Migrate from Interactive to Nutshell

Nutshell custom fields must be pre-created before migration

Unlike Interactive, where custom fields are available immediately via API after creation in the UI, Nutshell requires custom fields to be created manually in Account Settings before any data can be written to them through the API. This means the migration plan must include a pre-migration step where your team (or our team acting with admin credentials) creates every custom field in Nutshell, matching the field type and pick-list values from Interactive. Fields created after the migration run will not be retroactively populated — a second pass would be required. We provide a detailed custom-field creation guide listing every Interactive custom field with its recommended Nutshell equivalent so this step completes correctly the first time.

Multi-company contact associations collapse to one primary link

Interactive supports assigning a single contact to multiple companies through a junction association model. Nutshell links each person to one primary company on the record itself, with the ability to add secondary company relationships manually after import. During migration, we preserve all company associations as a custom text field on the Nutshell People record listing the additional company names. This means your sales reps will see the primary company immediately in Nutshell but will need to use the custom field reference for secondary associations until your team builds a manual process or uses Nutshell's account-relationship features.

Workflow rules and automation sequences have no Nutshell equivalent as migrated data

Interactive does not include a native workflow engine, so any automation logic your team built using external tools, Zapier, or custom scripts will need to be re-evaluated for Nutshell's built-in automation capabilities. Nutshell offers personal email sequences and task triggers tied to pipeline stage changes, but logic that relied on Interactive's API webhooks or custom field conditions will require redesign. We export a machine-readable summary of any workflow definitions accessible via Interactive's API so your team has a rebuild reference, but the automation itself cannot be migrated as executable configuration.

Nutshell's JSON-RPC API rate limits affect large-volume migration batch sizing

Nutshell's API is a JSON-RPC endpoint (app.nutshell.com/api/v1/json) using HTTP Basic authentication with your domain and API token. For large datasets, we batch writes to stay within Nutshell's request-rate guidelines. Nutshell also distinguishes between API keys with impersonation enabled (changes logged as the impersonated user) and keys without (changes logged as the API key name). We configure API credentials with impersonation enabled so activity logs show the original Interactive owner rather than a migration service account. If Nutshell's rate limits are hit during the load phase, the migration automatically retries with backoff and resumes from the last confirmed record.

Activity history volume can exceed what a single migration window accommodates

Interactive activity records (calls, emails, tasks, notes) can accumulate rapidly for active sales teams. A team of 20 reps over three years might generate 50,000+ activity records. These records are the lowest-priority component of a CRM migration — they are important for relationship context but do not drive pipeline reporting. We migrate activities in a separate pass after core records (People, Companies, Deals) are confirmed, and we can scope the activity migration to the most recent 12 or 24 months if your team prefers to keep the initial Nutshell import lightweight. Older activities are exported to a CSV file for reference without requiring Nutshell storage.