Importing Overview

Before you get started it is important to know that you may not need to import contacts into Cloze at all. Contacts are stored in many places (e.g., mobile devices, email marketing software, other CRMs, email platforms, etc.) and Cloze is designed to help you consolidate them into one place. Cloze creates contacts automatically from your past email conversations and other sources like your phone contacts, so you will find that your key relationships are already in Cloze.

Getting Started

There are two options for importing a spreadsheet:

1. Send us your spreadsheet: If you have never imported a file before, we recommend reviewing the common questions below and reaching out to our team at support@cloze.com for guidance. 
2. Import the spreadsheet yourself: Cloze has a built-in data mapper to make it easy. Here are instructions on how to import your file. 

Common Questions

How Importing Works

• The header row (first row) contains column names that tell Cloze what data is in each column.
• Rows represent individual records (like a contact with their details). One row can map to one or more records in Cloze.
• Columns represent fields (like phone number or email) for the rows below. Cloze matches these to its own fields during import.
• After analysis, you can review and adjust the mapping before finalizing the import.

Do I need to import a spreadsheet to start using Cloze?

Importing data from a spreadsheet is optional. Cloze creates contacts automatically from your past email conversations and other sources like your phone contacts you will find that your key relationships are already in Cloze. 

Cloze also includes built-in integrations for many different platforms so you don't need to import contacts with a spreadsheet. Start by reviewing these integrations:

• iPhone or iPad Contacts
• Android Phone or Android Tablet Contacts
• An email provider 
• A marketing email platform like Mailchimp

If you have organized contacts in another system, exporting this data and importing it into Cloze can be a helpful way to save redoing this organization in Cloze. 

What type of data can you import into Cloze?

You can import several different types of data into Cloze:

• People (contacts)
• Companies 
• Properties (aka Projects, Deals, Jobs, etc.) 
• Content Records (e.g. a timeline note)
• Communications Records (e.g. texts, chat messages, email, call records, and meetings)
• To-dos (e.g. tasks)

You can import one or more of the above types using a single import file. 

How does importing data into Cloze work?

There are three primary steps:

1. You will export your data out of another system or organize your existing CSV or Excel spreadsheet.
   1. Review our help article for how to prepare your CSV file before uploading it.
   2. Each piece of data should be broken out into a unique column.
2. Then you will navigate to our importer in Cloze and import the file. 
   1. The importer will analyze your file and tell you what data will import successfully into Cloze and prompt if there are any changes needed.
   2. You can optionally adjust the mapping and even do a dry run before it imports into Cloze. 
   3. When you are ready, you can import your file. 
3. Begin using your data in Cloze.

Tips

• We recommend exporting a template out of your Cloze account to help guide you. This template will be customized to your account and include any Custom Fields you have added to Cloze. 
• The first row of the spreadsheet must contain the column header names (First Name, Last Name, Company, Stage, Segment etc). Please remove all extra rows above these labels. 
• Check all column headers in your original CSV or Excel file and make any necessary changes to map them to their equivalent name in Cloze. 
• To import contacts, all upload records (each row) must contain at least: 
  • an email address or 
  • mobile phone number or 
  • a name and phone number
  • a name and complete delivery postal address:
    • street number and name or post office box number and secondary descriptor and number (e.g., suite or apartment number, floor) if needed
    • city and state
    • postal code
• After you've prepared your Excel or CSV, upload a small sample file of 2-3 rows of contact information to make sure everything is imported as expected.
• Contact support by clicking on the red "Contact Support" button below if you have questions, before you upload. We're happy to review your prepared file and provide recommendations.