Before you start
Export the collection from Swops (Export contacts to a CSV file) and remove the apostrophe in front of international phone numbers, as described in Prepare your Swops export for a CRM. Pipedrive takes the full name in one column, so you do not need to split Name. Create any custom fields you want before importing (account menu > Personal preferences > Data fields), for example a single-option field Priority with Hot, Warm, Cold and Unrated, and a text field for LinkedIn. Importing needs the matching global permission in Pipedrive; admins have it, other users only if it was given to them.
Import the file
Open the account menu at the top right and go to Tools and apps > Import data. Choose Import from spreadsheet and click Get started.
Say what the file contains: people and organizations. Importing both together links each person to their company. Click Next.
Click Upload spreadsheet and pick your CSV. Pipedrive checks the file and lists anything it cannot read.
Map the fields. Pipedrive matches columns by their headers. For the rest, select the item icon (person, organization or note) and drag a field onto the matching column. See the table below.
Map Phone twice, once for Swops’ Phone column and once for Mobile. Click the pencil icon next to each to label them Work and Mobile.
Check the preview: names, companies and links between them should look right.
Choose how to handle duplicates: let Pipedrive merge them with existing people, or create separate records. Click Start import.
Open the import history to see how many records were added, updated, merged or skipped. Skipped rows come in a downloadable file with the reason for each.
Which column goes where
| Swops column | Pipedrive field |
|---|---|
| Name | Person Name |
| Company | Organization Name |
| Role | Person Job title if your account has it (it appears with contact sync), otherwise a custom text field |
| Person Email | |
| Phone | Person Phone, labelled Work |
| Mobile | Person Phone, labelled Mobile |
| Website | Organization Website |
| A custom person field (the organisation’s LinkedIn field is meant for the company page) | |
| Address | Organization Address: one column with commas works |
| Country | Skip it when the address already ends with the country, or use a custom field |
| Priority | Your custom Priority field |
| Notes | Note Note content |
| Business analysis, In more depth | Note Note content again: each mapped column becomes its own note |
| Collection | A custom person field such as Event, or skip it |
| Captured, Research date | Skip them, or custom date fields |
Good to know
- Only the name is required. A person needs a name; an email or phone number helps Pipedrive avoid duplicates. An organisation needs a name.
- How duplicates are found. Once a name is recognised, Pipedrive merges a person with an existing one when the organisation, phone or email matches, in your account or within the file. Organisations merge when the address matches. Choose not to merge if you want separate records.
- Labels. Pipedrive’s own contact labels (such as Hot lead and Warm lead) do not use the same words as Swops’ priorities, which is why a custom Priority field is the simpler route.
- Address. Use either one address column or separate columns for street, city and so on, not both. Pipedrive tries to place the address on a map; not every address can be found.
- Leads. Work from the Leads Inbox? You can also import leads: each needs a person or organisation name, and usually a lead title. Start from the Leads Inbox with Import data.
- Undo. An admin can revert an import from the import history within 48 hours.
Checked against Pipedrive’s help pages in October 2026: Importing data into Pipedrive with spreadsheets, Importing: mandatory fields, Importing: advanced mapping, How to avoid duplicates during an import and How can I import leads?. Menus change from time to time; if a step looks different, follow Pipedrive’s own import guide.