CRM migration
Field-level mapping, validation, and rollback between Act! and Nutshell. We move data and schema; workflows are rebuilt natively in Nutshell.
Act!
Source
Nutshell
Destination
Compatibility
11 of 13
objects map 1:1 between Act! and Nutshell.
Complexity
BStandard
Timeline
3-4 weeks
Overview
Nutshell is a no-nonsense SMB CRM designed as a Pipedrive/Insightly alternative — straightforward pipelines, contact-centric data model, and email-tracking core. The migration from Act! is one of the smoother routes because Nutshell's data model maps almost directly: Act! Contacts → Nutshell People, Companies → Nutshell Companies, Opportunities → Nutshell Leads (Nutshell uses the term 'Lead' for both qualified opportunities and unqualified prospects), Activities → Nutshell Activities. The interesting work is around Nutshell's Pipeline model — Pipelines in Nutshell are top-level constructs with their own stage sets, so Act! tenants with multiple Opportunity types map to multiple Nutshell Pipelines designed during scoping. Custom fields, tags, and Activity types pre-create before record load. Activity History migrates to Nutshell Activities (closed status) with timestamp preservation via Nutshell's API audit-bypass flag.
Every standard and custom field arrives verified.
AI proposes the map; you confirm before any record moves.
Parent–child, lookups, and ownership stay linked.
Calls, emails, meetings — with original timestamps.
Documents, uploads, and inline notes move with the record.
Why teams make this switch
Leaving
What's pushing teams away
Choosing
What's pulling them in
Object mapping
Each row shows how a Act! object lands in Nutshell, including any object-level transformations, lookup resolution, or schema-design dependencies.
Typical mapping — final map is confirmed during the sample migration step.
Act!
Contact
Nutshell
Person
1:1Act! Contacts map to Nutshell People. Email is the dedupe key.
Act!
Company
Nutshell
Company
1:1Act! Companies map to Nutshell Companies with Person → Company association preserved.
Act!
Opportunity
Nutshell
Lead
1:1Act! Opportunities map to Nutshell Leads. Pipeline assignment based on tenant's Opportunity type. Stage values from translation table.
Act!
Opportunity Product
Nutshell
Lead Product
1:1Act! Opportunity line items map to Nutshell Lead Products with quantity, unit price, and discount preserved.
Act!
Activity (Meeting)
Nutshell
Activity (type: Meeting)
1:1Nutshell Activity type set during pre-flight per tenant Activity classification.
Act!
Activity (Call)
Nutshell
Activity (type: Phone Call)
1:1Direction (inbound/outbound) and duration preserved.
Act!
Activity (To-do)
Nutshell
Activity (type: Task)
1:1Due date, assignee, status preserved.
Act!
History
Nutshell
Activity (closed)
1:1Completed History items map to closed Nutshell Activities with original timestamp preserved via audit-bypass flag.
Act!
Note
Nutshell
Note
1:1Act! Notes attach to People/Companies/Leads with original author and timestamp preserved.
Act!
Group (Static)
Nutshell
Tag
1:1Act! Static Groups become Nutshell Tags applied to member People/Companies.
Act!
Group (Dynamic)
Nutshell
Saved Filter
lossyDynamic Group criteria translate to Nutshell Saved Filters with condition rewrites where Act! operators don't have Nutshell equivalents.
Act!
Custom Table
Nutshell
Custom fields on People/Companies or JSON note
lossyNutshell doesn't have Custom Objects. Custom Table data migrates as additional custom fields on the parent People/Companies record (for small-cardinality tables) or as JSON notes (for higher-volume tables).
Act!
Document
Nutshell
Attachment
1:1Act! Documents upload as Nutshell attachments on the parent record. Storage included in subscription for typical Act!-migration volumes.
| Act! | Nutshell | Compatibility | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact | Person1:1 | Fully supported | |
| Company | Company1:1 | Fully supported | |
| Opportunity | Lead1:1 | Fully supported | |
| Opportunity Product | Lead Product1:1 | Fully supported | |
| Activity (Meeting) | Activity (type: Meeting)1:1 | Fully supported | |
| Activity (Call) | Activity (type: Phone Call)1:1 | Fully supported | |
| Activity (To-do) | Activity (type: Task)1:1 | Fully supported | |
| History | Activity (closed)1:1 | Fully supported | |
| Note | Note1:1 | Fully supported | |
| Group (Static) | Tag1:1 | Fully supported | |
| Group (Dynamic) | Saved Filterlossy | Fully supported | |
| Custom Table | Custom fields on People/Companies or JSON notelossy | Fully supported | |
| Document | Attachment1:1 | Fully supported |
Gotchas + challenges
Platform-specific issues from each side, plus the pair-specific challenges that don't show up on either platform's page on its own.
Act! gotchas
Act! Premium Desktop and Cloud use different export paths and cannot share a single migration script
Act! Custom Tables (v18+) have no standardized schema across customers
Activity Series (recurring activities) explode into thousands of occurrences
Act! Marketing Automation campaign history is in a separate database
Act! contact layouts can hide fields without dropping them from the schema
Document attachments in Act! Desktop are file-system pointers, not blobs
Nutshell gotchas
Contact tier limits enforced on import
No bulk API endpoint requires paginated extraction
Email sequences not exportable via API
Foundation plan disables key sales features
Pair-specific challenges
Migration approach
Discovery + Pipeline design
Confirm deployment, inventory custom fields/Groups/Custom Tables/Documents, design Nutshell Pipeline + Stage structure per Act! Opportunity types.
Nutshell pre-flight
Create Pipelines + Stages, Activity Types, Tags for Act! Groups, custom fields on People/Companies. Pre-create Products for Lead Products.
Sample + customer review
200 People, 50 Companies, 30 Leads with Products, 100 Activities, 500 History items. Customer reviews mapping fidelity.
Full extraction + Document download
Bulk Act! extraction. Documents prepared.
Full load via Nutshell REST API
Companies → People → Leads + Products → Activities → Notes → Documents. Field-level diff.
Cutover + decommission
Delta sync on cutover. Reps switch to Nutshell. Act! read-only for safety window.
Platform deep dives
Act!
Source
Strengths
Weaknesses
Nutshell
Destination
Strengths
Weaknesses
Complexity grading
Standard CRM migration. 1 of 8 objects need a mapping; the rest are 1:1.
Overall complexity
Standard migration
Derived from compatibility, mapping clarity, API constraints, and data volume across Act! and Nutshell.
Object compatibility
1 of 8 objects need a mapping; the rest are 1:1.
Field mapping clarity
Field mapping is derived from defaults — final spec confirmed during the sample migration.
Timeline complexity
8-object category — typical timelines run 2–7 days end-to-end.
API constraints
Act!: Not publicly documented for Cloud; Desktop is limited only by the customer's SQL Server and IIS capacity.
Data volume sensitivity
Act! doesn't expose a bulk API — REST + parallelization used for high-volume runs.
Estimator
Rule-based pricing — no per-record fees, no manual quotes. Migrations over 2M records are scoped individually.
Step 1
Pick a category, then your source and destination platforms.
Category
FAQ
Answers to the questions buyers ask most during Act! to Nutshell migration scoping. Not seeing yours? Book a call.
Walk through your Act! to Nutshell migration with a real engineer — 30 minutes, free, written quote within 24 hours.
Book a free 30 minute consultationAdjacent paths
Other ways to leave Act!
Other ways to arrive at Nutshell
Ready when you are
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