools to keep things tidy is better.
- Set up validation rules in Zoho CRM.
- Require email addresses or phone numbers for new contacts.
- Block obviously bad data (like “test@test.com”).
- Schedule regular dedupe checks.
- Once a month, run through Zoho’s “Find & Merge Duplicates.” It takes less time than you think if you do it regularly.
- Train your team.
- Show your team how to search before adding a new contact.
- Make it clear who’s responsible for keeping data clean.
Quick FAQ
Q: Can I undo a merge in Zoho CRM?
A: Not easily. Once you merge contacts, it’s mostly permanent. Always double-check before merging.
Q: What if I’m importing contacts who might already exist?
A: Use the “Skip” or “Overwrite” options during import, and pick the right matching field (email is best).
Q: Does Zoho CRM deduplicate across modules (like Leads and Contacts)?
A: Nope. You have to dedupe each module separately. Leads and Contacts are treated as different objects.
Keep it simple: iterate, don’t aim for perfect
You don’t need a PhD in data management to keep your Zoho CRM contacts clean. Start with a solid import, use Zoho’s built-in dedupe tools, and check in regularly. Don’t stress about making it perfect—just aim to get a little better each time you import or clean up data. The fewer duplicates you have, the easier everything else becomes.