Use the Import hub to bring clients from HubSpot, Resales Online, Inmobalia, Inmovilla, Excel and other systems into your CRM, with their extra details kept as custom fields and your email templates alongside.
If you are moving to The NLS from another CRM, the Import hub brings your clients across in one go. It knows the export format of the common systems, matches each column to a client detail, and lets you keep anything else as a custom field.
Nothing is saved until you have checked a preview, and every import can be undone from Recent imports.
Before you start
- An export of your contacts from your old system, as a CSV or Excel (.xlsx) file. A .zip export needs unzipping first.
- Column names in the first row of the file. Up to 5,000 clients and 10 MB per file; split a bigger export into several files.
- A name plus an email or phone number for each client. Rows without them are skipped and listed for you to fix.
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Open the Import hub
In your CRM, click Import clients, next to Add Client. In the window that opens, click Use the Import hub. You can also go straight to thenls.com/members/crm-import/.
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Pick the system you are exporting from
Choose HubSpot, Resales Online, Inmobalia, Inmovilla, Infocasa, Sooprema, Optima-CRM, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zoho or Excel / Google Sheets. The hub shows how to export from that system and matches its usual column names for you.
Note Each system's FAQ has the exact export steps.
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Upload your file
Choose your CSV or Excel file, or drag it onto the box. The hub reads your column names and counts the clients in the file.
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Check how your columns are matched
Each column in your file is listed with examples from your data and where it will go: name, email, phone, address, notes and so on. Change any match that is wrong, or choose Don't import to leave a column out.
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Keep extra details as custom fields
For a column with no matching client detail, such as a preferred area, lifecycle stage or lead source, choose + Create a new custom field, give it a name and pick its type. Fields you already have are listed too, so a second import can fill the same field.
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Choose your import options
Decide what happens to clients already in your CRM with the same email or phone: Skip them or Update them. Choose whether the file holds buyers, sellers, or a column that says which.
Leave Marketing email consent on No unless these contacts agreed to receive marketing email from you. You can still email them about their enquiry.
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Preview, then import
Click Preview import. You see each row exactly as it will be imported, with new clients, updates, duplicates and rows that will be skipped. Nothing is saved yet.
Click Import. The summary shows what was added and updated, with a Download skipped rows file to fix and import again.
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Find the details in your CRM
Open any imported client: the Custom fields card shows the extra details, and you can edit them there. Add, rename or delete fields on the Custom fields tab of the hub. Campaigns can use custom fields when you build an audience.
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Bring your email templates
On the Email templates tab, upload an exported .html email design or paste its HTML. Scripts and other unsafe code are removed, your layout and styles are kept, and the template is ready to use in Campaigns.
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Undo an import if you need to
Recent imports on the hub lists every import. Undo this import removes the clients it added and puts back any details it changed. Clients you have worked on since the import are kept.
Good to know
- Try a small file first. Import ten rows, check them in your CRM, undo, then import the full export.
- Importing twice is safe. Clients with the same email or phone are skipped or updated, never doubled.
- Consent is never assumed. Imported clients are left out of marketing emails unless you confirm they agreed to them.
- Merge tags from your old system, such as {{ contact.firstname }}, are flagged when you import a template: replace them before sending.
Questions about this
Which CRMs and files can I import my clients from?
Open the Import hub: https://thenls.com/members/crm-import/
It has ready-made column matching for HubSpot, Resales Online, Inmobalia, Inmovilla (Apinmo), Infocasa, Sooprema, Optima-CRM, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zoho CRM, and Excel or Google Sheets. It reads CSV files (comma, semicolon or tab; UTF-8, UTF-16 or Excel's Windows encoding) and Excel .xlsx files. HubSpot and Pipedrive are matched to their real export column names; for the others the column names vary by account, so always check the mapping screen before importing.
Watch how · 0:29 in the tutorial Import from another CRM71 · Import from another CRMRead the guide: Import clients from another CRMCopy link
How does the Import hub work, step by step?
1) Choose where your clients come from. 2) Upload the CSV or Excel file. 3) Check how each column is matched: every column shows example values from your file and a list of where it can go (name, email, phone, notes, address, buyer or seller, tags, an existing custom field, a new custom field, or Don't import). 4) Choose what happens to clients already in your CRM, whether they are buyers or sellers, whether they gave marketing consent, and a tag for the batch. 5) Preview the first 20 rows with any problems flagged. 6) Import. The summary shows what was added, updated and skipped, and lets you undo the whole import.
Watch how · 0:08 in the tutorial Import from another CRM71 · Import from another CRMRead the guide: Import clients from another CRMCopy link
How do I import my clients from HubSpot?
In HubSpot go to Contacts, pick the view you want, click Export, choose CSV or XLSX and which properties to include. HubSpot emails you a download link. A large export arrives as a .zip: unzip it first.
Then: 1) open the Import hub at https://thenls.com/members/crm-import/ (or in your CRM click Import clients, then Use the Import hub), 2) choose HubSpot as the source, 3) upload the file, 4) check how each column is matched, 5) choose your options (duplicates, buyer or seller, marketing consent, a tag), 6) preview and import.
HubSpot's column names are recognised (First name, Last name, Email, Phone number, Mobile phone number, City, Country/Region…). Lifecycle stage, Lead status and Contact owner are offered as custom fields.
Watch how · 0:29 in the tutorial Import from another CRM71 · Import from another CRMRead the guide: Import clients from another CRMCopy link
Can I bring my custom fields from my old CRM?
Yes. On the mapping screen choose + Create a new custom field for any column, such as Budget, Lifecycle stage or Preferred area. The NLS suggests a type from the values in your file (text, number, date, pick list or yes/no) and you can change it before importing. Columns you have already imported once go straight into the matching custom field next time.
Watch how · 1:06 in the tutorial Import from another CRM71 · Import from another CRMRead the guide: Import clients from another CRMCopy link
Can I import my email templates from HubSpot?
Yes. In HubSpot open the email, then File, Export email design, and choose HTML. Then in the Import hub open the Email templates tab (https://thenls.com/members/crm-import/templates/) and upload the .html file. Any other .html email design works too, or paste the HTML. You can preview and delete each template there. Merge tags such as {{ contact.firstname }} are kept as text, so replace them before sending.
Watch how · 2:11 in the tutorial Import from another CRM71 · Import from another CRMRead the guide: Import clients from another CRMCopy link
Do imported clients get my marketing emails?
Only if you say they agreed to. In the import options, marketing email consent is set to No by default. Choose Yes only if these contacts agreed to receive marketing email from you: The NLS then records that consent against each email address, with the import as the evidence. Anyone who had already unsubscribed stays unsubscribed. With No, you can still email them about their enquiry, but they are left out of marketing emails and newsletters until they opt in.
Watch how · 1:21 in the tutorial Import from another CRM71 · Import from another CRMRead the guide: Import clients from another CRMCopy link
What happens to clients who are already in my CRM?
A client matches when the email, or the phone number, is the same as one of your own clients (other agents' clients are never matched). You choose: Skip leaves your existing client exactly as it is; Update replaces their details with the file's, adds the file's notes, and fills custom fields. The same person appearing twice in one file is imported once.
Watch how · 1:21 in the tutorial Import from another CRM71 · Import from another CRMRead the guide: Import clients from another CRMCopy link
Can I undo an import?
Yes. Click Undo this import on the summary, or in Recent imports in the Import hub. Clients the import added are deleted, details it changed are put back, custom fields it created are removed if nothing else uses them, and marketing consent it recorded is withdrawn again. A client you have already worked on since the import (a note, call, task or stage change) is kept, and a detail you have edited since is left as you edited it.
Watch how · 2:25 in the tutorial Import from another CRM71 · Import from another CRMRead the guide: Import clients from another CRMCopy link
