Migrate from Customer Database App to Zoho CRM

Customer Database App Contacts are the primary and only native object. We extract all fields from the CSV export column headers, infer each column's data type (text, number, date, phone, email) from a sample of values, and create matching Zoho CRM custom fields before import. The email address field serves as the dedupe key during Zoho import. Any free-text fields containing commas are sanitized to prevent CSV parsing errors. Contacts without an email address are imported using the phone number or name as a secondary dedupe key.

Customer Database App Kanban stages export as a label string on each contact record rather than as a separate object. We extract the distinct stage names from the export, create a Zoho CRM pipeline with matching stage names and ordering, and map the stage label to the Zoho Opportunity or Deal Stage field during import. If the source uses a Deal Amount field alongside stages, we map it to the Zoho Amount field; otherwise we create a custom Amount field on the Zoho Deals module.

Customer Database App groups and tags export as comma-separated label strings per contact. We split each comma-separated tag into an individual Zoho CRM Tag record, creating the tag in Zoho if it does not already exist. Tag assignment is preserved via the Zoho Tags API (available from Professional tier) or through multi-select picklist custom fields if the Free or Standard tier is the destination. The customer selects the tag strategy during scoping.

Birthday is stored as a date field on each contact record in Customer Database App. We map it to a Zoho CRM custom Date field labeled Birthday or Anniversary. Zoho CRM does not have a dedicated birthday field type, so the custom date field serves as the functional equivalent. We normalize all date formats to YYYY-MM-DD before import to avoid Zoho's date parsing errors on non-standard formats.

Contact profile images export as separate image files alongside the CSV. We bundle these into a ZIP archive and attach each image to the corresponding Zoho CRM Contact record via the Attachments API. If PDF exports of individual records exist, they attach as Documents linked to the Contact via ContentDocumentLink. Image filename matching relies on the contact name or an exported image filename column if present.

Customer Database App custom fields are user-defined per installation with no canonical schema. We reverse-engineer the active field list from the first export file's column headers. If the customer has added or renamed fields after their last export, we flag the discrepancy before loading data into Zoho CRM. Free-text fields that may contain commas are quoted during CSV preparation. All inferred custom fields are pre-created in Zoho CRM (Professional tier required for custom fields) before the contact import begins.

Vouchers are a standalone object in Customer Database App with no direct equivalent in Zoho CRM. Voucher balances are not exported via CSV. We do not migrate voucher data. We deliver a supplemental CSV export of voucher records (voucher code, balance, expiry) for manual re-entry in Zoho CRM or a linked Zoho Books expense record if the customer uses Zoho Books alongside CRM.

The caller-ID log and call history are transient device-level records that do not export via the CSV or VCF format. We do not migrate call history. We recommend documenting call-handling procedures separately and, if call logging is required in Zoho CRM, configuring Zoho CRM's built-in telephony integration or a supported telephony partner post-migration.

Users with MySQL sync enabled hold two copies of their data — the local app database and the synced MySQL instance. The MySQL copy may contain records not yet synced back to the local app. We require customers to confirm the sync state of both copies before extraction. Where the MySQL database is reachable, we extract from MySQL as the authoritative source because it typically contains the most complete dataset. We reconcile the MySQL export against any CSV export to flag records that exist in one source but not the other.

Customer Database App does not have a multi-user ownership model on the free tier, so owner assignment is typically absent or limited to a single-device context. If the export contains an owner or assigned-to field, we match it by email against Zoho CRM Users. Unmatched owners are flagged in the reconciliation report for the customer's admin to provision before record import resumes. Zoho CRM role and ownership configuration happens post-migration.