Migrate from PipelineManager to Zoho CRM

PipelineManager Pipelines map to Zoho CRM Sales Processes. Each PipelineManager Pipeline becomes a separate Zoho Sales Process with Stage picklist values ordered to match the PipelineManager stage sequence. Stage names transfer verbatim from PipelineManager to Zoho Stage labels. If the customer uses more than one PipelineManager Pipeline, we configure one Sales Process per Pipeline and assign it to the relevant Record Type or module configuration in Zoho.

PipelineManager Deals map directly to Zoho CRM Deals (Potentials). We preserve deal name, deal value (amount), owner assignment, stage name, expected close date, and created/modified timestamps. PipelineManager stage names are mapped to the corresponding Zoho Stage label during import. Closed-Lost and Closed-Won status migrate as Zoho Stage values with probability percentages approximated from PipelineManager's stage configuration.

PipelineManager People map to Zoho CRM Contacts. Standard fields (name, email, phone, title) migrate directly. Any PipelineManager custom properties on People require pre-created Zoho custom fields because Zoho does not auto-generate fields during CSV import; we use the v8 POST /settings/fields API to create these before the Contact import phase begins. PipelineManager owner assignments map to Zoho Owner IDs resolved by email match.

PipelineManager Companies map to Zoho CRM Accounts. Company name becomes the Account Name, website migrates to the Website field, and any industry or type custom properties map to Zoho Account Type or custom fields. The Account is created before any Contact import so that the Contact-to-Account lookup relationship is satisfied at insert time.

PipelineManager Activities attached to Deals or People migrate to Zoho Tasks (for calls, emails, and tasks), Events (for meetings), or Notes (for text notes). Activity type, timestamp, description, and duration fields map to the equivalent Zoho field. Activity owner resolves by email to a Zoho User. Activities without a resolvable parent Deal or Contact are linked to the nearest Account record.

PipelineManager file attachments migrate to Zoho CRM using the Attachments API or by attaching files to Zoho Notes. We preserve original filenames and file content in the migration. Post-Q1 2026 Zoho releases introduced WorkDrive-based document storage migration, which we use if the destination org has WorkDrive enabled. For all other cases, files attach directly to the migrated record (Contact, Account, or Deal) via the Zoho Attachments endpoint.

PipelineManager custom fields on People are identified during discovery and pre-created in Zoho CRM using the v8 settings fields API before the Contact migration phase. Zoho field types (text, picklist, date, number) are matched to PipelineManager property types. Any PipelineManager field type without a Zoho equivalent (such as complex multi-select arrays) is stored as a text field or serialized into a Zoho Notes attachment with a reference note explaining the storage approach.

PipelineManager custom fields on Companies migrate to Zoho Account custom fields using the same pre-creation workflow as Contact custom fields. We match field types (text, picklist, number, date) during discovery and create the destination fields before the Account import phase. Validation rules on Zoho custom fields are noted and temporarily relaxed during import if they would cause bulk record rejection.

PipelineManager custom fields on Deals map to Zoho Deal custom fields. These are created via the Zoho v8 settings fields API before Deals are imported. Deal-specific custom fields (such as deal source, contract type, or renewal date) map to the closest Zoho field type, with multi-value fields serialized as text if no multi-select picklist is available in the target Zoho edition.

PipelineManager Owners map to Zoho CRM Users by email address. During discovery we extract every distinct owner referenced on Deals, People, and Companies. Owners with a matching Zoho User email proceed directly. Owners without a match enter a reconciliation queue, and the customer's Zoho admin provisions the missing Users (or marks them inactive if the PipelineManager owner is no longer active) before the migration proceeds to record import. Inactive owner records are flagged for reassignment during the post-migration review.

PipelineManager tags applied to Deals, People, or Companies migrate to Zoho CRM multi-select picklist fields if the target module supports them, or to a custom Tag field on the record. The customer chooses during scoping whether tags become picklist values (for small tag sets) or a freeform tag field (for large, evolving tag vocabularies).