Migrate from CentralStationCRM to Mailchimp

CentralStationCRM People records map directly to Mailchimp Members within a designated Audience. The email address serves as the primary key for dedupe; we use Mailchimp's upsert (PUT /lists/{list_id}/members/{subscriber_hash})) to insert or update records without creating duplicates. First name, last name, phone, and any standard fields map to the corresponding Mailchimp merge fields (FNAME, LNAME, PHONE). Opt-in status migrates to the Member's email_status field.

Mailchimp's Company object is only available on CRM Pro plans ($1,100+/month). We map CentralStationCRM Company records to Mailchimp Companies with a lookup key of the Company name or domain. If the destination Mailchimp account is on Essentials or Standard without CRM Pro, we skip Companies and instead write the company name as a custom merge field (COMPANY) on the Member record, noting in the migration report that a full Company object requires a tier upgrade.

Mailchimp has no deal pipeline, opportunity value, or stage object. CentralStationCRM Deals do not migrate. We export the Deal data (name, stage, value, close date, assignee) as a CSV deliverable in the migration package so the customer's admin can import into a deal tracking tool (e.g., a spreadsheet, Pipedrive, or a custom build) or review it for reference. This gap is disclosed in the scoping call before migration begins.

CentralStationCRM Leads are pre-contact prospects that do not map to a distinct object in Mailchimp. We import Leads as Members in the same Audience and apply a tag (e.g., Lead) or write a custom field (LEAD_STATUS) to preserve the original status value. If the customer wants Leads to remain separate from Customers at the destination, we create a separate Audience for Leads and a separate Audience for People (Customers), splitting by the src_object type.

CentralStationCRM tags are flat key-value labels applied to People, Companies, Deals, and Offers. We export all tag assignments per record and write them to Mailchimp as Tags on the corresponding Member record using the Tags API (POST /lists/{list_id}/members/{subscriber_hash}/tags). Tag names carry over as-is. If the same tag name exists in Mailchimp from prior usage, we merge rather than duplicate.

CentralStationCRM addresses are fetched via nested routes (GET /api/people/{id}/addrs.json) and stored as separate child records. Mailchimp supports a structured ADDRESS merge field that includes address line 1, address line 2, city, state, ZIP, and country. We flatten the address child records into the Mailchimp ADDRESS merge field structure per Member. If a person has multiple addresses, we write the most recent or primary as the merge field and flag any additional addresses in the migration report.

CentralStationCRM tenants define their own custom fields with no fixed schema across accounts. We discover all custom fields at the source during scoping, map each explicitly to a Mailchimp merge field of the corresponding type (text, number, date, dropdown, checkbox), and create the merge field in the destination Audience before import begins. Merge fields that exceed Mailchimp's 255-character text limit are truncated with a note in the migration report. Date fields map to Mailchimp DATE merge fields.

CentralStationCRM Activities (calls, meetings, notes) are engagement records that do not have a Mailchimp equivalent. Mailchimp tracks email engagement (opens, clicks) natively but does not log phone calls, in-person meetings, or internal notes as CRM activity records. We export all activity history as a CSV deliverable with the original timestamps, activity type, and linked person. The customer can use this for historical reference or import into a dedicated CRM tool. This is disclosed in scoping.

CentralStationCRM Tasks are attached to People or Deals with titles, due dates, and completion status. Mailchimp does not have a task management object. Tasks do not migrate. We export task titles and due dates as a CSV deliverable that the customer's admin can import into a project management or task tool. Mailchimp's Customer Journeys can trigger email sequences but do not create task records.

CentralStationCRM Offers are standalone quote-like objects with line items and totals linked to People or Companies. Mailchimp has no quoting, pricing, or line-item object. Offers do not migrate. We export offer data as a CSV deliverable with the offer name, linked contact, line items, and total value for the customer's admin to review or import into a quoting tool.