Migrate from LEAP to Zoho CRM

LEAP Client maps directly to Zoho Account. Client name, address, phone, website, and industry fields translate to their Zoho Account field equivalents. Primary contact within the client resolves to a Zoho Contact linked via Account-Contact lookup. Each Account is created with the original LEAP client ID preserved in a custom field for cross-reference.

LEAP contacts within a Client (named contacts, billing contacts, referring attorneys) map to Zoho Contacts. Each LEAP contact record becomes one Zoho Contact linked to the Account created from the parent Client. Email, phone, job title, and address fields carry over directly.

LEAP Matter maps to Zoho Deal, but Matter metadata (practice area, billing method, responsible attorney, matter open date) has no native Zoho Deal equivalent. These become custom fields on the Deal: Practice_Area__c, Billing_Method__c, Responsible_Attorney__c, and Matter_Open_Date__c. The Deal name is set to the Matter title for readability in Zoho's pipeline view.

LEAP roles within a Matter (e.g., Client Contact, Opposing Counsel, Expert Witness) map to Zoho Deal Contact Roles. The role name from LEAP populates the Role field on the Zoho Deal Contact Role record. Where LEAP assigns multiple contacts to a single role, each contact receives its own Deal Contact Role entry in Zoho CRM, preserving the complete relationship structure.

LEAP time entries (date, duration, task code, billing rate, attorney notes) cannot map to any native Zoho CRM object. We create a custom Zoho CRM module named Time_Entry__c (Ultimate/Enterprise) or preserve as Notes with structured formatting. Each time entry links to the Matter-Deal via a lookup field.

LEAP trust ledger entries (deposit, disbursement, balance, reference) have no Zoho CRM equivalent. We create a custom module in Zoho CRM to store trust balances per Matter-Deal. Zoho does not enforce trust accounting rules — this migration preserves the data for reference and reconciliation but does not replicate LEAP's trust compliance engine.

LEAP documents stored inside Matters are downloaded and re-uploaded as Zoho Attachments linked to the corresponding Deal record. Large document sets are bundled into ZIP files and uploaded via Zoho's Data Migration wizard. Inline images in LEAP notes are extracted and re-hosted as Zoho File records.

LEAP User records (attorney, paralegal, administrative staff) map to Zoho CRM Users. Matching is by email address. Users without a Zoho CRM license are flagged and assigned to a fallback Zoho user; their records are reassigned at migration time. LEAP user type (Attorney, Paralegal) is stored as a Zoho custom pick-list field on the User record.

LEAP custom fields on the Client record — such as referral source, client type, or billing preferences — are created as Zoho Account custom fields before migration. Field types are matched (text, pick-list, date, checkbox) using LEAP's field metadata from the API.

LEAP custom fields on the Matter record (e.g., court jurisdiction, case number, insurance carrier) are created as Zoho Deal custom fields. Practice-area-specific fields that have no Zoho equivalent are created as text or pick-list fields and populated during the migration run.

LEAP invoices and billing records are exported as structured Notes on the Deal for audit reference. The line items, totals, and payment status are preserved as formatted text in the Note body. For full accounting continuity, Zoho Books integration is recommended post-migration; LEAP invoice records do not map into Zoho CRM's native data model.

LEAP practice management workflows (matter intake sequences, document generation triggers, billing automation) do not migrate. We export the LEAP workflow definitions as a structured reference document so your Zoho admin can rebuild equivalent Blueprint stages and workflow rules in Zoho CRM. This is a manual step outside the data migration scope.