Clio Grow Contact and Matter Data Import

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Import contacts and matters into Clio Grow

Importing contacts and matters into Clio Grow is difficult and prone to human error. There are various points in the process that can result in duplicate and/or erroneous data. You can avoid any serious issues by purchasing the Clio Grow setup package, which includes data migration and assistance with creating forms and documents. If you want to do the import on your own, thoroughly read this ENTIRE article and follow the directions EXACTLY as they are written.

Tip: Importing data into Clio Grow is complex and highly prone to human error. We HIGHLY recommend using the shared contact feature.

Step 1: Prepare your import using Clio's CSV template

When preparing Clio's CSV template for your import, it is important that your CSV is formatted correctly and that all the data is in the correct cells. If this is done incorrectly, it can cause several issues, such as:

  • All or many contacts will be created as duplicates.
  • All or many contacts will be created with another contact's details. This can happen if one column is accidentally moved up or down.
  • All contacts have data added to the wrong field. This can happen if you accidentally add data to the wrong column (e.g. contacts notes were added in the Tags column or tags were added in the Home Email column).

You can attempt to avoid the above issues by doing a spot check of several rows, including the first and last rows, to confirm that the data is correct for that contact and in the right column. You can entirely avoid any issues by using the shared contact feature.

Important: Contacts and matters are required to be imported in CSV format. Do not use any other CSV template other than the one provided by Clio. Using any other template risks errors in data that can result in duplicate contacts and matters. 

Note: If you want to include locations and custom fields in the import, you will need to add these to Clio Grow BEFORE beginning the import. Additionally, you cannot import the following types of custom fields into Clio Grow: dropdown/picklist, checkbox, contact select, and matter select.

  1. Check that your data is correct. You cannot delete Clio Grow contacts or matters in bulk.
  2. Download this Clio Grow import CSV template.
  3. Enter your contact and matter data into the template according to ALL of the following directions:
    Contacts
    • Contacts can be imported without matters.
    • For person contacts, the First Name and Last Name columns are required to be completed.
    • For company contacts,  the Company column is required to be completed. 
    • Company contacts should be listed before any person contacts.
    • If you are importing person contacts from a Clio Manage export, do not include their company name on the same row. If you do, the company contact will be created as a duplicate, but the person contact will have all of the other information from the row (e.g. phone number, address, etc.).
    • If you are importing contacts from a Clio Manage export, enter the "ID" under the Clio ID column. If you do not, duplicate contacts will be created.
    • If you are importing tags, separate multiple tags for a single contact using semicolons.
    • Emails, phone numbers, and website custom fields should not be hyperlinked. Hyperlinked information will cause an error. You can avoid this by saving the document as a CSV before starting the import.
    Matters
    • Contacts can be imported without matters, but matters are required to be imported at the same time as their associated contacts.
    • Do NOT import matters from Clio Manage. This will result in duplicate matters.
    • The following columns are required to be completed: The First Name and Last Name (for a person contact associated with the matter) or Company (for a company contact associated with the matter), and the Matter Type, Matter Status, and Description.
  4. Review your CSV file to ensure that all the data is entered correctly, including the following: 
    • Remove the example content from the template (i.e. column A and row 2). 
    • Remove any contacts that are already in Clio Grow. The import process does not check for duplicates (i.e. names, emails, or Clio Manage ID). If you do not remove these contacts from the CSV, duplicate contacts will be created in Clio Grow.
    • Check that all columns have a unique name and header. Duplicate columns will stop the import. 
    • Delete any empty rows and/or columns. 
  5. Save the CSV file to your computer. 

Important: The CSV cannot have any empty columns or rows. The import process will stop on the first entire empty row or column, and the data below the empty row will not be imported. If you do not want to use a row or column, delete it from the template. 

 

Step 2: Prepare Clio Grow for the import

  1. Sync your custom fields from Clio Manage to Clio Grow. Learn more here.
    • You cannot import the following types of custom fields into Clio Grow: dropdown/picklist, checkbox, contact select, and matter select.
  2. If you have data in the Location column in your CSV, check that Clio Grow contains all of the locations listed in the CSV. If your CSV contains locations that are not in Clio Grow, create those locations in Clio Grow.
    • If you need to add locations, go to Settings > Matters, and select New Location. 

 

Step 3: Import the CSV into Clio Grow

  1. In Clio Grow, go to Settings > Import data.
  2. Click Import from spreadsheet. 
  3. Choose and upload your saved CSV file.
  4. Use the dropdowns to map your spreadsheet fields to the Clio Grow fields. 
  5. When you are done, click Import contacts and wait for the file to process.
  6. Once the file is processed, review the contacts that were imported. 
    Note: You cannot delete contacts in bulk in Clio Grow. If you see multiple contacts that you want to remove, this screen is your only opportunity to remove multiple contacts at once.
  7. Click Done when you are ready to finalize the import. 

 

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