What fields does a CRM CSV import typically require?

Most CRMs require at minimum first_name, last_name, and email. Additional fields like phone, company, and title are optional but improve record matching and segmentation.

How do I handle international phone numbers in CSV?

Store phones in E.164 format (+15550101) to ensure consistent formatting across countries. Quote the field if you include dashes, spaces, or parentheses.

What should I do with blank fields in a contacts CSV?

Empty fields like the phone in the Dave row are fine in CSV — they appear as adjacent commas or are omitted. Most CRM importers treat empty fields as null and leave existing values unchanged.

Format a CSV Contacts List

Contact lists exported from or imported into CRMs, email marketing tools, and address books use CSV as the universal format. This example shows a contacts file with fields common to most CRM systems. The CSV viewer helps you verify column names match the target system before import. Use the remove-duplicates tool to clean up contacts lists before uploading to avoid duplicate records.

Example

first_name,last_name,email,phone,company,title,city,country
Alice,Johnson,[email protected],+1-555-0101,Acme Corp,CTO,San Francisco,US
Bob,Smith,[email protected],+1-555-0102,TechCo,Engineer,Austin,US
Carol,White,[email protected],+49-30-1234,EuroFirm GmbH,Director,Berlin,DE
Dave,Brown,[email protected],,StartupXYZ,Founder,London,GB
Eve,Davis,[email protected],+1-555-0105,Design Agency,Designer,New York,US

[ open in CSV File Viewer → ]

FAQ

What fields does a CRM CSV import typically require?: Most CRMs require at minimum first_name, last_name, and email. Additional fields like phone, company, and title are optional but improve record matching and segmentation.
How do I handle international phone numbers in CSV?: Store phones in E.164 format (+15550101) to ensure consistent formatting across countries. Quote the field if you include dashes, spaces, or parentheses.
What should I do with blank fields in a contacts CSV?: Empty fields like the phone in the Dave row are fine in CSV — they appear as adjacent commas or are omitted. Most CRM importers treat empty fields as null and leave existing values unchanged.

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