How do you move contractor records into a new CRM?

Move contractor records into a new CRM by preserving an original export, agreeing how fields map and checking a small sample before a full changeover. Reconcile active jobs and financial records separately from basic contacts. An import completing without an error does not prove that the relationships and totals are correct.

Treat the move as a business handoff, with one person responsible for the decisions. Do not close your old system, delete its files or stop necessary subscriptions until you have verified what was transferred and how the remaining archive will be accessed. Confirm record-retention needs with the people responsible for your accounts and agreements.

Decide what the new system must contain

List your record types: contacts, leads, estimates, projects, invoices, payments, expenses, notes and attachments. Then distinguish active work from material you mainly need to retain. A daily working system and an archive may have different purposes. Be explicit about which historical details must remain searchable in the new CRM.

Ask what the source can export and what the destination can import. A CSV with customer names does not necessarily include estimates, attached photos or the relationship between a payment and an invoice. Confirm the scope before you assume a migration service includes every screen from the old software.

Keep a dated original export

Save the original exports and any instructions explaining their fields. Put them somewhere with appropriate business access, rather than sharing a public link. Use copies for cleanup. If you change dates, names or identifiers, keep enough information to trace the change back to the original.

Do not put passwords, tokens or account secrets in the migration files. Share business data only through a method agreed for the move. A presenter does not need an entire customer database to discuss a sample workflow. Use redacted or fictional records for the initial demonstration.

Map fields before importing

Write down what each source column means and where it should go. Pay special attention to fields with similar names but different meanings, such as quote value, invoiced amount, paid amount and outstanding balance. Determine how the systems represent status, dates, phone numbers and addresses.

• Source identifier and destination identifier.
• Customer and company names, with a rule for duplicates.
• The status of leads, estimates and active projects.
• Links between estimates, jobs, invoices and payments.
• Notes, attachments and any data that will remain in the archive.

If a field has no destination, record that decision. Do not silently drop it or hide it in an unrelated field. A clear exception list is useful evidence of what the migration does and does not cover.

Clean duplicates without losing history

Two contacts with the same name are not always the same person. One customer may also have several sites or several jobs. Choose a consistent method for resolving duplicates and keep the original identifiers where possible. Ask the business owner to resolve ambiguous relationships instead of guessing from a similar spelling.

Normalize obvious formatting differences, but avoid rewriting meaningful notes just to make them look tidy. Preserve what is needed to understand a conversation or agreement. A clean import should not erase the context that explains why a price, payment or project status changed.

Test a small, representative sample

Include a straightforward customer and a more complicated record. For example, use an active job with an estimate revision, a partial payment and an expense. Check the links after import, not only the presence of each separate item. Then ask the person doing the daily work to find and use the records.

Keep expected record counts and sample totals before testing. Compare them after import and investigate differences. A mismatch may be a mapping issue, a duplicate rule or a legitimate change in definitions. Do not force the total to match by typing a new number over the calculation.

Reconcile active money records

Have the person responsible for accounts check open invoices, recorded payments and job expenses. The move should not turn unpaid invoices into collected money or apply a payment to the wrong project. Check credits, corrections and any transactions the source exports separately.

The job cost guide explains why these records need distinct meanings. Ask your accountant which historical detail must be retained for your business. The CRM move should fit that requirement rather than making the archive inaccessible because a dashboard looks complete.

Plan the changeover window

Choose when the old system stops receiving new entries and who records any work that happens during the move. If both systems remain active without a clear rule, the final export may already be out of date. Keep a small change log for records created or updated after the starting export.

Before the team switches, confirm access, training and the steps for reporting a problem. Keep the original archive available to the appropriate people. A rollback or correction plan should explain how you handle errors without overwriting newer work in either system.

What should you confirm with Vio?

Ask Ray which record types, attachments and history your setup can receive, who handles the mapping and how the result will be checked. Request a demonstration with sample records before sending the complete data. Do not interpret a general setup offer as an unlimited migration promise.

Compare Vio packages for access needs, then review the demo checklist when it is available. Hosting, permissions and data handling should be clear before the move, particularly while some security checks are still being completed.

Can I delete the old export after import?

Keep it until the appropriate people have verified the move and your retention arrangements. A successful import message is not enough. Preserve an archive in an agreed format and confirm how it can be accessed later.

Does a contact import include every job record?

Not necessarily. Contacts, estimates, projects, financial records and attachments may have separate import paths or limits. Get the scope in writing and check examples of each record type you need.

What is the first step?

Make an inventory of your records and a redacted sample. Then book a Vio demo or email info@withvio.com. Ask Ray to confirm the supported migration scope before you schedule the changeover.