Importing Data

Import data from CSV files, spreadsheets, or other CRMs to get started quickly with Twenty.

Import Overview

Twenty’s import tool helps you:

Import CSV files - From Excel, Google Sheets, or exports
Map fields - Match your columns to Twenty fields
Handle duplicates - Skip, update, or create new records
Preview data - Review before importing
Track progress - Monitor import status

Preparing Your Data

Before importing, prepare your CSV file:

CSV File Requirements

File Format

UTF-8 encoding
Comma-separated (,)
First row contains headers
Max file size: 100 MB

Data Quality

Clean data (remove formatting)
Consistent date formats
Valid email addresses
Remove duplicate rows

Data Cleaning Tips

Remove unnecessary columns

Delete columns you don’t need in Twenty.

Standardize formats

Ensure consistency:

Dates: YYYY-MM-DD (2026-03-15)
Phone: +1-555-123-4567
Currency: 50000 (no $ or commas)
Boolean: true/false or 1/0

Clean text fields

Remove:

Extra spaces
Line breaks (unless intended)
Special characters that cause issues

Handle empty values

Decide how to handle:

Leave blank or use default
“N/A” or actual empty

Importing Data

Step-by-Step Import

Navigate to import

Go to the object you want to import to:

Companies, People, Opportunities, or custom object
Click Options (···) → Import

Upload CSV file

Click Upload CSV or drag and drop
File uploads and parses
See column preview

Map fields

Match CSV columns to Twenty fields:

CSV Column → Twenty Field
"Company Name" → Name
"Website URL" → Website
"Industry" → Industry
"Annual Sales" → Annual Revenue
"Contact Email" → Email
"Phone" → Phone Number

Auto-mapping suggests matches
Manually adjust as needed
Unmapped columns are skipped

Set duplicate handling

Choose what to do with duplicates:Match by: Email, Name, or custom fieldWhen match found:

Skip - Don’t import duplicate
Update - Overwrite existing record
Create - Add as new record

Preview import

Review sample records:

See how data will import
Check field mappings
Verify values look correct

Start import

Click Import to begin.

Progress bar shows status
See success/error counts
Import runs in background

Review results

Check import summary:

Total rows: 1,000
Successfully imported: 950
Updated: 30
Skipped (duplicates): 15
Failed: 5

Download error report for failed rows.

Field Mapping

Auto-Mapping

Twenty automatically suggests mappings based on:

Column name similarity
Data type compatibility
Common field names

Example auto-mapping:

"Company" → Name
"Email" → Email Address
"Phone" → Phone Number
"City" → City
"State" → State

Manual Mapping

Adjust mappings when auto-mapping is wrong:

Click the dropdown for a CSV column
Select the correct Twenty field
Or choose Don’t import to skip

Field Type Compatibility

Accept any value:

CSV: "Acme Corporation"
Twenty: Name field (Text)

Require numeric values:

✅ Valid: 50000, 1234.56
❌ Invalid: "$50,000", "N/A"

Remove currency symbols and commas before importing.

Support multiple formats:

Supported:
- 2026-03-15
- 03/15/2026
- March 15, 2026

Time (Date/Time fields):
- 2026-03-15 14:30:00
- 2026-03-15T14:30:00Z

Accept various formats:

True: true, TRUE, 1, yes, YES, Y
False: false, FALSE, 0, no, NO, N
Empty: blank (no value)

Must match existing options exactly:

Field: Status
Options: Active, Inactive, Prospect

✅ CSV Value: "Active"
❌ CSV Value: "active" (wrong case)
❌ CSV Value: "In Progress" (doesn't exist)

Add new options before importing or they’ll fail.

Use semicolons to separate:

CSV: "High Priority;Client-Facing;Urgent"
Twenty: Tags field (Multi-Select)
Result: 3 tags applied

Match by identifier:

CSV Column: "Company Name"
Twenty Field: Company (Relation)
Matching: By company name

If match found: Links to existing company
If not found: Can create new company or skip

Handling Duplicates

Duplicate Detection

Twenty identifies duplicates by comparing: Primary matching fields:

Email - For People
Domain - For Companies
Name - For any object
Custom field - You specify

Duplicate Strategies

Skip Duplicates

Leave existing records unchanged:

Strategy: Skip

Existing: John Doe ([email protected])
Import: John Smith ([email protected])
Result: Import skipped, John Doe unchanged

Use when: Existing data is more accurate

Update Duplicates

Overwrite existing records:

Strategy: Update

Existing: 
  Name: Acme Corp
  Phone: 555-1234
  Revenue: 1000000

Import:
  Name: Acme Corporation
  Phone: 555-5678
  Revenue: 1500000

Result:
  Name: Acme Corporation (updated)
  Phone: 555-5678 (updated)
  Revenue: 1500000 (updated)

Use when: Import has newer/better data

Create Anyway

Allow duplicate records:

Strategy: Create Anyway

Existing: John Doe ([email protected])
Import: John Doe ([email protected])
Result: Second "John Doe" created

Use when: Duplicates are intentional (e.g., different roles)

This creates duplicate data. Clean up duplicates later if needed.

Import Examples

Example 1: Importing Companies

CSV File:

Company Name,Website,Industry,Employees,Annual Revenue
Acme Corp,acme.com,Technology,500,5000000
Global Inc,globalinc.com,Finance,1200,15000000
Startup LLC,startup.io,Technology,25,500000

Field Mapping:

"Company Name" → Name
"Website" → Website
"Industry" → Industry
"Employees" → Employee Count
"Annual Revenue" → Annual Revenue

Settings:

Duplicate Detection: By Website domain
On Duplicate: Update

Result:

3 companies imported
If acme.com exists, it’s updated
New companies created for others

Example 2: Importing People with Relations

CSV File:

First Name,Last Name,Email,Job Title,Company,Phone
John,Doe,[email protected],CEO,Acme Corp,555-1234
Jane,Smith,[email protected],CTO,Acme Corp,555-5678
Bob,Jones,[email protected],Founder,Startup LLC,555-9999

Field Mapping:

"First Name" → First Name
"Last Name" → Last Name
"Email" → Email
"Job Title" → Job Title
"Company" → Company (Relation, match by name)
"Phone" → Phone Number

Settings:

Duplicate Detection: By Email
On Duplicate: Update
Relation Handling:
  Company not found: Create new company

Result:

3 people imported
Linked to existing companies or new ones created
If email exists, person updated

Import Best Practices

Start with a small test

Before importing thousands of records:

Create CSV with 10-20 test rows
Run import
Verify data looks correct
Check field mappings
Then import full dataset

Clean data before importing

Better to fix in source:

Remove duplicates in CSV
Standardize formats
Validate emails and phones
Fill required fields

Saves time and reduces errors.

Map all important fields

Don’t skip columns you’ll need later:

Review all CSV columns
Map everything relevant
Unmapped data is lost

Choose duplicate strategy carefully

Consider your data:

Skip: When existing data is authoritative
Update: When import has latest info
Create: When duplicates are valid

Review error reports

For failed rows:

Download error CSV
Fix issues
Re-import failed rows

Common errors:

Invalid email format
Number in text field
Select option doesn’t exist
Required field missing

Troubleshooting Imports

Import Failed

Common causes:

File too large (>100 MB)
Invalid CSV format
Encoding issues (not UTF-8)
Corrupted file

Solutions:

Split large files
Re-export as UTF-8 CSV
Check file isn’t corrupted

Many Rows Failed

Check:

Field type compatibility
Required fields populated
Select options exist
Date formats correct

Download error report to see specific issues.

Relations Not Linking

Causes:

Relation matching field incorrect
Values don’t match exactly
Related records don’t exist

Solutions:

Verify matching field
Check for typos/extra spaces
Import related records first
Enable “Create if not found”

Duplicates Created Unexpectedly

Causes:

Duplicate detection field wrong
Matching too strict (case-sensitive)
Empty match fields

Solutions:

Review duplicate settings
Clean up duplicates after import
Re-import with correct settings

After Importing

Verify data

Check a sample of imported records:

Fields populated correctly
Relations linked
No obvious errors

Clean up duplicates

If duplicates created:

Use duplicate management tool
Merge similar records
Delete true duplicates

Enrich data

Add missing information:

Fill in optional fields
Update outdated info
Add notes and context

Set up workflows

Automate future data entry:

Auto-assign records
Calculate scores
Send notifications

Next Steps

Exporting Data

Learn how to export data from Twenty

Data Migration

Migrate from other CRM systems

Getting Started

Data Model

Views & Pipelines

Workflows

Calendar & Emails

Data Management

Permissions

Account & Billing

Importing Data

Import Overview

Preparing Your Data

CSV File Requirements

File Format

Data Quality

Data Cleaning Tips

Importing Data

Step-by-Step Import

Field Mapping

Auto-Mapping

Manual Mapping

Field Type Compatibility

Handling Duplicates

Duplicate Detection

Duplicate Strategies

Import Examples

Example 1: Importing Companies

Example 2: Importing People with Relations

Import Best Practices

Troubleshooting Imports

Import Failed

Many Rows Failed

Relations Not Linking

Duplicates Created Unexpectedly

After Importing

Next Steps

Exporting Data

Data Migration

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Getting Started

Data Model

Views & Pipelines

Workflows

Calendar & Emails

Data Management

Permissions

Account & Billing

​Import Overview

​Preparing Your Data

​CSV File Requirements

File Format

Data Quality

​Data Cleaning Tips

​Importing Data

​Step-by-Step Import

​Field Mapping

​Auto-Mapping

​Manual Mapping

​Field Type Compatibility

​Handling Duplicates

​Duplicate Detection

​Duplicate Strategies

​Import Examples

​Example 1: Importing Companies

​Example 2: Importing People with Relations

​Import Best Practices

​Troubleshooting Imports

​Import Failed

​Many Rows Failed

​Relations Not Linking

​Duplicates Created Unexpectedly

​After Importing

​Next Steps

Exporting Data

Data Migration

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Import Overview

Preparing Your Data

CSV File Requirements

Data Cleaning Tips

Importing Data

Step-by-Step Import

Field Mapping

Auto-Mapping

Manual Mapping

Field Type Compatibility

Handling Duplicates

Duplicate Detection

Duplicate Strategies

Import Examples

Example 1: Importing Companies

Example 2: Importing People with Relations

Import Best Practices

Troubleshooting Imports

Import Failed

Many Rows Failed

Relations Not Linking

Duplicates Created Unexpectedly

After Importing

Next Steps