Lead import failed — common causes in HelloGrowthCRM
Why your CSV lead import failed: encoding, required fields, duplicate keys, custom field mismatches.
What this guide helps you do
Follow this article when you want a focused, step-by-step path to complete the task without digging through menus.
Need a broader overview first?
Go back to the Troubleshooting section to browse more guides, compare related tasks, and choose a better starting point.
View all Troubleshooting guidesImports fail for half a dozen common reasons. Diagnose by downloading the error CSV.
How to use this guide
Read the intro to confirm this is the right workflow, complete the steps in order, then review the common issues and related articles if your setup behaves differently from the standard path.
What you'll need
- •The failed import
- •5-10 minutes
- 1
Download error CSV
Imports → click failed → Download error CSV.
- 2
Inspect reasons
Each row has error_reason column.
- 3
Most common errors
Encoding, missing required field, duplicate key, phone format, date format, owner email, custom field.
- 4
Fix in Excel
Open CSV → fix → Save As CSV UTF-8.
- 5
Re-import
Settings → Imports → Re-import error rows.
- 6
Phone format
Normalize: prefix +91 for India, +1 for US.
- 7
Date format
ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DD) safest.
- 8
Custom field
Create field in Settings → Fields → Leads first.
- 9
Owner email
Ensure all owner_email valid CRM users.
- 10
Bulk fixes
Excel formulas can clean many at once.
Frequently asked questions
Recovery from bad import?▾
Settings → Imports → Roll back. 30-day window.
Why dedupe rejecting all?▾
Match key too loose. Switch to email-only.
Phone normalization?▾
Strip spaces, hyphens, parens. Country code needed.
Custom fields?▾
Create first, import second.
Encoding fix?▾
Save As CSV UTF-8 in Excel.
Date variations?▾
Several accepted; YYYY-MM-DD safest.
Related articles
See it in product
Try it yourself
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Still need help?
If this article does not match your account setup, rollout stage, or edge case, review more guides in Troubleshooting or contact our team for direct help.
Rushabh leads product strategy at HelloGrowthCRM with a focus on CRM workflows, revenue operations, and practical product design for growing businesses.
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