The CRM migration checklist nobody gives you
Moving CRMs fails on data hygiene far more often than on software. Here is the order of operations that keeps a switch from turning into a quarter-long project.
Most failed CRM migrations are not really software problems. The new system gets configured properly, the team is trained, and then everything stalls because nobody agreed on what a "contact" was before eleven thousand of them were imported.
Start by exporting what you have and looking at it honestly. Deduplicate on email address first, then on phone number, and accept that a meaningful share of records are dead. Contacts nobody has touched in three years are not an asset — importing them just moves the clutter.
Map your fields before you import anything. For every column in the old export, decide whether it becomes a standard field, a custom field, or a note. Anything that cannot be assigned confidently is a signal the field was not being used consistently to begin with.
Import in stages. Contacts and companies first, then open deals, then historical activity. Verify each stage with a handful of records you know well before moving on. A bad contact import caught after fifty records is an inconvenience; caught after fifty thousand it is a rebuild.
Finally, run both systems in parallel for two weeks and make the new one the only place new work is logged. Parallel running catches the gaps that a test import never will, and it gives the team a deadline that is real.
Trying to make a switch like this?
Omnir imports your contacts, deduplicates them, and gets you working the same day. Migration help is included on every plan.