Importing or updating data

The following tables lists the entities that can be imported into your Autotask instance:

Entities that can be imported	Detailed instructions for importing and updating	Can be updated using an export/import
Device Your Autotask instance may be configured to use one of the following terms instead: Asset, Configuration Item, Installed Asset, Installed Product. and Subscription	Populating the Devices and Subscriptions import template	Devices only. To export and update existing devices, go to > CRM > Search > Devices > button bar > Export > In Import Template Format.
Organization Your Autotask instance may be configured to use one of the following terms instead: Account, Business Unit, Client Company, Customer, Site.	Populating the Organization import template	To export and update existing organization records, go to > CRM > Search > Organizations > button bar > Export > In Import Template Format.
Organization and Contact	Importing organizations and contacts at the same time
Organization Location	Populating the Organization Location import template
Contact	Populating the Contact import template	To export and update existing contacts, go to > CRM > Search > Contacts > button bar > Export > In Import Template Format.
CRM Note and To-Do	Populating the CRM Notes and To-Dos import template	To export and update existing to-dos and notes, go to > CRM > Search > To-Dos & Notes > button bar > Export > In Import Template Format.
Inventory Products and Stocked Items	Populating the Inventory Item Import template	To export and update existing inventory products an d stocked items, and notes, go to > Admin > Features & Settings > Products, Services, & Inventory > Inventory Items > Import / Import History > click Import.
Knowledge Base articles	Importing knowledge base articles
Opportunity	Populating the Opportunities import template	To export and update existing opportunities, go to > CRM > Search > Opportunities > button bar > Export > In Import Template Format.
Product	Populating the Products import template	To export and update existing products, go to > Inventory > Inventory > Products > button bar > Export > In Import Template Format.
Project Phase and Task (imports only)	Populating the Project Phases and Tasks import template
Resource	Populating the Resources import template	To export and update existing resources, go to > Admin > Organization Settings & Users > Resources/Users (HR) > Resources/Users (HR) > Resources/Users.
Service	Populating the Services import template	To export and update existing services, go to > Admin > Features & Settings > Products, Services, & Inventory > Services > Export > In Import Template Format.
Tag	Populating the Tag Import template
Ticket	Populating the Ticket import template	To export and update existing tickets, go to > Service Desk > Search > Tickets > button bar > Export > In Import Template Format.
Ticket Note and Time Entry	Populating the Ticket Note and Ticket Time Entry template

Some entities can be exported in import format, edited, and re-imported. This process allows you to update records that are already in your Autotask instance. Refer to Can be updated using an export/import.

Import files can contain carriage returns or line feeds. They are hard to spot when you open the file in Excel. If you suspect your file contains carriage returns, do the following:

1. Open the file in Notepad ++.
2. On the toolbar, click Show All Characters. Also click the Wrap Text button to the left of it to make sure nothing is hidden.

Line feeds will be indicated by LF (white text on black background), Carriage Returns by CR LF.

3. To quickly jump from one occurrence to the next, click the Find icon and search for "\r\n". Do not enter anything into the Replace with field.

4. Step through the file and remove any unwanted line breaks.
5. To remove line feeds only, search for "\n".

Depending on your language settings, CSV files treat commas or semicolons as delimiters, which means that everything after the comma is put into the next column, and all following columns are going to be imported into the wrong fields.

To prevent this from happening, strings that contain commas must be surrounded with quotation marks. If your language defaults to semicolon as the delimiter, do this for semicolon, instead.

NOTE  To automate this process, simply open the CSV file in a recent version of Excel, which conveniently puts quotes around any cell that contains a comma. This will prevent the comma from being misinterpreted as a delimiter.

NOTE  If the downloaded template is displayed with all content in the first cell (not spread across columns), there is likely a mismatch between the list separators in Autotask and your Windows settings. This can happen when you are using English Autotask with a foreign-language version Windows. Language separator values can be changed for Windows via Control Panel > Region and Language > Additional Settings.

If you find that non-English characters are not imported correctly, try the following import process:

1. Open a new workbook (File > New > Blank Workbook) in Excel.
2. Select Data > Get External Data > From Text….
3. On the Select Data Source page, select the desired .CSV file, and click Import.
4. On the Text Import Wizard – Step 1 of 3 page, choose UTF-8 as the file origin, select Delimited, then click Next.
5. On the Text Import Wizard – Step 2 of 3 page, select the check box next to Comma, then click Next.
6. On the Text Import Wizard – Step 3 of 3 page, select Finish.

If you are importing data into a Full Language Support Autotask instance, imported files must be saved differently. Full Language Support will be indicated in the Help > About Autotask pop-up window. Refer to Multi-byte character support.

The .CSV import file cannot be larger than 5 MB. Large data files must be broken up.

For length restrictions on string fields, refer to String Fields Length.

1. Download the .CSV template from > Admin > Features & Settings > Application-wide (Shared) Features > Downloads or from the Import page of the appropriate entity. Refer to the paths in the specific import instructions in the Overview.

IMPORTANT  If you open the import template using Google Sheets, it changes the encoding from UTF-8 to ANSI. This will result in errors when you attempt to import the file into a German or Spanish Autotask instance. You must either open the file in Microsoft Excel (where this is not an issue), or open the file in Notepad++ to convert the encoding to ANSI so it will import without issue.

2. Open the .CSV file with the source data.

3. Column by column, paste the source data into the import template.

IMPORTANT  Do not:
• Alter the file type to something other than .CSV
• Rename column headers
• Delete required columns. You may delete any of the other columns and the import will still work, but that will shift the contents of the Exceptions file and complicate re-importing the exceptions.
• Add columns. If you need additional columns, add them as User-Defined Fields in Autotask, and then download the template again. Refer to Managing user-defined fields.

4. Some fields must be populated with values that already exist in your Autotask instance. This is indicated in the Must be looked up in Autotask instance? column in the import instructions. If you try to import a different value, the import will fail.
5. Make sure all required fields are populated in all rows.

NOTE  Entering [[empty]] into non-required fields will remove any information stored in that field and replace it with a null value. Values that must be looked up in your Autotask instance cannot be cleared using this method.

1. Navigate to the appropriate Import page for the entity you are importing into. For specific paths for each entity, refer to the linked help pages in the table above under Detailed instructions for importing and updating.
2. On the Import page, click Import.

To import project phases and tasks, in the Projects module, search for and open the destination project. In the Project Menu, click Schedule. On the Schedule page, click Actions > Import from: .CSV File.

The Import page opens:

3. Click Browse or Choose File to locate the prepared .CSV file, then click Open. The file path is copied into the File field.

4. Use the If a match is found radio buttons to select your import/update settings.

Duplicate criteria for imports

When the following fields match exactly, the import tool will consider it a duplicate:

Template	Duplicate Check Criteria
Organizations and Contacts	Organization: Name + Phone Number, or Organization ID Contact: Organization + Organization Phone + First Name + Last Name + Email, or Contact ID
Organization Locations	Organization or Organization ID + Location Name
CRM Notes & To-Dos	Organization + Action Type + Assigned To + Start Date/Time + End Date/Time
Devices	Organization Name + Product Name + Serial Number, or Device ID
Opportunities	Organization Name + Opportunity Name
Products	Product Name + Category + Period, or Product ID
Inventory Products	Inventory Products: Product + Location Stocked Items: Product + Location + Date Added Serialized Stocked Items: Product + Location + Date Added + Serial Number
Phases and Tasks	There is no duplicate checking for phases and tasks. These items can only be imported, not updated. All phases and tasks that appear in your import file will be added.
Services	Name or Service ID (for Services that were exported). If the Service ID is a duplicate, the record is considered a duplicate even if the name is unique.
Tags and Tag Groups	Label or Alias. If an imported tag’s label matches any existing tag labels or aliases, or if any of an imported tag’s aliases match any existing tag labels or aliases, it will be considered a match. The label must be 50 characters or less, and cannot contain the | character. When a match is found, the new tag will not be imported and the existing tag will not be updated. Separate each entry with the | character.
Tickets	Ticket Number
Ticket Time Entries	Ticket Number + Resource + Start Date/Time + End Date/Time
Ticket Notes	Ticket Number + Created By Resource (or Contact) + Create Date/Time + Title
Resources	Username

5. If you want to send (or not send) workflow rule notifications when items are created or updated using the import, select the appropriate check boxes under Send Workflow Rule Notifications when:. Note that if you leave the boxes cleared, the workflow rule will still fire, and updates and all other actions (besides notifications) will still occur. The system note on the ticket will say: "Notification e-mail suppressed by data importer." This option is available for the creation and update of tickets, opportunities, and devices. It is available for the creation of ticket time entries, ticket notes, and project phases and tasks.
6. When you are importing services, you can optionally update vendor or unit cost for posted and/or non-posted services as of an effective date. This changes the costs and the profitability calculations for existing contracts.
7. Click Import. A dialog box will let you know that you will be notified via email when your import has finished.

When you close the dialog, the Import History page will be displayed. The import record shows the status of your import.

8. If some records failed to be imported, you can click the View exceptions link in the Exceptions column. This will open a .CSV file that contains all records that failed to import, with the first column displaying the reason for failure.
9. Address all issues, delete the Reason for Failure column and save the Exceptions file.
10. Follow steps 1 - 4 to import the Exceptions file.