Importing your data is one of the most critical components of your Mothernode setup, so we’ve prepared some information to assist you with this process.

Quick Summary

Before you begin, here are some helpful guidelines

• Your import file MUST be an XLS or CSV file.
• The XLS file can only have 1 Tab.
• Each Column = 1 Field.
• Each Row = 1 Record.
• Do not import merged fields.
• Spot check your data before importing.
  – Don’t import blank rows.
  – Make sure records are complete
• If you encounter data in your original export file that needs to be split into separate columns (Ex. contact full name that needs to be split into a first name and a last name column to match the Mothernode import template), please view Importing Tip: Splitting Text to Multiple Columns in Excel for further instructions.

Importing Data into Mothernode CRM

The data import process is the most important step in your implementation. Starting your Mothernode experience with clean and concise data is instrumental in your adoption process, ROI and overall CRM success. How you prepare and assemble your data will determine your overall experience and can impact your go live date. So, regardless how challenging the effort is, this component of the implementation is critical for several reasons. The good news is, once you get through this phase of the implementation the rest is smoother sailing.

Process Overview
The process is relatively simple, but the devil is in the details. Different data sources require different arrangements making some imports more time consuming than others in the preparation process, but no matter where your data comes from and what it looks like, it all needs to be assembled in our Microsoft XLS file for import. This is a general overview of the process.

1. Determine your data source(s) that you will use for your customer data. If multiple sources are being considered, be sure to determine which source contains the most up-to-date and accurate information.
2. Add and assemble this data into the corresponding Mothernode XLS Files.
3. Mothernode will import these files into your account for review.
4. Final adjustments will be made after reviewing and we will repeat the import process.

Data Sources
Before determining what your data source(s) will be, you need to become more familiar with the import process. Your implementation team  will be importing 2 files into your Mothernode Account. These files are your Customers and Contacts and are in separate lists.

Customers
These are your existing accounts, people or companies you have sold to at one time or another. Each Customer must have at least 1 single contact with them who is referred to as the primary contact. In B2C instances, the primary contact is identical to the customer name.

Contacts
Contacts can be associated with customer accounts, but may also be people of interest in your company Rolodex who provide services and expertise you depend on occasionally. Contacts do not have to be a customer.

IMPORTANT: When a Contact’s Company Name matches EXACTLY with a Customer’s Company Name, that Contact will automatically be attached the to Customer Account upon Import. Customer naming syntax is critical to properly match in the import process.

How it works
The default import templates are setup to illustrate this example. Let’s assume in this example that Mothernode is one of your customers and there are 4 contacts within your Mothernode customer account. The Customer Import would include Mothernode and the one primary contact. The Contact Import would contain the 3 additional Mothernode contacts.

Customer Import
The customer import list would include a single entry for Mothernode regardless of how many contacts within the customer record. (in this example we’re just displaying 3 fields; company, first name, last name)

Contact Import
The contact import would include the balance of the Mothernode contacts for your Mothernode customer record.

Once both lists have been imported (Customers first, Contacts second) your Mothernode customer record will include all 4 contacts.

        Mothernode

1. Ken Pearson
2. Justin Wilm
3. Jamie Geisler
4. Fred Wilson

IMPORTANT: When importing from multiple lists or data sources in order for this to work correctly the COMPANY NAME in the Contact List MUST MATCH EXACTLY to the customer name in the customer list. If one list refers to the customer as Mothernode and the other listing refers to the customer as MOTHERNODE, LLC. they will not pair correctly.

Preparing Your Data
When assembling your data from one or more sources and putting it into the Mothernode XLS templates, there are a few things you’ll want to pay attention to. Mothernode will help you organize your customer records, but it’s up to you to determine what you want to import. This is your opportunity to declutter and dismiss dirty data. Here are a few tips you’ll want to consider when preparing your Mothernode CRM Data.

1. When selecting which data source to import from, consider the source with the most accurate information. Accounting programs like Quickbooks or Peachtree often contain the most accurate information.

2. When importing from multiple Outlook files, be sure to combine them into a single list. Once Outlook contacts have been consolidated, eliminate duplicates and contacts with little or no information.

Resources

 – DOWNLOAD MOTHERNODE XLS CUSTOMER TEMPLATE

 – DOWNLOAD MOTHERNODE XLS CONTACT TEMPLATE

 – DOWNLOAD MOTHERNODE TEMPLATE INSTRUCTIONS

Cleaning Your Data
Once all your data has been assembled in the correct Mothernode XLS template, it will the perfect time to clean it. Eliminating junk data will enhance your Mothernode experience and help you generate more accurate reports. Here are some activities that you need to perform to prepare your data for import.

• Remove and/or consolidate duplicates into a single row.
• Make sure data is consistent, for example: state columns are all TX and not Texas and all phone numbers are a single, consistent format.
• Eliminate contacts and customers with incomplete information, such as missing phone numbers and addresses.

IMPORTANT: When moving data from your source file to the Mothernode XLS templates you MUST Match up your source data columns with the columns provided in the Mothernode Import Templates. Any fields that are consolidated in your source export will need to separated into their individual field columns. This is most common with Quickbooks exports of customer files. The following example demonstrates how a customer address would be displayed in Quickbooks export file and would need to be modified for the Mothernode XLS Template.

Quickbooks Customer Address

Quickbooks consolidates the entire customer address into one field.

Mothernode Customer Address

Mothernode splits each component of the address into a separate field.

Organizing Your Data
Using Mothernode CRM will enable you to manage your organized data to help you filter and report on records. If you don’t already do this, you may want to consider using the following columns in the XLS document to classify your customer and contacts.

Relationship
Use this field to categorize the relationship with your contacts
Examples: Customer, Reseller, Distributor

Market Segment
Classify your customer’s industry
Examples: Education, Government, Medical

Group
Use groups to provide labels for your customer and/or contacts accounts
Example: Customer, Referral Partner, Other

Source
Use the source field to track your customer acquisition
Examples: Lead service, referrals, marketing campaign

Short Cuts
And finally, there are a few shortcuts we’ve prepared to help make the data preparation process a little quicker.

Billing and Shipping Addresses
Mothernode allows you to enter a different billing and shipping address for your customer. We’ve found that more often than not, these addresses are the same, so we’ve prepared a single column for each address subset that eliminates the need to add this redundant information. If the billing and shipping addresses are the same as the primary address then simply add the word YES in the columns titled BILLING_USE_DEFAULT and SHIPPING_USE_DEFAULT

Determining B2B and B2C
Sometimes you may have customers who are a blend of businesses and individuals. Use the IS_INDIVIDUAL column to define which classification your customer is. If they are a business, enter NO in this column. If it is an individual, enter YES.