CRM Data Migration Rehearsal Guide
Moving CRM data without losing history starts with a rehearsal, not a big-bang import. Map fields, review duplicates, import a sample, reconcile counts and totals, set permissions, and agree a rollback and cutoff before touching live data.
Start with a field map and data dictionary
List every field in the old system and decide where it goes in the new one. Mark each as keep, merge, archive, or drop. For merged fields, write the rule in plain language, such as combining two phone columns into one primary number and one secondary number.
A data dictionary is the shared reference for the project. It records field names, formats, allowed values, and who owns each decision. Without it, two people will make opposite choices about the same column and the import will fail quietly.
Review duplicates before you import
Duplicates are the main reason history gets lost. Decide the matching rule first: exact email, normalized phone, company name plus city, or a combination. Run the rule against a copy of the data and review the matches by hand.
For each duplicate group, choose a surviving record and define how notes, deals, and attachments merge into it. If two records have conflicting owners, assign one owner and log the change. Keep the old identifiers in a custom field so support can trace a customer back to the original record.
Run a sample import and reconcile
Import a small, representative slice: a few hundred records across different types, including edge cases such as missing emails, international phone numbers, and long notes. Check that dates, currencies, and statuses land in the right fields.
Reconciliation is a count and total check, not a feeling. Compare the number of records, open deals, and invoice totals between source and target. If the numbers differ, find out why before expanding the sample. A mismatch at this stage is a signal, not a failure.
Set permissions and plan the rollback
Decide who can see, edit, export, and delete each object before the real import. Test with a user account that has limited rights, not only with an administrator account. Permissions that are too open are hard to close after people start working.
A rollback plan is a written step list: how to restore the previous system, how long that takes, and who can trigger it. Keep the old system read-only for a defined period after cutoff so the team can check history while the new system settles.
Cutoff, acceptance, and a pass or fail test
Choose a cutoff window when no one edits the old system. Freeze changes, take a final export, import it, and verify. Then run an acceptance check in prose: confirm that a sample of customers shows the correct owner, status, and recent activity; that duplicate groups resolved to one record with merged notes; that totals match the reconciliation sheet; that a limited user cannot see restricted records; and that the rollback steps are documented and reachable.
A concrete pass or fail test: pick ten records that had duplicates or missing fields. In the new system, open each one and confirm the owner, status, and last activity match the agreed merge rule. If any record fails, the migration does not pass acceptance. This test is specific, repeatable, and does not depend on opinion.
Tradeoffs and a hypothetical example
A slower rehearsal costs time now and reduces the chance of a painful correction later. A faster import may look efficient, but missing history often surfaces weeks later when a customer asks about an old order. The tradeoff is between speed of cutover and confidence in the data.
Hypothetical example: a services company plans to move from spreadsheets to a custom CRM. The team maps fields, finds that two sheets use different status names, and agrees on one list. They import a sample, discover that several phone numbers are stored as text with spaces, and update the rule. They decide to keep the old sheets read-only for a month and assign one person to answer history questions. No outcome is claimed here; the example only shows the decisions and tests involved.
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A practical next step
Explore the related Devign work, then discuss your requirements before committing to a project scope.