Why you shouldn’t move your CRM through spreadsheets
CSV exports are the most common migration shortcut and the most common source of leaked customer data. Here’s what to do instead.
The short answer: Moving a CRM through spreadsheets copies your customer list onto laptops, shared drives and email, where it can’t be controlled or audited. Files also corrupt data, break links between records and can’t be rehearsed reliably. The safer method moves data system to system over encrypted APIs, with automated reconciliation and certified deletion of intermediate copies.
The fastest way to move a CRM is to export everything to CSV files, tidy them in a spreadsheet and import them into HubSpot. It’s also the most common way customer data leaks during a migration. Spreadsheets aren’t insecure in themselves. The problem is what happens to them.
What happens to an export file
- It’s downloaded to someone’s laptop.
- It’s uploaded to a shared drive so the vendor can see it.
- The vendor downloads a copy to clean it.
- A cleaned version is emailed back for review.
- Someone saves “v2 FINAL” to their desktop.
- After the import, nobody deletes any of it.
By go-live, your complete customer list exists in half a dozen places you don’t control, with no record of who has opened it.
The other problems with spreadsheets
- Data gets changed by accident. Spreadsheet software reformats phone numbers, strips leading zeros from postal codes and turns long IDs into scientific notation.
- Relationships get lost. A CRM is a web of linked records. Flat files split them up, and every manual re-link is a chance to attach the wrong contact to the wrong company.
- History is hard to carry. Emails, notes and attachments are awkward to export and easy to drop.
- There’s no audit trail of what changed, who changed it or why.
- It can’t be rehearsed. A safe migration runs at least twice. Manual spreadsheet steps never run the same way twice.
What to do instead
- Extract through the old CRM’s API over an encrypted connection, with a token scoped to read only what’s needed.
- Transform in a controlled environment, with mapping and cleaning rules written down so they can be reviewed and rerun.
- Load through HubSpot’s APIs or migration tools, storing the original record ID on every HubSpot record.
- Reconcile automatically after every run: counts, values and owners.
- Destroy the intermediate data at the end, with proof.
When spreadsheets are the source
If your data already lives in spreadsheets, files are unavoidable. Keep them in one approved location, don’t email them, delete them once imported, and log who had access. See moving from spreadsheets to HubSpot.
Ask any vendor: “Will our data be exported to files at any point?” If the answer is yes, read how to choose a migration partner before signing. Ours is no; see how we handle your data.
Sources and further reading
- Understanding the CRM, HubSpot Developers
- Import records for multiple objects, HubSpot Knowledge Base
- Require approvals for exports, HubSpot Knowledge Base
Platform features and policies change. Check the vendor’s current documentation before acting on any detail in this article. This article is general information, not legal advice.