Import Accounts from Excel file

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Hi there, I've tried searching through past posts but haven't found a clear answer.

I am trying to import new Accounts into my CRM but struggling to find a method that works. So far:

I have exported my Account data from my previous CRM into an excel file.
I've downloaded the "Accounts" template from Dynamics.

This is the part that I'm stuck on - the table format of the data that I exported from my old CRM is not the same as the table format of the template. Is there an easy application I can use to map my fields to the corresponding fields in Dynamics?

I've tried navigating to Settings -> Data Management -> Imports

I've also taken a look at the Data Loader on this page https://integrator.lcs.dynamics.com/DataLoader/Index

Is there an easier way to do this? I thought importing and data mapping would be much more intuitive than this.

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gtwynstra 510 on at

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Data importing is never fun and the correct answer to your question probably depends on the volume and quality of the data.

Assuming you are simply importing a reasonable amount of clean Account data (not 100's of thousands of records), my approach would be this:

1) Clean up the date in Excel and re-save the data as an XML Worksheet 2003 format (.xml)

2) Go to Settings-->System-->Data Management --> Imports and then click on Import Data

3) Walk through the import wizard until the "Select Data Map" screen.

4) Select the option "Default (Automatic Mapping)" <-- this will try to map your column names with the names in CRM

5) On the next page select "Account" as the CRM Record Type.

6) On the next page you need to map any fields which have not been automatically mapped.

7) On the "Review Settings and Import Data" form, make sure you enter a name in the "Data Map Name" field so that if there is an issue with the import you can reuse the mapping you just created (and avoid having to re-map everything again).

After the import completes, make sure to check for failures. If there are lots of failures, bulk delete the records, fix the .xml file, and try again.

Here's a link with more details:

www.microsoft.com/.../import-accounts-leads-or-other-data.aspx

If you have crazy amounts of data or need to built relational data with contacts, activities, notes, etc...that's a completely different ball game. I've used Scribe and KingswaySoft for large scale data imports and situations like this.

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antc 2,909 on at

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You can follow the Import Wizard and map the fields with the wizard. Then at the end of the wizard you can save it as a data map so if you have to redo it the mapping will be remembered.

Not really any easier ways as they all have step learning curves for your task such as SSIS or similar.

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