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CRM Data Migration Guide

How to move your data without losing anything

15 min read
Updated January 2025
1,654 downloads

In This Guide:

Learn the step-by-step process for migrating from spreadsheets or another CRM to your new system without data loss or business disruption.

1.Migration Planning

Successful migration starts with thorough planning:

Data Audit

  • Identify all data sources
  • Assess data quality
  • Determine what to migrate
  • Plan cleanup strategy

    • Migration Timeline

  • Pre-migration prep: 2 weeks
  • Data cleanup: 1-2 weeks
  • Test migration: 1 week
  • Final migration: 1-2 days
  • Validation: 1 week

    • Risk Management

  • Backup everything
  • Plan rollback procedures
  • Identify critical data
  • Schedule during slow period

    • 2.Data Preparation

    Clean data migrates better:

    Standardization

  • Consistent formatting
  • Unified naming conventions
  • Address normalization
  • Phone number formats

    • Deduplication

  • Identify duplicates
  • Merge records carefully
  • Preserve important data
  • Update references

    • Validation

  • Required fields
  • Data types
  • Relationship integrity
  • Business rules

    • Key Takeaways

    • ✓Planning prevents migration disasters
    • ✓Clean data before migration
    • ✓Test thoroughly before final migration
    • ✓Keep backups of everything

    Related Tools & Resources

    Migration Planning Template

    Step-by-step migration project plan

    Access Tool

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