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Importing contacts

Use NexJ CRM to import contacts from a legacy system and merge them with your current database.

This process involves the following steps:

  1. Create an import package.
    This ZIP file contains the legacy data in comma-separated values (CSV) files and mapping files, which map the legacy data to your current database. For more information, see Creating import packages.
  2. Import the data in the import package to a staging server. For more information, see Importing contact packages.
  3. Review the imported data. You can edit or delete imported contacts at this stage.
    For more information, see Reviewing imported contact data.
  4. Review suggested matches between the imported data and your existing database records.
    For more information, see Reviewing match results and processing staged contacts.
  5. Process the reviewed data to integrate it with the data in your current database.
    You can create a new contact, delete a staged contact, or merge current and staged data for a contact. For more information, see Processing staged contacts.
  6. Complete the import process.
    For more information, see Completing the import.

You can import contacts by navigating to the contacts panel in the Contacts workspace, clicking the Options button selecting Import , and selecting the required import option. Ensure that any users who want to use the contact import functionality in NexJ CRM have the ImportProcessView and ImportProcessManage privileges.

Importing contact packages

Once you have obtained an import package containing the CSV files and mapping files, import it to the staging server.

To import the contact package:

  1. Navigate to the Contacts workspace and click the Options button in the contacts panel.
  2. Select Import Contacts > Import Data.
    The Import Data dialog opens.
  3. In the Import Package field, click the Add Attachment button.
    A browse field and button appear in the dialog.
  4. Click the Browse button, find the import package on your system and click Open.
  5. In the 'On Behalf Of' User field, select the user for whom you are importing the contacts.
    By default, the package will be imported for you. Depending on your security settings, this value might limit which existing contacts are used for matching with imported contacts. Only existing contacts to which the user has access will be used for matching.
  6. In the Description field, add a brief, easily recognizable description of your import job.
    This description will be used to identify the import job at all future stages. After the import and merge process is complete, this description is also used to create a list of all contacts modified or created by the import.
  7. Click OK and wait for the import job to complete.
    When the job completes, a notification alarm dialog appears. It reads either Import of Package "<Description>" Completed Successfully or Error during Contact Import of Package "<Description>", where <Description> is the description you set earlier.
  8. If the import fails, click the View button on the notification dialog to review the error log. Only the first 500 errors are included in the log. Correct these errors and import the package again.

To view all completed and running import jobs, click the Options button  and select Import Contacts > View Imports . The Import Processes dialog displays a list of all import jobs. Once an import job has completed, its status changes from Running to Completed or Failed. To see the error log for a failed job, select the job in the processes list and click View Error Report .

You can filter the list of import jobs in the Import Processes dialog by description, stage, status, or start date. Click Showing all Import Processes to display the filter fields at the top of the dialog.

Reviewing imported contact data

After importing contact data and notes, review it to verify that all data is present and correct. You can then correct any inaccurate information and discard any unnecessary records. You can stop reviewing the data and come back to the Import Processes dialog at any time.

Reviewing the records in the import package allows you to verify the data is accurate before submitting it for merging with other existing records in the system. It also gives you the opportunity to remove old or outdated records that you do not want to ultimately import into NexJ Customer Relationship Management. Carrying out this part of the import and merge process helps ensure a smooth migration of the data into the new system.

To review the imported contact data:

  1. Navigate to the Contacts workspace and click the Options button in the contacts panel.
  2. Select Import Contacts > View Imports .
    Your import job's Stage column should read Review Staged Data, and the Status column should read Waiting for User.
  3. Select your import job and click Open.
    A new workspace with the name of your import opens.
  4. In the Staged Contacts area on the left side of the screen, review the list of all contacts that were included in the import package.
    Review each contact's profile and additional information to ensure that the import mapping was correct. For each contact, in the Profile section in the middle of the screen, you can click the Edit button and update basic biographical information. In the tabbed section on the right side of the screen, you can review but not update addresses, activities, custom fields, user fields, and other extended information.
  5. To exclude a staged contact from any further processing, discard the record. Right-click the record and select Delete. In the confirmation dialog that appears, click Delete.

    Note

    If you discard a staged contact record, the action cannot be undone.

  6. When you are satisfied with the remaining imported contacts, submit the data for matching. In the Review Stage Data section in the middle of the screen, click the Submit for Matching button. In the confirmation dialog that appears, click OK.

    Note

    In order to optimize performance, it is recommended that the size of each submitted batch be limited to 5,000 records.

    Wait while the matching process runs in the background. When the process completes, a notification alarm dialog appears.

You can now review the ranked contact matches on screen or in a printed report.

Contact matching logic

When you submit contact data for matching, NexJ CRM uses algorithms to determine which contact data is new and which data is duplicated in NexJ CRM and should be consolidated with an existing contact record.

The following table lists the data fields that are used by NexJ CRM to match imported contacts and shows percentages for the quality of the match.

Contact matching data fields and match quality values

Data fieldMatch quality value
First Name20%
Last Name30%
Birth Date30%
Gender5%
Zip field of the primary address15%

Before completing the import process, you will have the opportunity to review the imported contact data, and the match quality value, and to specify how to process staged contacts. For example:

  • If only the gender matches, the match quality is 5%. This is considered a low quality match, so you may choose to create a new contact.
  • If the last name, birth date, and Zip field match, the match quality is 75%. This is considered a high quality match, so you may choose to associate the imported data with the existing NexJ CRM contact.

Reviewing match results and processing staged contacts

Once the matching process has completed, you can review the proposed match results, recommend actions for each contact, and process the data. To check that your match data is ready for review, navigate to the Import Processes screen by clicking in the main toolbar. Your import job's Stage column should read Review Match Results, and the Status column should read Waiting on User.

You can print out the match results, have other users review the report, and then recommend the actions using the View Match Results Report button available in the View Import dialog, or you can review the results and recommend actions directly in the Review Match Results tab.

Printing match results for review

If you prefer printed documents to on-screen data, or if you want someone else to review the data before making a decision, you can print the Match Results Report.
The report displays each staged contact with its recommended action. It also contains summary information such as:

  • The name of the import package and date generated
  • The total number of contacts processed
  • The total number of recommended merges
  • The total number of recommended creates

The report is truncated after 250 pages or 2500 records, whichever is smallest. If there are records that were not included in the report, you can process the records that were included, rerun the report for the remaining records, and repeat as needed.

To print match results for review:

  1. Navigate to the Contacts workspace and click the Options button  in the contacts panel.
  2. Select Import Contacts > View Imports. The import job's Stage column will read Review Match Results, and the Status column will read Waiting on User.
  3. Select the import job from the list and click View Match Results Report.
  4. In the Report Parameters dialog, specify report criteria, including whether contacts with suggested matches or without suggested matches or both should be included, and how close the existing contact must be to the imported contact to be considered a match. Specify in which format the report should be generated.
  5. Click Run Report.

When the report is generated, you can either save it to your system or open it in the appropriate application.
Review the report to determine which merge actions are required for each contact. When you are done your review, use the Review Match Results tab to enter the actions into the system and process the contacts.

Specifying merge actions

Staged contacts require an action during a merge. Actions indicate how the staged contact information will be moved into the existing database. You can merge the staged contact with an existing contact in the database, create a new contact in the database, or discard a staged contact.

Specify the merge actions in the Review Match Results tab. To access the tab, in the Import Processes screen, select your import job and click Open . You can use the fields above the Staged Contacts list to filter the contacts by name, status, match quality, match, and action. You can also sort staged contacts by name or match quality by clicking the sort arrows in the column title row.

To specify a merge action for a staged contact:

  1. Select a contact from the Staged Contacts list.
    The Matches list contains all contacts that the system has identified as possible matches. If there are several matched contacts in the Matches list, select the correct entry. The Match Quality column indicates the match's strength.
  2. For each record, review the Compare Details section.
    The staged contact's data is on the left, and the matched contact's data is on the right. You can also compare the tabbed data for each record.
  3. If you think that a matching contact was missed, click Select Another Match. Browse for the contact in the Add Contact dialog. Once the contact is added to the Matches list, review it in the Compare Details section.
  4. Choose an appropriate merge action for the staged contact:
    • If the staged contact matches with any of the contacts in the Matches list, select that contact and click Set as Match. Under Choose how to process the staged contact, select Merge with selected match.

      Info

      You must select an existing contact record with which to merge the imported data. If a No Contact Selected dialog appears, click Select Contact and browse for the appropriate matched contact.

    • If the staged contact does not match with any of the contacts in the Matches list but you wish to load it into the database, select Create as a new contact under Choose how to process the staged contact.
    • If you no longer want to add the staged contact to your database, or if a better contact record already exists within the database and merging would degrade the matched contact's quality, select Delete staged contact under Choose how to process the staged contact.
  5. In the Staged Contacts list, select the contact's Reviewed checkbox.
    The contact is now ready for processing.

Processing staged contacts

To execute a merge, add, or discard action, you must process a staged contact. When processing contacts, you can submit them for processing one at a time or as a grouped list.

Note

Only process staged contacts when you have already reviewed their information. Once you process a contact, the merge process for that contact is complete. This cannot be undone, and changes are committed to your database.

Processing single contacts

To process a single contact:

  1. Select the contact in the Staged Contacts list.
  2. Verify that the correct action is selected under Choose how to process the staged contact.
  3. In the Staged Contacts list, click the Process Selected button.
  4. In the Process Contacts confirmation dialog, click Yes.

Processing lists of contacts

To process a list of contacts:

  1. In the Staged Contacts list, ensure that the correct actions are selected for each contact under the Action column.
  2. In the Staged Contacts list, click the Process List button.
  3. In the Process Contacts confirmation dialog, click Yes.

Completing the import

Complete the import to indicate that you have finished all work on the import package.

Note

Completing an import ends the import process. Any unprocessed records in the import are discarded. This action cannot be undone.

To complete the review and produce an import completion report:

  1. Click Complete Import.
    If the import has any unprocessed records, the Complete Import dialog opens.
  2. To confirm that unprocessed records should be discarded, click Yes.
  3. Wait while the import is processed in the background. Do not continue until you receive a notification indicating that processing has completed.

After the import completes, the contact records become available in the system, and can be accessed like any other contact records.
After completing the contact import, you can generate an Import Completion report, which contains details such as import package name, the generation date, and the total number of processed contacts by merge action. You can also include additional information when you request the report.

Generating the Import Completion report

After completing the import tasks, including marking the review as complete, you can generate an import completion report, which summarizes the actions taken during the contact import process.

The Import Completion report contains detailed information on the import package and how it was processed. This information includes:

  • The package name
  • The date that the report was generated
  • The total number of contacts merged into the system
  • Other additional information specified when you run the report

The Import Completion report includes detailed data for up to 2500 records or 200 pages. If the import job includes more than 2500 records or would run longer than 200 pages, then the printed report will be truncated.

To produce an import completion report:

  1. Navigate to the Contacts workspace and click the Options button  in the contacts panel.
  2. Select Import Contacts > View Imports.
    The Import Processes dialog opens.
  3. In the list of import jobs, select the one that you want to generate the report for.
    The status of the import job should display as Complete. You can only generate this report for completed import jobs.
  4. At the bottom of the screen, click View Completion Report.
    The Report Parameters dialog opens.
  5. Select the fields that you want to include in the report and click Run Report.

The Import Completion Report opens.

You can choose to review or to print the report. You can also regenerate the report, including different fields.

Deleting import jobs

You can delete an import job before it is completed from the Import Processes dialog. You can delete any job with one of the following statuses: Failed, Completed, Waiting on User.

If you delete an import job with the Import Into Staging state, all data from the import package is deleted.

If you delete an import job with the Review Staged Data state, all data from the import package is deleted.

If you delete an import job with the Review Matched Data state, all unprocessed records are deleted and will not be processed further. Any processed records remain in your database.

Note

This action cannot be undone.

To delete an import job:

  1. Navigate to the Contacts workspace, and click the Options button  in the contacts panel.
  2. Select Import Contacts > View Imports.
    The Import Processes dialog opens.
  3. Select the job that you want to delete and click the Delete button .
    A dialog opens, asking you to confirm that you want to delete the import.
  4. Click Delete.
    The import is permanently deleted.