Audit Your DataExport Your DataClean Before ImportMap Your FieldsImport Leads & ClientsMigrate ProjectsValidate the ImportDecommission Old Tools
Audit Your Current Data
Why it matters: You can’t migrate what you haven’t inventoried - a missed spreadsheet is a missed client history.
List every tool currently holding business data:
- CRM or spreadsheet tracking leads and deals
- Contact lists in email or a separate address book
- Active project trackers (spreadsheets, project tools, or shared docs)
- Inventory or BOQ spreadsheets
Result: A written list of every data source, with an owner assigned to export each one.
Export Your Data
Why it matters: Exporting everything before you start importing means you’re never blocked mid-migration waiting on a second export from a tool you’ve already begun decommissioning.
- Export Leads and Deals as CSV from your current CRM or spreadsheet
- Export Contacts and Clients separately, including email addresses
- Export any active project lists with milestone and task detail
Note: Export in UTF-8 encoding if your tool offers the option - this prevents special characters (like accented names or currency symbols) from corrupting on import.
Result: A folder containing one CSV per data type, each opened and spot-checked in a spreadsheet app.
Clean Your Data Before Import
Why it matters: A clean import is far easier than cleaning up duplicate or malformed records after they’re live in a new system that your whole team is already using.
- Remove duplicate leads and contacts
- Delete dead leads that haven’t been touched in 12+ months, unless you need them for reporting history
- Standardize phone number and date formats across all files
- Fill in blank required fields (owner, stage, value) rather than leaving them empty
Result: Each CSV has no duplicate rows and no blank cells in required columns.
Map Your Fields to OneSolar CRM
Why it matters: Getting the mapping right the first time avoids a second cleanup pass after 500 leads land in the wrong fields.
- Go to Settings → Import → Field Mapping
- Match each CSV column to its OneSolar CRM field (e.g. "Deal Value" → "Value")
- For fields with no OneSolar CRM equivalent, create a Custom Field before importing rather than dropping the data
Result: Every column in your CSV has a matching OneSolar CRM field, with none left as "Do not import" unless truly irrelevant.
Import Leads, Deals & Clients First
Why it matters: This is your lowest-risk data and gets your sales team working in OneSolar CRM immediately, building confidence before the more complex project migration.
- Go to CRM → Import and upload your cleaned Leads CSV
- Review the preview screen before confirming - this is your last chance to catch a mapping error
- Repeat for Deals, then Clients
Result: Your Deals list in OneSolar CRM matches your source spreadsheet’s row count and total pipeline value.
Migrate Active Projects & Milestones
Why it matters: Only currently open projects need to be live on day one - completed projects can follow later with no urgency.
- For each active project, create the Project record in OneSolar CRM
- Recreate current milestones and mark completed ones as done, not pending
- Recreate open tasks with their real due dates, not today’s date
Note: Don’t migrate historical, fully completed projects during this phase - they add migration time without any operational benefit. Import them later as reference data if needed.
Result: Every currently active project appears in OneSolar CRM with the correct milestone status.
Validate the Import
Why it matters: Catching a mapping error on 10 spot-checked records is far cheaper than discovering it after your team has already built three weeks of activity on top of bad data.
- Pick 10 records at random from each imported type
- Compare every field against the original source file
- Confirm deal values, stages, and owners all match exactly
Result: All 10 spot-checked records match their source data with no discrepancies.
Decommission Old Tools
Why it matters: A short, deliberate parallel run gives your team a safety net - an open-ended one just delays the switch indefinitely.
- Run your old tool and OneSolar CRM in parallel for no more than 2-4 weeks
- Set a firm cutover date and communicate it to the whole team
- After cutover, export a final backup of the old tool’s data and archive it, then cancel the subscription
Result: Your team is working exclusively in OneSolar CRM, with a backup of the old system archived for reference.
You’ve completed this tutorial
Your data is live in OneSolar CRM. Next: build your first client-ready proposal, or explore how files attach to a deal.
Continue learning
Keep going with the next tutorials in the Solar CRM series.