Import, export, duplicates and the recycle bin

Import contacts into Fulcrum CRM from a CSV with AI column mapping, export contacts and lists, merge duplicate contacts, companies and deals, and restore deleted records.

This guide covers getting data into and out of Fulcrum CRM and keeping it tidy. It also covers how to undo a deletion. If you're moving from another CRM, read how to switch CRMs without losing contacts before your first import.

Import contacts from a CSV

1. Open Contacts and select Import. The Import Contacts window opens on the CSV Upload tab.
2. Click or drop your CSV file into the upload area.
3. AI maps your columns to CRM fields and shows how many it mapped, such as "Mapped 8 of 9 columns". Check the preview.
4. If a column is mapped wrongly, describe the fix in Wrong mapping? Tell the AI what to fix: and select Remap. To start over, choose Upload a different file.
5. Select the import button, which shows how many contacts will be imported.

You need the import permission to see the Import button. The HubSpot tab in the import window is marked Coming Soon, so use a CSV export from HubSpot for now. You can also import straight into a list with Import CSV; see Lists.

Export your data

• Contacts → Export downloads a CSV with name, email, phone, role, description, status, score, lead status, lifecycle stage, lead source, LinkedIn URL, company, owner and created date.
• A list's Export CSV downloads that list.
• On a contact's page (on desktop), Export next to the activity timeline downloads that contact's activity history as a CSV.

Export is limited to owners by default. An owner can give other roles the Export permission in Settings → Roles & Permissions. Deals and companies can't be exported yet.

Merge duplicate contacts

1. Open Contacts and select Duplicates. Each suggested pair shows why it matched, such as same email or same phone, and how confident the match is (High, Medium or Low).
2. Select Details and history to compare the two records side by side.
3. Tick Keep on the record you want to keep, then select Merge. To merge several pairs at once, tick them and select Bulk merge.
4. If two records really are different people, select Not a duplicate so the pair isn't suggested again.

The merged-away record goes to the recycle bin. By default, owners and admins can merge.

Companies and deals

• Companies: open Duplicates on the Companies page, then Compare side by side. Choose Keep and pick which values to keep, then Merge, or use Bulk merge.
• Deals: open Duplicates on the Deals page, then Compare and merge. Pick the deal to keep and the values it should end with, then merge. If they aren't the same deal, choose Not duplicates.

Restore something you deleted

1. Go to Settings → Recycle bin. Deleted contacts, companies and deals are kept for 90 days.
2. Filter by Type, by Who deleted it, and by Show (in the bin, restored, or all).
3. Select Restore next to the record.

Admins can also delete a single entry forever, or Empty the bin. To undo a single field change rather than a deletion, open the record's history and undo that change. This works for contacts, companies and deals.

Use a small import rehearsal

Keep a copy of the original spreadsheet. Clean headers, inspect encoding and map columns carefully. Import a small sample and check names, email, international phone formatting, owners and custom fields before running the full file. Confirm whether the import creates or updates records before repeating it.

Protect the context when merging or exporting

Inspect both records and their activity before merging. Confirm the surviving details afterwards. Exports can contain personal information: store them in the intended location and share only the necessary columns. An exported file is a snapshot, not an automatically synchronised backup.

Last updated 2026-11-05