Migrate from Smokeball to Freshsales

Smokeball contacts (clients, opposing counsel, third parties) map directly to Freshsales Contacts. Name, email, phone, address, and notes fields transfer 1:1. Contacts without email are flagged for manual Freshsales entry because Freshsales Create Contact API requires a valid email address.

Smokeball contacts are often associated with organizations (law firms, opposing parties, corporate clients). The primary organization name from Smokeball contact records merges into Freshsales Account.Name, creating an Account that anchors the Contact. Multiple Smokeball contacts from the same organization create multiple Freshsales Contacts under one Account.

Smokeball matters (cases, files) have no direct Freshsales equivalent. Matter description, matter type, and open debtors balance transfer as custom text fields on the related Freshsales Account — providing account history context without forcing matters into a sales deal model. Closed matters may be archived per migration scope.

The Smokeball matter number or internal reference identifier is stored as a custom text field on the Freshsales Account record for traceability and audit purposes. This field enables reconciliation against Smokeball source records and supports de-duplication logic if the migration runs multiple times. The custom field is indexed in Freshsales for quick lookup during reconciliation or delta-run validation.

Smokeball staff records (attorneys, paralegals, admins) resolve to Freshsales Users by email match. Each staff member's email address is compared against Freshsales user emails — matched records become the Owner for any migrated contacts or accounts they were assigned to in Smokeball. Unmatched staff are flagged for admin action.

Smokeball staff status values (active and inactive) map directly to the Freshsales User.active boolean flag using simple value substitution. Inactive Smokeball staff are migrated as inactive Freshsales users, preserving their historical record assignments and matter associations without granting them portal or application access in Freshsales.

Smokeball document attachments on matters are re-uploaded to Freshsales Files, linked to the corresponding Account or Contact record. File size limits apply per Freshsales plan (2GB/user on Growth, 5GB/user on Pro, 100GB/user on Enterprise). Large document sets may require staged migration.

Smokeball contact tags transfer directly as Freshsales Contact Tags using a one-to-one field mapping. Tags applied to matters or staff members lack a direct Freshsales equivalent and are preserved in custom text fields on the relevant Account record where appropriate. Freshsales supports multiple tags per contact, allowing granular segmentation of migrated client data.

Smokeball activity records including tasks, memos, and email communication logs associated with matters migrate as Freshsales Activities. These are attached to the corresponding Contact or Account record based on matter-to-account linkage. Original timestamps and assigning staff member details are preserved throughout the migration to maintain complete audit history.

Smokeball workflow templates and automated task series do not migrate. They must be rebuilt in Freshsales using Freshsales Workflow automation (available on all plans with varying complexity). We export Smokeball workflow definitions as a reference document for your Freshsales admin.

Smokeball hard costs, soft costs, trust accounting entries, and Xero/MYOB sync configurations have no Freshsales equivalent — Freshsales has no native billing, accounting, or trust management features. Financial records should be retained in Smokeball or exported to your accounting software independently.

Smokeball calendar entries and matter-related scheduling appointments do not have a direct equivalent in Freshsales CRM. While Freshsales supports events and tasks, it does not replicate legal practice scheduling workflows or matter-specific appointment tracking. Post-migration calendar integration with Outlook and Microsoft 365 is available through Freshsales settings and can be configured by your administrator.